alanjo91

Thank-you so much Dai for sharing your travels. They are extremely helpful and give me hope that a car is not necessary to see this region. I wonder what you thoughts are on Matera for someone who who has respiratory troubles (my 64 year young husband) and what I think is quite a steep place? We only have 9 nights in Puglia and won't be driving. I was hoping for a couple of nights in Matera but am leaning toward the following..4nights Lecce (arrive from Rome by train). 3 nights in either Martina Franca or similar, or 3 nights in Polignano al Mare then 2 nights Bari before flying to Sicily. Matera would then be a day trip, probably through a driver/guide. Any advice appreciated. Allison

Holly_uncasdewar

I was in Matera for a couple nights last March. There are A LOT of steps there. While I don't have respiratory problems, I did get out of breath at times with all that climbing. I stayed down in the sassi area; if I were to return, I would stay up in the Piazza Vittorio Veneto area, which is above the sassi and is flat. You can still see much of Matera by walking the perimeter road that goes around the city, with a few short climbs here and there to visit particular churches.

tdk320n

Dai

I loved reading your report . It brought back many great memories of my very enjoyable visit to Puglia and Matera 2 years ago.
I am happy that you also used and enjoyed my recommendations as to my lodgings and driver in Lecce.

Dai

alanjo91 Hi Allison! I stop by now and then to see if anyone has happened upon my trip report and has a comment. It was so neat to see that the trip report helped encourage you to go for it! Lucky YOU!! So happy for you!!

As far as Matera is concerned, I am so glad that you intend on arriving there to experience it. It is amazing. It's not high in altitude like Denver, and doesn’t have super steep streets like San Francisco, but there are roads in the sassi area that can be considered a steep ascent. I think that while you're down in the sassi area, it could be taxing on your husband if you were to try to explore that area on foot. To ascend from the sassi to the higher (new Matera, as I call it...) you will find a lot of steps. To avoid that, you'd probably have to call a cab to drive you up there from your hotel if you were to stay there. It is very flat in the newer section, but the real charm and fascination is by experiencing the sassi section (old Matera).

A day trip out of Bari with a guide would be ideal. You could either arrange for a guide from Bari to drive you to Matera and show you around, or you could just hop on the direct train from Bari to Matera and have a pre-arranged Materan guide meet you at the train station. In any case, I am so glad to know that you will definitely, for sure, NOT MISS seeing this amazing section of Italy. You will NOT regret it!

Since you’re giving yourselves 4 nights in Lecce, if I were you, I would definitely consider using one of those days for one of the day trips by van that I spoke of with darling Dario (thanks to tdk320n’s suggestion!!!)! You can briefly experience some towns that may be too time consuming or logistically more difficult to get there via train due to more limited train schedules. And if you have any questions or concerns before your trip, and if you don’t speak/write Italian, and if you’d like me to ask him anything, let me know. I’d gladly write to him for you. I am sure that he will remember me and be just as helpful as he always is!


As you know, we adored Polignano a Mare, and I would definitely choose it over MF, not that there’s anything wrong with MF, but if you like the smell of the sea, really nice people, a quaint centro storico, a flat town with plenty of restaurants to choose from, and nearby Monopoli which could be fun to tour around for a couple of hours, I think it would make a very nice three night stay.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my very long report, and for commenting. Buon viaggio!!!

Dai

tdk320 Yea!! I am so glad to know that you read the report and were able to learn that I highly appreciated your recommendation for Dario in Lecce. It was really the most wonderful trip, and your recommendations really helped me a lot!!!

Dai

I was answering a question today for someone regarding Matera and directed them to the video link which shows some of the truly <i>fascinating</i> history of the sassi during the 60's. The link I had posted twice (July 9 and July 12) on this thread no longer applies. It only shows the 1st video. The following link shows all five videos to view. They are very short videos and I can't recommend them highly enough for anyone interested in this incredible town:

https://vimeo.com/sviluppobasilicata/videos