Beneath Matera's main piazza lies a sealed underground city — Roman cisterns, a ninth-century church, and a tank that held five million litres of rainwater. This self-guided audio tour of the Sassi di Matera, delivered through an app, takes you past what most visitors never notice.
You'll learn why families paid for better skull placement on a church door, how an assassinated count sparked a city motto about patient revenge, and why Hollywood chose these cave streets over the actual Holy Land. Your guide covers both Sasso districts, the cathedral, and cave homes where families of eleven lived alongside their animals.
Start anytime, pause for photos, go at your pace — no group to follow, no fixed schedule. Works offline in the narrow streets. Over 20,000 travellers trust our self-guided tours, and every booking comes with a full refund guarantee. If you want to understand Matera rather than just photograph it, this Matera walking tour is built for exactly that.
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Matera, Italy
Descend into a cistern that held enough rainwater to fill two Olympic swimming pools — and find the lost buckets on its floor.
Piazza Vittorio veneto, Matera, Italy
Pause where a Bourbon fountain once turned the daily water queue into the city's main social event.
Via Domenico Ridola, Matera, Italy
Count the thirty-six skulls on the door and notice which families paid for a higher spot.
Piazza del Sedile, Matera, Italy
Stand near the boulder where conspirators hid before ambushing the count who taxed a city to build his own castle.
Recinto Cavone 9, Matera, Italy
See a noble house stripped bare and turned into a screen that projects the story Matera spent decades trying to forget.
Via San Giacomo, Matera, Italy
Linger at the fountain where young men once waited for the only chance they'd get to speak to the women they admired.
Piazza San Pietro Caveoso, Matera, Italy
Recognise the piazza where Pasolini found a more convincing Jerusalem than Jerusalem itself.
Sasso Caveoso, Matera, Italy
Crawl the same floor where penitents once dragged their tongues across ceramic bricks to beg the Virgin for water.
Via Madonna dell'Idris, Matera, Italy
Spot the bilingual fresco where Christ blesses in two languages — and ask why neither tradition won.
This is a self-guided audio tour on our self-guided tour app. To activate the tour, check your email for instructions from us sent right after booking. Can’t find it? Search for our company in your email inbox and spam folder. OR contact us via support.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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