From Matera's 9,000-year-old cave city to Europe's highest zipline — the complete guide for 2026
Published: 17 July 2026 · Read time: 9 min · Back to Basilicata Hotels
Basilicata packs an astonishing diversity of experiences into one of Italy's smallest and least-populated regions. In a single day you can walk through a Neolithic cave city, hike a national park with thousand-year-old pine trees, soar across a valley on Europe's highest zipline, and swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea beneath a 22-metre statue of Christ — and you will share almost none of these experiences with crowds. Here is our curated list of the top things to do in Basilicata for 2026.
The Sassi di Matera are the undisputed highlight of Basilicata and one of the most extraordinary urban environments in Europe. Carved into the limestone walls of the Gravina gorge, these cave settlements have been continuously inhabited since the Palaeolithic era — over 9,000 years of human occupation. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, the Sassi are divided into two main quarters: Sasso Barisano (the hotel and restaurant district, restored and thriving) and Sasso Caveoso (more rugged, less developed, more evocative of the pre-restoration era).
What to see and do:
UNESCO World Heritage Half-day to full day Entry €3–6 per church Wear grippy shoes
Parco Nazionale del Pollino covers 192,000 hectares (1,920 km²) straddling Basilicata and Calabria — the largest national park in Italy, established 1993. It is a UNESCO Global Geopark and a biodiversity treasure, sheltering the oldest trees in Europe: Bosnian pines (Pinus heldreichii) estimated at over 1,000 years old, growing at high altitude on the exposed northern slopes.
The park offers everything from gentle nature walks to multi-day treks:
National Park Rafting Hiking Wildlife Free entry
The Volo dell'Angelo ("Flight of the Angel") is the highest zipline in Europe, strung between the medieval hilltop villages of Castelmezzano (985 m) and Pietrapertosa (1,088 m). The flight covers 1,452 metres of steel cable suspended 400 metres above the valley floor, reaching speeds of over 120 km/h. You are clipped into a prone harness similar to a paragliding setup — the sensation is of actual flight over the jagged sandstone towers of the Dolomiti Lucane.
Practical details: open April–November, weather dependent. Minimum weight 35 kg, maximum 120 kg. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets cost approximately €35–40 for a single flight (Castelmezzano to Pietrapertosa or vice versa) or €55–60 for a return flight. Book at least 2 weeks ahead in summer — slots fill completely. A second, shorter "Volo dell'Angelo Light" is available for those who baulk at the main line. Not suitable for those with serious heart conditions, epilepsy or severe vertigo.
If you are not flying, the Sentiero delle Sette Pietre (Path of the Seven Stones) gives you the same views at walking pace — a 2.5 km trail between the two villages with folk-art installations.
April–November Book ahead €35–40 single 14+ unaccompanied
Craco sits on a 391-metre clay hilltop 45 km west of Matera and 30 km inland from the Ionian coast. Founded in the 8th century AD (possibly earlier — a Greek tomb found on the site dates to the 6th century BC), it grew into a prosperous medieval town of 2,000 people. In 1963, a series of catastrophic landslides triggered by poor infrastructure and the unstable clay substrata forced the complete evacuation of the town. The last residents left in 1980 after an earthquake made the remaining structures uninhabitable.
Today Craco is a haunting, deserted monument, accessible only by guided hard-hat tours (€15–20 per adult, book ahead). The skeletal ruins of the Norman castle, the 15th-century church of San Nicola, and the maze of narrow streets where only the wind moves create one of Italy's most atmospheric sites. It has been a film set for Quantum of Solace (2008 — the opening chase sequence), The Nativity Story (2006), Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004), and numerous Italian productions. Tours run daily April–October (weekends November–March), groups limited to 30–40 people. Book via the official Craco website or through your hotel at least a week in advance.
Maratea is Basilicata's sole window onto the Tyrrhenian Sea: a 30 km ribbon of rocky coves, hidden pebble beaches and pine-scented headlands. The town of Maratea itself clings to the slopes of Monte San Biagio (624 m), whose summit is crowned by a 22-metre white marble Cristo Redentore statue — the second tallest of its kind in Europe, arms outstretched towards the sea. Reach the statue by a 15-minute chairlift ride (€6 return) from the upper town.
The beaches are the real reason to come. The best beaches on the Maratea coast:
Beach June–September Chairlift €6 Boat tours available
Even if you are not doing the zipline, the Dolomiti Lucane villages of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa are worth visiting for their sheer visual drama. The two villages are built into the fractured sandstone spires of the Lucanian Dolomites, with houses stacked impossibly on the rock face, narrow alleys that double as drainage channels, and sweeping views over the Basento Valley.
