Matera: Sassi Districts Tour by Ape Calessino & Cave House

4.85

(137 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I laughed when I first saw the little ape calessino waiting for us near the edge of Matera’s old town. It looked like something out of an Italian postcard—tiny, blue, buzzing louder than I expected. Our guide, Paolo, waved us over with that relaxed southern Italian energy. He joked about how everyone in Matera has a story about these “bees” (I think he meant the vehicles, not actual bees). The engine hummed as we zipped straight into the Sassi di Matera—those ancient stone neighborhoods that always look unreal in photos but feel even stranger up close.

The streets here twist and dip so much that I lost track of direction after two turns. Paolo pointed out faded carvings on doorways and told us how people lived in these caves until the 1960s—he said his own grandmother remembered carrying water up from the well every morning. We stopped at a panoramic spot where you could see the whole city stacked up like puzzle pieces. The air smelled faintly of dust and baking bread (someone must’ve had their oven going nearby). I tried to take a photo but honestly, it didn’t catch how wide it all felt.

We hopped off to look inside one of those cave houses—a casa grotta museum. It was cool and shadowy inside; there were old tools hanging on hooks and a bed tucked right under an archway. Paolo explained how families used to share these spaces with animals, which sounded wild to me but made sense when you saw how thick those walls were. He laughed when I tried to repeat “Sassi” with his accent—definitely butchered it. After that we rolled through the historic center past tiny workshops and that famous miniature sculpture place (the detail on those little houses is ridiculous). By then my hair was full of wind and I realized I hadn’t checked my phone once since we started.

If you’re thinking about a day trip to Matera from Bari or anywhere nearby, this Sassi tour by ape calessino is honestly just fun—and weirdly moving too. There’s something about seeing all those layers of history while squeezed into this cheerful little three-wheeler with someone who grew up here. I still think about that view from above the rooftops sometimes, especially when I smell fresh bread back home.