Moving and Driving

The city center and the Sassi of Matera are Limited Traffic Zone or Pedestrian Areas, with entrance control gates and cameras. Vehicles at the service of disabled people can instead circulate, communicating the entrance in advance to the toll-free number 800-091980 or within 48 hours of transit to the e-mail address: ztl@comune.mt.it.

 The historic center of Matera is small enough to allow you to walk around. Once you arrive you can (you must!) forget about the means of transport and rely on your legs. Needless to say, walking is absolutely the best way to visit the city.

Moving in the labyr of the Sassi can be complicated and almost certainly, without a guide, you will end up getting lost more than once. In case it happens, a small tip: follow the larger streets until you find a road where (alas) the cars pass. Following the uphill driveways you will arrive on the floor, from which it is much easier to orient yourself.

The path (tracked and numbered with no. 406) that leads from the Sassi to the Murgia Park, descending the Gravina canyon, is currently open, but in very bad condition due to the total lack of maintenance. In several places it is slippery and dangerous. We strongly advise against it.

If you need to move by mechanical means, you could use city buses. Lines and frequencies cover the whole city and daytime hours well (here you can find them all). During the tourist season, a public line that connects the city to the Belvedere of Murgia Timone is usually active. Alternatively, you can contact Taxis or companies that offer Driver Rental service.

For certain services, such as transport from Matera to Murgia Timone, prices are affordable. During the weekends, however, if the shuttle is not in operation, there is no way to get to the Belvedere by motor vehicles: even public transport is forced to stop at Jazzo Gattini, while private ones simply cannot access the area of Murgia Timone. 

Parking

If the structure where you are staying does not provide parking, or if you are in Matera only passing through, in the center you can park in the blue stalls paying from 0.7 to 1 € per hour (depending on the zones) in the time slot between 8:00 and 20:00 (in the remaining hours parking is free). You can pay at the appropriate columns or via the Telepass Pay X or Easy Park smartphone apps.

If your vehicle is a bike, in the historic center you will find several free stalls for parking, especially close to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Piazzetta Pascoli, piazza Kennedy. Alternatively, you could choose to rely on parking garages, which apply different rates but all in all cheap compared to large cities and tourist destinations. You can easily find them on the various gps maps applications on your phones (sorry, my Google API key don’t work anymore).

If you don’t mind walking, a large free parking is located in via A.M. Of France. Walking all over via Lanera you will be in the city center.