Murgia Materana Park: the sacred canyon of Italy between caves, history, and silence

Those who think Matera is only about its famous Sassi are mistaken: there is an even older Matera, hidden beyond the canyon that opens behind it — the Murgia Materana. It’s a vast limestone plateau dotted with prehistoric caves and rock-hewn churches, where time has stopped and nature and silence reign supreme.

The Murgia Materana Regional Park is a rural UNESCO site, where the Murgic plateau overlooks the Gravina di Matera, a deep gorge carved over centuries by the flow of water. For those seeking spirituality, it’s worth knowing that both Mel Gibson and Pasolini chose this primitive, almost biblical landscape of caves and canyons as the setting for their films about Christ.

Among the rock churches scattered along the trails are Santa Maria de Idris, San Falcione, and Madonna delle Tre Porte, which still preserve Byzantine frescoes inside. The vegetation of the Murgia completes the scene, changing its colors with every season.

Spring is the perfect time to visit the park, when the fields are in bloom and the long daylight hours make it ideal for trekking along the ancient pastoral trails, without suffering the summer heat. The Neolithic village of Murgecchia is a real gem for history lovers — a precious testimony of human settlements dating back more than 8,000 years.

The park extends across the territories of Matera and Montescaglioso. To reach it by car, Matera is connected via the SS7 (Basentana) and lies about 60 km from Bari. By train, you can take the FAL (Ferrovie Appulo Lucane) line from Bari to Matera Centrale. From there, simply cross the Tibetan Bridge over the Gravina or take a shuttle to reach the park’s access points.

(Cover photo credits: MORENO01)