A culinary journey through the Stone City — from ancient wood-fired bread to cave restaurants in the Sassi.
The cuisine of Matera is the cuisine of the earth — literally. This is food born from a harsh, rocky landscape where for centuries, the people of the Sassi lived in extreme poverty. Their cooking, known as cucina povera (peasant cuisine), transformed simple ingredients — bread, wild greens, legumes, sheep's milk cheese, and the occasional piece of lamb or pork — into dishes of extraordinary depth and flavour. Today, those same humble traditions have been elevated by a new generation of chefs who are putting Basilicata on Italy's culinary map, all while staying true to their roots.
Matera's geography is key to understanding its food. The city sits at the meeting point of two landscapes: the fertile plains of Apulia to the east, with their wheat fields and olive groves, and the rugged Apennine foothills to the west, with their pastures and vineyards. This position means Matera's kitchens draw on both the grain-based cooking of the plains and the pastoral traditions of the mountains. Add in centuries of cultural exchange — Greek, Roman, Norman, Arab, and Spanish influences have all left their mark — and you have one of Italy's most distinctive and underappreciated food regions.
The undisputed king of Matera's table. Pane di Matera is a sourdough bread with Protected Geographical Indication (IGP) status, made exclusively from durum wheat semolina flour, natural yeast, salt, and water. What sets it apart is its distinctive shape — a high, domed loaf with pointed "horns" (cornetti) — and its extraordinary shelf life. The thick, dark crust and soft, honeycombed interior stay fresh for up to a week, sometimes longer. Baked in wood-fired ovens at around 250°C, each loaf weighs at least one kilogram. The tradition dates back centuries, and local families in the Sassi once baked their bread in communal ovens carved directly into the limestone rock. Today, you can find it in every bakery in town, but the best comes from forni (bakeries) in the old town that still use traditional methods. Look for the IGP mark. Eat it simply — with a drizzle of local olive oil and a pinch of salt, or alongside a plate of local salumi and cheese.
If there is one ingredient that defines Basilicata's cuisine more than any other, it is peperoni cruschi — dried, fried sweet peppers. These are not spicy peppers but a local variety of sweet capsicum, dried in the sun until crisp, then flash-fried in olive oil for just a few seconds until they puff up and turn a deep, translucent red. The result is intensely sweet, incredibly crunchy, and utterly addictive. They are served as an antipasto, crumbled over pasta (especially orecchiette or strascinati), scattered over salads, or simply eaten on their own with bread. The best peperoni cruschi come from the town of Senise, about 80 km south of Matera, where they have IGP protection. You'll find bags of dried peppers for sale in every alimentari (food shop) in Matera — they make an excellent souvenir. Try them crumbled over a simple dish of pasta with breadcrumbs (pasta mollicata) for a quintessential taste of Basilicata.
While orecchiette (little ears) are most famously associated with nearby Bari in Apulia, Matera has its own version of this fresh pasta and its own distinctive sauce. Orecchiette alla materana is a deeply savoury dish: the ear-shaped pasta is tossed with a slow-cooked tomato sauce enriched with lamb ragù, pecorino cheese, and often a generous sprinkling of peperoni cruschi on top. The sauce is cooked for hours until the lamb is meltingly tender. Some versions include a touch of chilli and wild fennel. It is hearty, rustic, and the kind of dish that tastes like it has been made in Matera kitchens for a thousand years — because it essentially has. Look for it at family-run trattorias in the Sassi rather than polished tourist restaurants. The best versions are made with handmade orecchiette, each one slightly different from the next.
Cialledda (sometimes spelled cialda or cialda materana) is the quintessential summer dish of Matera — a cold bread and vegetable salad that speaks directly to the cucina povera tradition. Stale Pane di Matera is soaked briefly in water, squeezed dry, and mixed with chopped ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, fresh basil, oregano, and generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil and salt. Some versions add capers, olives, or hard-boiled eggs. It sounds simple (and it is), but the magic lies in the quality of the ingredients — the deep flavour of the wood-fired bread, sun-ripened tomatoes, and local olive oil. Cialledda is the dish you want on a hot afternoon after a morning exploring the Sassi, ideally eaten at an outdoor table with a glass of crisp local white wine.
Strascinati are a larger, flatter cousin of orecchiette, hand-shaped by dragging pieces of dough across a wooden board (strascinare means "to drag" in Italian). In this quintessential Lucanian dish, the pasta is tossed with fried breadcrumbs (mollica) and peperoni cruschi — a dish known as strascinati con mollica or pasta mollicata. The breadcrumbs are fried in olive oil with garlic, anchovy, and sometimes a little chilli, creating a savoury, crunchy coating that clings to the pasta. It is simple, brilliant, and utterly delicious — and perhaps the purest expression of Basilicata's cucina povera philosophy of wasting nothing.
