Photos: User:MatthiasKabel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Benjamin Smith, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: User:MatthiasKabel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Benjamin Smith, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sasso Caveoso, seen from its rock-church terraces
Your local guide
Giulia Lorusso
View profile
Highlights
- Frescoes painted directly onto bare rock
- A church built into the ravine's edge
- Terrace view straight down into Sasso Caveoso
- How cave families lived until the 1950s
- Two rock churches, seen up close
About this tour
This session stays inside Sasso Caveoso, moving between two rock churches and the terraces that connect them. You see Santa Maria di Idris carved straight into the stone, San Pietro Caveoso at the ravine's edge, and the wider district below from a terrace between the two. It is a close look at the part of Matera most tied to the old cave-dwelling life.
I start at Santa Maria di Idris and move on foot between the churches, holding the camera steady wherever the frescoes need a close look. I take questions throughout on how families and animals once shared these caves, and send a short note afterwards with the names of what we saw.
This suits anyone drawn to Matera's rock churches rather than only its skyline photographs. It also works well for viewers curious about how people actually lived here before the 1950s.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 7 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Matera before heading out.
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Santa Maria di Idris 21 min
You see the church cut straight into a spur of rock, its frescoes painted directly onto the bare stone inside rather than on plaster.
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San Pietro Caveoso 21 min
I point out where the church sits right at the ravine's edge, marking the lower end of Sasso Caveoso, with the rock churches opposite visible behind it.
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A cave-church terrace 21 min
From a terrace between the two churches you get the clearest view down into Sasso Caveoso, and I explain how families lived in the caves just below until the 1950s.
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Your questions 14 min
Time to ask anything about Matera: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Pane di Matera IGP and Sasso Caveoso, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Rome time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 8 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Matera, showing you Santa Maria di Idris and San Pietro Caveoso live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need any background in art?
No. The guide explains what matters as you go, whatever you already know or do not.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We connect on Google Meet and I send the link with your booking. I carry my phone along the terraces myself, close to the stone so you see the details I mean.
Times shown in Rome time (CET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Next: Mon 26 Oct · 8 seats left From 27,00 €
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