The Via Ferrata Salemm runs through the rock towers with steel cables, ladders and a suspension bridge. Equipment rental (harness, helmet, via ferrata kit) is available at both villages' Pro Loco offices for approximately €25. The Percorso delle Sette Pietre (Path of the Seven Stones) is the gentle alternative — 2.5 km of well-marked trail between the villages with seven contemporary sculptures interpreting local folklore. In both villages, stop for lunch at a family-run trattoria. The local speciality is cavatelli con ragù di maiale nero — handmade pasta with a long-simmered black pig ragù.
Free access Via ferrata €25 Both villages year-round
Across the Gravina gorge from Matera lies the Parco della Murgia Materana, a protected landscape of karst plateau, Neolithic settlements, and over 150 rock-hewn churches carved into the opposite cliff face. This is where you get the classic photograph of Matera — the entire Sassi stretching across the gorge, best captured in the golden hour before sunset.
The key sites on the Murgia side include the Madonna della Croce and San Falcione churches (frescoes dating from the 8th to 13th centuries, accessed via footpaths from the Jazzo Gattini visitor centre) and the Crypt of the Original Sin (the "Sistine Chapel of Cave Art" — 8th-century Benedictine frescoes in a natural cave, booked separately, accessed from the Appia Antica road). The plateau is a designated Natura 2000 site: look for lesser kestrels, stone curlews and soaring short-toed eagles. Spring (April–May) brings spectacular wildflower displays. The Jazzo Gattini Loop (8 km, 3 hours, moderate) is the classic trail.
The Vulture region in northern Basilicata is dominated by Monte Vulture (1,326 m), an extinct volcano that last erupted some 40,000 years ago. Its eastern slopes produce Aglianico del Vulture DOCG, one of southern Italy's greatest red wines. The key winery towns are Barile, Rionero in Vulture, Ripacandida and Melfi — all within a 30 km loop.
Even if wine is not your primary interest, the twin Laghi di Monticchio (Lago Grande and Lago Piccolo) in the ancient volcanic crater are worth the trip. Surrounded by chestnut and oak forest, the lakes are silent, glassy and improbably atmospheric. The 11th-century Abbazia di San Michele, a Benedictine abbey built into the crater wall, overlooks the smaller lake. Walking trails circle both lakes (3 km, easy). The Museo di Storia Naturale del Vulture at the eastern end of Lago Piccolo documents the volcano's natural history and the park's fauna, including a small exhibit on the local legend of the Brigante (bandit) Carmine Crocco, who used the forests as a hideout in the 1860s.
Metaponto, on the Ionian coastal plain, was one of the most important cities of Magna Graecia — the Greek colonies that flourished across southern Italy from the 8th to the 3rd centuries BC. Founded around 630 BC by settlers from Achaea in the Peloponnese, Metapontum was a major agricultural centre whose emblem (an ear of barley) appeared on its coinage. The philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras lived and taught here in the 6th century BC before his death around 495 BC.
The star attraction is the Tavole Palatine — 15 standing Doric columns of the Temple of Hera, built in the 6th century BC and silhouetted dramatically against the coastal plain. The adjacent Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Metaponto houses finds from the site: gold jewellery, bronze armour, red-figure vases, and architectural fragments from the temples. Entry €5 for the museum and archaeological park combined. Metaponto is 45 minutes by car from Matera.
The rupestrian (rock-cut) churches of Matera deserve separate mention from the Sassi themselves. Over 150 of these cave churches are scattered through the Sassi and the Murgia plateau, carved from solid limestone between the 8th and 13th centuries, containing some of Italy's most important surviving early medieval frescoes. The most significant:
3 days: Day 1 — Sassi di Matera: rupestrian churches, Casa Grotta, sunset from Belvedere. Day 2 — Murgia plateau hike (morning), MUSMA museum (afternoon). Day 3 — Craco ghost town (morning), Metaponto Greek ruins (afternoon).
5 days: Add a day in the Dolomiti Lucane (Castelmezzano, Volo dell'Angelo, Sentiero delle Sette Pietre) and a beach day in Maratea.
7–10 days: Add 2–3 days in Pollino National Park (Monte Pollino summit hike, Raganello Gorges, rafting the Lao River) and a day in the Vulture wine region with Laghi di Monticchio.
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