Basilicata's wine scene revolves around one towering grape: Aglianico del Vulture. The vineyards lie about 50–80 km north-west of Matera, on the slopes of Monte Vulture, an extinct volcano whose mineral-rich soils produce wines of extraordinary character. Aglianico del Vulture is a full-bodied red, deeply coloured, with aromas of dark cherry, plum, blackberry, leather, tobacco, and a distinctive smoky, volcanic minerality. In its youth it can be powerfully tannic, but the best examples age beautifully for 10–20 years, developing complex notes of dried fruit, spice, and earth.
The DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) was established in 1971 and upgraded to DOCG (the highest Italian classification) in 2011 for the Aglianico del Vulture Superiore designation. Look for producers like Paternoster, Elena Fucci, and Re Manfredi on wine lists throughout Matera. The region also produces a small amount of Aglianico del Vulture rosato (rosé) — fresh, strawberry-scented, and perfect for warm weather — plus white wines made from Greco, Fiano, and Malvasia grapes.
Beyond wine, Matera has a growing craft beer scene reflecting the city's renaissance. Local breweries draw on the same agricultural heritage that defines the food, using local grains and wild yeasts. And no Matera meal is complete without a glass of Amaro Lucano — a bitter herbal liqueur from the nearby town of Pisticci, made with over 30 herbs and roots, first created in 1894. It is the classic digestivo to end a long, leisurely Lucanian meal.
Dining in Matera is as much about the setting as the food. Many of the best restaurants are carved directly into the limestone rock of the Sassi, giving you the extraordinary experience of eating in a space that may have been a home, a church, or a storeroom for centuries. Here are the areas and types of restaurant to look for:
The northern Sassi district is home to many of Matera's most atmospheric restaurants, often with panoramic terraces overlooking the canyon. This is where you'll find the higher-end dining options, including cave restaurants with vaulted ceilings, candlelit tables, and tasting menus that reimagine traditional Lucanian dishes with modern techniques. Expect to pay €35–50 per person for a full meal with wine. Book ahead, especially for terrace tables at sunset.
The southern Sassi is the more rustic, less gentrified side of old Matera, and its restaurants reflect that. You'll find small, family-run trattorias serving the kind of food Matera families have eaten for generations — pasta with lamb ragù, grilled sausages, cialledda, and simple, honest cooking. Prices are lower (€15–25 per person), the atmosphere is unpretentious, and the food is often superb in its simplicity. Look for places around Piazza San Pietro Caveoso and the streets climbing up towards the Civita.
The modern city centre above the Sassi (known as the Piano) is where Matera's everyday life happens. The streets around Piazza Vittorio Veneto and Via del Corso are lined with cafés, pastry shops, and casual restaurants. This is the place for your morning coffee and cornetto, an aperitivo with local wine and snacks, or a quick, affordable lunch. Look for pasticcerie selling pasticciotto (custard-filled pastry) and cartellate (fried pastry spirals soaked in honey or vincotto).
Matera's most famous food is Pane di Matera IGP — a wood-fired sourdough bread with PGI status, made from durum wheat semolina and baked in a distinctive horn shape. Its thick, dark crust and soft interior stay fresh for up to a week. Other iconic specialties include peperoni cruschi (dried fried sweet peppers, the defining ingredient of Basilicata), orecchiette alla materana (ear-shaped pasta with lamb ragù), and cialledda (a cold bread and tomato salad). Read more about the best times to visit in our seasonal guide.
The Aglianico del Vulture DOC and DOCG wine region lies 50–80 km north-west of Matera, surrounding the extinct Monte Vulture volcano. Aglianico del Vulture is one of Italy's greatest red wines — full-bodied, age-worthy, with dark cherry, plum, leather, and volcanic minerality. Producers like Paternoster, Elena Fucci, and Re Manfredi are widely available in Matera restaurants. The region also produces excellent rosato (rosé) and small quantities of Greco and Fiano white wines.
Yes — the Sassi districts of Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso are home to many excellent restaurants, many set in beautifully restored cave interiors. You can dine in spaces carved into limestone rock that may have served as homes, stables, or storerooms for centuries. Cave restaurants range from rustic family trattorias (€15–25 per person) to upscale cave dining with tasting menus (€35–50). The Sasso Barisano has more high-end options with canyon-view terraces; Sasso Caveoso has more authentic, family-run spots. Book well ahead for dinner, especially in summer.
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