What's on in Matera (Sassi), Italy through the year

Peak crowds — Living nativity in the caves, Christmas holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Living nativity in the caves (20 Dec – 6 Jan (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Holy Week in the Sassi, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Holy Week in the Sassi

  29 Mar – 6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Torchlit processions down through the cave quarters on the Thursday and Friday, in a town small enough that a few thousand visitors fill it. Rooms in the Sassi go early. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Holy Week in the Sassi, Spring bank-holiday bridges

• Holiday

  Spring bank-holiday bridges

  25 Apr – 2 JunNational holidayCrowdedBook early

  Liberation Day (25 April), Labour Day (1 May) and Republic Day (2 June) are public holidays, and when one falls near a weekend Italians bridge it into a long break, the ponte. Those weekends bring domestic crowds, fuller trains and higher room rates, and some shops close on the day. Source ↗

Still on: Holy Week in the Sassi (29 Mar – 6 Apr)

Busy — Spring bank-holiday bridges, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring bank-holiday bridges (25 Apr – 2 Jun)

Peak crowds — Spring bank-holiday bridges, Festa della Bruna

• Festival

  Festa della Bruna

  28 Jun – 2 JulReligious feastCrowdedBook early

  The one day Matera belongs to Materans. A papier-mache triumphal cart is paraded on 2 July and then torn to pieces by the crowd in Piazza Vittorio Veneto in about three minutes. Source ↗

Still on: Spring bank-holiday bridges (25 Apr – 2 Jun)

Peak crowds — Festa della Bruna, Summer holidays in Italy

• Hazard

  Heat in the ravine

  1 Jul – 25 AugExtreme heat

  The Sassi are cut into a south-facing tufa gorge with almost no shade and stone that holds the day's heat into the night. Everything worth walking to is done before ten or after seven. Source ↗

Still on: Festa della Bruna (28 Jun – 2 Jul)

Peak crowds — Ferragosto, Summer holidays in Italy

• Holiday

  Ferragosto

  10–20 AugSchool holidaysClosuresCrowded

  Italian holidays peak around 15 August: day-trippers from the Puglian coast fill the belvedere while the family-run places in the lower town take their own fortnight off. Source ↗

Still on: Heat in the ravine (1 Jul – 25 Aug)

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Grape then olive harvest

  10 Sep – 20 Nov · usually

  Grapes come in across the Murgia through September, olives from late October, and the new oil reaches the shops in November. The countryside is at work and the town is at its emptiest.

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Grape then olive harvest (10 Sep – 20 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Grape then olive harvest (10 Sep – 20 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Living nativity in the caves, Christmas holidays in Italy

• Festival

  Living nativity in the caves

  20 Dec – 6 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The cave quarters are used as a nativity set over the holidays, which is the one time of year the Sassi are properly lit at night. Dress for stone: the caves hold the cold as well as the heat. Source ↗