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Heart of Matera
3 days / 2 nights
First day: transfer by shuttle from the airport to the hotel (approx. 1 hour). Arrival and settling into booked rooms. Rest of the day free to relax and begin to come into contact with the extraordinary scenario of the Sassi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built around the Civita, the Sassi (literally “Stones”) is a prehistoric settlement carved into tuff, a calcareous rock. The ancient homes, making up an entire town, cling to the slopes of a deep ravine having unique and striking natural features and known locally as the “Gravina”. Elegant and complex built-up portions mated to underground labyrinths and cavernous meanders generate an unequalled landscape and a breathtaking view. Once the heart of peasant civilisation, the Sassi have now been restructured and remodelled and have come back to life. Free dinner with a wide choice of characteristic restaurants, overnight stay at the hotel.
Second day: breakfast at the hotel. Guided tour of the Sassi settlement, along the path called “Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano itinerary” (two hours and a half on foot). Departure from Piazza San Pietro Caveoso to visit the Rione Malve, the district where we find the rupestrian church of Santa Lucia, part of a complex excavated in the rock by lauriot monks in the ninth century; visit to Casa Grotta, a home furnished with typical ancient furniture and tools. The next stop is Piazza Pascoli, located in the baroque portion of the millenary city, where Palazzo Lanfranchi, erected in the seventeenth century to house a seminary, now is the site of the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Basilicata. Strolling down the baroque avenue we shall come across the Church of Santa Chiara, Piazza del Sedile and the Romanesque Cathedral adjacent to Piazza Duomo with the stunning view onto the Sasso Barisano. Free lunch and dinner, overnight stay at the hotel.
Third day: breakfast at the hotel and shuttle transfer to the airport.
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