Matera sassi safe at night?
Apr 26th, 2005, 11:58 AM
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Matera sassi safe at night?
We are planning to spend a couple of nights in Matera and are looking at the b&bs in the sassi. Can anyone tell me what the sassi are like in the evening? Are there people around? Lights? Is it considered safe to be in the sassi at night?
Apr 26th, 2005, 12:08 PM
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It did not seem at all unsafe to me, but we had a terrible time finding our way around those narrow and steep streets and passageways (I'm a pretty good naivgator but there's no map that could make me understand that area.)
The central plaza is a great place to stroll at night, lively and well lighted -- just have a very good sense of how to get back to your lodging.
Definitely hire a guide through the town's tourist office for a tour of the sassi. Ours met us at our hotel and led us in and out of places we could never have found on our own and provided great commentary. It was the most memorable part of my trip.
The central plaza is a great place to stroll at night, lively and well lighted -- just have a very good sense of how to get back to your lodging.
Definitely hire a guide through the town's tourist office for a tour of the sassi. Ours met us at our hotel and led us in and out of places we could never have found on our own and provided great commentary. It was the most memorable part of my trip.
Apr 28th, 2005, 09:06 AM
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Thanks for the information. I really appreciate a first hand account. We may try to choose a b@b that appears to be near the entrance. I'd love to hear any more tips or advice about Matera. Kayd, did you arrange your guide through the tourist office when you got there? Was it an English speaking guide?
Apr 28th, 2005, 11:46 AM
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Our hotel, the Hotel Sassi (which I recommend--where else will you have an actual cave for a hotel room?), made the call to the tourist office when we arrived and set up the tour for the following morning, a Sunday. The bilingual guide, Nadia, was wonderful.
A note on arriving in Matera: we had no hope of finding the hotel ourselves, so when we asked a friendly local on a moto for directions, he led us promptly to the hotel's parking area, which was about 4 flights down stone steps from the reception level closer to the top of the town. Hope you are as lucky!
A note on arriving in Matera: we had no hope of finding the hotel ourselves, so when we asked a friendly local on a moto for directions, he led us promptly to the hotel's parking area, which was about 4 flights down stone steps from the reception level closer to the top of the town. Hope you are as lucky!
