2012

London to Matera. Fly at c. 9.30am from London Heathrow to Bari, via Milan. Drive to Matera where the tour is based throughout.

Matera. The morning walk includes the church of San Giovanni Battista (1220), the Baroque church of San Francesco d’Assisi and the archaeological museum. The cathedral (exterior only), a fine example of southern Italian Romanesque, dominates the city. Lunch is provided today: local cheese, cured meats and wines. Afterwards walk down the Sasso Caveoso to see a handful of cave churches, many of them with frescoes.

Venosa, Melfi. Drive to Venosa to visit the impressive but unfinished monastery of La Trinità built over an early Christian church. Walk through the charming town centre and see the archaeological collection in the late 15th-century castle. Continue to Melfi for lunch in a family-run restaurant. The impressive Norman castle hosts a good archaeological museum. The Norman origins of the cathedral, rebuilt in the late 17th century, are still visible in the splendid bell tower.

Montescaglioso, Matera. Drive to the hilltop town of Montescaglioso, overlooking the Bradano valley, to visit the Benedictine abbey of St Michael the Archangel, one of the largest and most impressive abbeys in Southern Italy. The Crypt of Original Sin outside Matera is known as the ‘Sistine chapel’ of cave wall paintings; only recently opened to the public it is not only an outstanding discovery for the history of early mediaeval art but is also an example of the most advanced conservation techniques. The afternoon is free in Matera.

Metaponto, Santa Maria d’Anglona, Policoro. The Ancient Greek city of Metaponto was one of the most important Greek settlements in the West; though its site is ruinous the museum display charts most of its history. Isolated in countryside, Santa Maria d’Anglona is a lovely church rich in late 12th-century frescoes. There is a picnic lunch here. Visit the Museo Archeologico della Siritide in Policoro which has exhibits from the former Greek colonies of Siris and Heraclea.

Matera. Visit the recently excavated subterranean city at Piazza Vittorio Veneto (due to open to the public in 2012). Fly from Bari to London Heathrow, via Milan, arriving c. 4.45pm.