The City Carved Into Rock Audio Tour of Matera

Matera is one of Italy's most singular cities, where cave dwellings and Baroque cathedrals share the same ancient rock. On this self-guided audio tour, you'll trace the city's full arc, from medieval origins and desperate poverty to its reinvention as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Starting at the Chiesa di San Francesco, you'll climb to the refined Piano quarter before descending into the Sasso Caveoso, where families once shared single rooms with their livestock. Along the way, discover Matera's extraordinary underground water system, including a cistern holding 5 million litres, and the story of the vicinato — communal cave neighbourhoods that sustained social life from prehistory through the 1950s. The tour ends at the cliff-carved monastery of Madonna delle Virtù e San Nicola dei Greci, where Byzantine frescoes document the shift from rigid, solemn saints to more expressive, human figures.