Il Cammino Materano, Apulia and Basilicata

From Matera to Massafra

Puglia is the Gateway to the East, where pilgrims arrived via the Via Appia‐Traiana and the Via Francigena, which led from Brindisi and Santa Maria di Leuca to the East and the Holy Land. This route connects a UNESCO site, the Sassi di Matera, and the natural paradise of the Parco delle Gravine, an extraordinary open‐air museum of rock habitats and part of the Via Ellenica route known as Terra delle Gravine. The hotel where the itinerary begins is located in the historic center of this charming and ancient city and continues through olive groves, fields, and breathtaking ravines with their characteristic flora and fauna. The itinerary consists of gentle ascents and descents with maximum elevation differences of around 350 m and passes through unique natural environments in southern Italy, where food, wine, and traditions have not yet lost their authenticity.

Day 1 - Matera

Arrival and check‐in at the hotel. You can visit Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso, cross the Tibetan bridge that connects the historic center of the city with the Murgia Materana Park, with its ancient settlements, rock churches, and stazzi (traditional farms).

Day 2 – Matera - Montescaglioso

The route starts along the beautiful Matera Gravina with its Sassi, dotted with cave dwellings and carved in rockThe route starts along the beautiful Matera Gravina with its Sassi, dotted with cave dwellings and carved in rockchurches, and continues through cultivated fields and olive groves.The arrival in Montescaglioso, known since the 8th century BC and home to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Michaelthe Archangel, is uphill and takes about 1.8 km on the provincial road, but the rest of the route is on secondary ordirt roads, with minimal slopes and maximum elevation gains of around 200 m.

Length: 18,5 km, Difficulty: Easy T 5 h, Ascent 327 m Descent 361 m

Day 3 – Montescaglioso - Ginosa

The route starts downhill, along a path through the trees that leads back to the plain, then continueshe route starts downhill, along a path through the trees that leads back to the plain, then continuesthrough vast hills covered with wheat fields and groves of pine trees, oaks, and Mediterranean scrub.

Length: 14 km, Difficulty: Medium T 3,5 h, Ascent 247 m Descent 364 m

Day 4 – Ginosa - Laterza

From the beautiful Ginosa, you descend into the ravine, which nowadays is still full of life. Its manyFrom the beautiful Ginosa, you descend into the ravine, which nowadays is still full of life. Its manycaves are still used as warehouses and stables among the high rocky walls and lush vegetation. Amongthe rock villages, the cave dwellings were inhabited until the first half of the 20th century. You passfrescoed rock churches and Templar ruins, and once you climb up the opposite slope, you continuethrough fields and olive groves to the beautiful hilltop town of Laterza.

Length: 15,5 km, Difficulty: Easy T 4 h, Ascent 250 m Descent 334 m

Day 5 – Laterza - Castellaneta

Quite a long stage, but the Laterza ravine is perhaps the wildest and deepest (about 200 m) and itsbeauty repays all the effort. Water still flows at the bottom, feeding lush vegetation and a varied faunathat is often typical of these environments. You cross a vast area of fragrant Mediterranean scrub and aforest that once was a refuge for brigands, passing through the Montecamplo nature reserve andarriving in Castellaneta among expanses of olive trees, along narrow roads and paths.

Length: 24,1 km, Difficulty: Medium T 6 h, Ascent 365 m Descent 452 m

Day 6 – Castellaneta - Palagianello - Mottola

The Castellaneta ravine is one of the largest and most spectacular, and the itinerary continues throughthe Terra delle Gravine Regional Nature Park with its farms and rock settlements, including the churchof San Nicola, rich in pictorial decorations.

Length: 17,4 km, Difficulty: Medium T 5 h, Ascent 401 m Descent 259 m

Day 7 – Mottola - Massafra

From the hill of Mottola, the view stretches from the Gulf of Taranto to the Sila, and further down youwill find the rock church of San Gregorio, frescoed with Christ Pantocrator. The road then continueswith slight differences in altitude among centuries‐old olive trees, cultivated fields, and Mediterraneanscrub, to reach Massafra, which lies between the two ravines of San Marco and Madonna della Scala.

Length: 23 km, Difficulty: Easy T 6,5 h, Ascent 211 m Descent 497 m

Day 8 – Arrivederci Apulia!

See you soon