Guide to Basilicata

Guide to Basilicata (35)

Our recommendations if you are planning a vacation or visit to Matera and the rest of Basilicata.

  • Trulli of Alberobello and Matera Tour
    This first half of this full two day guided tour by Experience Puglia is the same as the day tour to Matera with wine tasting. Based in Gioia del Colle throughout, the second full day begins with a trip to resort town of Polignano along the coast followed by lunch in a local restaurant overlooking ...
  • Day Tour to Matera with Wine Tasting
    This day trip to the Sassi of Matera in Basilicata really is a full day, as it combines two nights in a family run hotel in the center of Gioia del Colle where Experience Puglia is based. Once you have met your guide and settled into your accommodation your adventure starts the same evening with di...

BASILICATA TRAVEL INFORMATION AND TOURISM SUGGESTIONS

Also known as Lucania, Basilicata is most famous today for the stunning Sassi of Matera.

A region so often overlooked is suddenly finding itself with all the right pieces in place for the sustainable tourism of the future.

Firstly, the local dishes which barely kept people alive 150 years ago are now seen as authentic regional specialites to be rediscovered. The Aglianico wine is recognised as a doc of quality and not just for blending with other grape varieties across Italy.

The local festivals are as mysterious and profound for the visitor as anywhere in Italy.

The splendid Pollino National Park contains unique flora while much of the countryside is ideal for trekking along ancient paths. The relatively undeveloped coast near Maratea is a zone with more than a passing similarity to the Amalfi coast.

Not that Spartacus cared much when he made his last stand in the region.

And don't forget Metaponto. A splendid Greek colony before the rest of Italy had even been discovered. It was here Pythagoras lived and died.

Consult our latest Basilicata travel articles below, or access them from the links right divided by recipes, food, wine, itineraries, tours and trip suggestions.

  • Traditional Food and Dishes of Matera

    Written by
    Published in Basilicata Food
    Matera, the small enchanting historical city, emersed in Sassi, or Stones, is quite an enchanter for me for many reasons. Firstly, a very dear friend of our´s, Giacinto, was born and raised here and offered us an invite while we were on the Gargano Peninsula in Puglia. Giacinto, together with his friend Dorothy Zinn and her Matera native husband Antonio, had started purchasing the carved out caves one by one to create a 21 room boutique hotel. We had stayed at her amazing Locanda di San Martino Boutique Hotel, which even possesses marine fossils in the walls, and terracotta flooring…
    Last modified on 19 April 2013

The Sassi of Matera

Published in Basilicata itineraries
Business boomed in Matera in Basilicata for a couple of years after Mel Gibson filmed 'The Passion of Christ' there. Nevertheless, the Sassi may have crumbled into nothing years before if such associations initiatives as MOSA had not appreciated first the patrimony of this ancient town. MOSA stands for the 'Azienda Speciale della Camera di Commercio per i Sassi di Matera' and is a special branch of the Chamber of Commerce of Matera. It was created in 1985 to promote the revival of Sassi, the oldest part of the city carved in the natural gorges in the stupendous ravine. It…
Last modified on 19 April 2013

Big egg Easter omelette

Published in Basilicata Recipes
As the name suggests this dish should be eaten on Easter Day. More specifically in the morning. An omelette in Italian is called a 'frittata'.   ingredients 500gr asparagus points, 200gr fresh sausage, 30 eggs, 200gr cheese, salt, extra virgin olive oil, pizza bianca.
Last modified on 26 March 2013

Basilicata Tours

Published in Guide to Basilicata
Browse the main Travel Categories menu above for all the tours, vacation breaks and guides featured in Delicious Italy divided by typology. Below we highlight a selection of incoming tour offers in Matera and the rest of Basilicata.  
Last modified on 21 February 2013

Aglianico del Vulture Wine

Published in Basilicata Food
By all accounts Aglianico del Vulture is a fairly decent wine. It is produced in the zone of Monte Vulture on the slopes of a very extinct volcano. This gives it a particular personality. The area comprises 5000 hectares and 15 comuni from Venosa, Atella and Banzi to Genzano di Lucania, Melfi and Rionero in Vulture. The Aglianico vine was introduced into the region by the Greeks around the VI century BC. Its name is a corruption of Ellenico and was used by the Romans to enhance one of their own favorite wines, the Falerno. Little did we know that…
Last modified on 14 January 2013

Peperone di Senise

Published in Basilicata Food
Just as Metaponto sits between the rivers Casone and Basento, so Policoro is located between the Agri and the Sinni. The town of Senise, a little up river, lends its name to a typical product of the region, the local spicey pepper. It is a berry about 10 cm long and 5 cm in diameter and is a greeny red color. Although it can be used fresh it is normally left to dry, then added to the process of making salami, other meat dishes and many soups. You may see it sold in necklaces just like garlic and onions.
Last modified on 14 January 2013

cooked bread recipe

Published in Basilicata Recipes
They no doubt gave the men warm welcomes and a full meal in the hope of a small return next time round, perhaps a rabbit or stolen lamb. However, many soon lost patience with their 'liberators' and eventually realised they were better off co-operating with the powers of law and order. They began to suffer the worst excess of the brigands. Still, whoever they sided with, life was tough and survival uppermost in their minds.
Last modified on 21 December 2012