Matera is hard to grasp from the inside. Only from an edge do you see how the city is built: terrace upon terrace, every roof the courtyard of the house above. This page sets the viewpoints side by side – by direction, time of day and how hard the walk is.
The one view you have to have seen
If you head for a single viewpoint, make it the Belvedere Murgia Timone on the far side of the gorge. Only from there does the city appear whole – Sasso Caveoso, Civita with the cathedral, Sasso Barisano, all at once. It is the view of Matera you already carry in your head.
The price is the journey: by car a loop around the gorge, on foot a descent into the Gravina and a climb back up. If you want neither, stay on the city side – there is plenty.
Views without steps
Not everyone can or wants to climb. Two points are reachable on the level:
- Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio – the terrace with the three arches, right on Piazza Vittorio Veneto. The most accessible view in the city, without a single step.
- Piazzetta Pascoli – the square in front of Palazzo Lanfranchi, reached along the level Via Ridola. The view across the whole Sasso Caveoso.
Where it is quieter
The well-known terraces all sit on the main axis and are crowded at sunset. Two alternatives with the same subject but less traffic:
- Belvedere Via D’Addozio – the view of the Sasso Barisano from the north.
- Porta Pistola – at the lower edge of the Sasso Caveoso, where the slope breaks away to the gorge.
In the middle of the district
The Belvedere di San Pietro Caveoso is not above the Sassi but inside them: the square in front of the church, right on the edge. From here church, rock cone and gorge sit in one frame – a subject the upper-town terraces cannot offer. The panoramic view over the Gravina along the lower paths is similar.
Which light when
The Sassi lie on a west-to-east slope above the gorge. From that follows a simple rule:
- Early morning – from the Murgia belvedere the city is backlit, but the lanes are empty and cool.
- Late afternoon – the sun lights the slope head-on and the terraces stand out in relief. The best hour for photographs, and also the busiest.
- Midday – flat light, no shade, pale stone. The time for museums and for everything underground.
- After dark – the lighting traces the terraces; from Piazzetta Pascoli that is particularly striking.
Other edges
Beyond those named, several places on the map carry the word belvedere without having a built terrace – for instance on the Civita between the two districts and along Via Casalnuovo at the southern edge of the Sasso Caveoso. You recognise them because the parapet suddenly releases what the houses were hiding. Walk without a destination and you will find them by yourself.
Read on
- The Sassi di Matera – what all these points actually look at
- The lanes of the Sassi – the paths between the viewpoints
- Parco della Murgia Materana – the plateau opposite
