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DEC
Living Nativity in the Sassi
📍 MateraThe nativity staged in the most evocative natural crib on Earth.
Overlooked for decades, Basilicata is having its revenge. Matera — its cave districts carved and inhabited for millennia — has been a UNESCO site since 1993 and was European Capital of Culture in 2019. Around it stretches a harsh, cinematic region: the Lucanian Dolomites of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa linked by the "Angel's Flight" zipline, the ghost town of Craco, the Pollino forests, and two windows onto the sea — Maratea on the Tyrrhenian, Metaponto on the Ionian.
Matera bread and Senise's crunchy peperone crusco are the right souvenirs: you eat them.
The provinces of Basilicata
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The best of Basilicata
The places worth the trip on their own, picked by our editors.
The top 6 places in Basilicata
Our editors' ranking: the area's most important places, drawn from the individual town guides. See the national rankings →
1
🏛️ Squares & old towns Sassi di Matera
📍 Matera
Carved into limestone and inhabited since the Paleolithic, this ancient settlement is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
2
🎈 Unique experiences Lucanian Dolomites and the Angel's Flight
📍 Castelmezzano
Sandstone spires and a zipline between two villages: suspended adrenaline in Basilicata's heart.
3
🏛️ Squares & old towns Craco Ghost Town
📍 Craco
Evacuated in 1963 due to a landslide, this striking ghost town overlooks the badlands and serves as a famous film set.