With Karen’s Travel LLC
Explore one of Southern Italy’s hidden gems on a comprehensive, small-group Basilicata Tour! Join Karen Haid, author of Basilicata: Authentic Italy, and travel through a region of magnificent natural beauty, rich culture and longstanding traditions. Check out the exciting itinerary, highlighted by medieval castles and ancient historic sites, excellent food and wine, dramatic mountain scenery, coasts of both the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, and of course, the world-famous Sassi di Matera, a UNESCO Heritage Site! Basilicata packs an incredible diversity into the unassuming instep of the Italian boot.
Author leading Basilicata tour in Matera
How do you sign up? Go to the contact page and we’ll get in touch with all the particulars!
Interested in a future tour? Let us know and we’ll send you information as soon as it becomes available.
Interested in Calabria, as well? Go to my Calabria Tour page.
Basilicata Cultural Tour
12-Day Basilicata Land Tour
October 6 – 17, 2026
Basilicata Cultural Tour Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival Bari, Melfi
Transfer from international airport or train station in Bari to Melfi, historic destination for crusaders, kings, popes and brigands, as well as location of our 4-star hotel. Our exploration of Basilicata starts off with Melfi’s historic center, completely surrounded by the original stone walls. Highlights include a tour of the archeological museum, located in the impressive Norman castle, and the cathedral with its original Romanesque bell tower. Welcome dinner and overnight.
Day 2 – Venosa, Monticchio
We will soak up the culture of historic Venosa, birthplace of Horace with Roman ruins, an Aragon castle and a fascinating abbey, a remarkably ambitious project, to remain forever “the unfinished,” as the Italians call this national monument. Not surprisingly, Venosa is one of the Borghi più belli d’Italia – Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages! After a traditional lunch in town, we will immerse ourselves in the lush forest of Mount Vulture, an extinct volcano with two lakes in its former crater, and visit an abbey that grew out of a grotto church. Dinner, overnight.
A doorway in Acerenza
Day 3 – Aglianico del Vulture, Potenza
In the morning, we’ll immerse ourselves in the Aglianico wine of the Vulture at an award-winning, family-owned organic winery. We’ll learn about and taste the famous Aglianico del Vulture wine as we enjoy a casual lunch. In the afternoon, we will stroll through Potenza’s lovely old town on a walking tour of the highest regional capital in Italy. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4 –Ripacandida, Lagopesole, Pietragalla, Acerenza
We start out the day with the glorious 16th-century-frescoed sanctuary, known as the “Bible of Ripacandida,” after which we’ll experience the moving journey of those who left the region at the Emigration Museum in Lagopesole Castle. Lunch will be in a trattoria at the foot of the castle. We’ll then head to Pietragalla, home to an atmospheric complex of wine caves, and then on to Acerenza, another of the Borghi più belli d’Italia and featured in the film From the Vine. The medieval old town is anchored by a magnificent basilica for which the region is said to be named. Return to our hotel in Melfi for dinner and overnight.
Roman ruins in front of the “unfinished” abbey
Day 5 – Melfi, Castelmezzano
We check out and before leaving Melfi, we will visit a richly frescoed rupestrian church, where we will discover an image of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II himself! We then continue on to Castelmezzano (also one of the Borghi più belli d’Italia), picturesquely wedged amongst the Lucanian Dolomites, where we will enjoy a sophisticated twist on local ingredients by a Michelin-starred chef. We then head for Basilicata’s dramatic west coast and check in to our Maratea hotel overlooking the gorgeous coastline. Lunch, dinner, overnight.
Day 6 – Maratea
In our relaxing day on the Tyrrhenian Sea, we will luxuriate in the breathtaking panoramas of Maratea and its spectacular Christ the Redeemer statue. Lunch, dinner, overnight.
Maratea coastline
Day 7 – Pollino National Park – Coast to Coast
After checkout, we immerse ourselves in the forests and mountains of Italy’s largest national park, the Pollino, where we will either take a walk through a tranquil beech grove or engage with nature in an acqua-trekking experience. Lunch will highlight area specialties, such as the truffle and red eggplant of the Pollino. Continuing to the eastern coast, we will check in to our 4-star hotel in Policoro, distinguished historically for Pyrrhus’ victory over the Romans with the first use of elephants in battle. Dinner and overnight.
Day 8 – Aliano, Craco
Today, we explore the stark beauty of the badlands that Carlo Levi so eloquently described in Christ Stopped at Eboli, his poignant memoir that delves into the harsh realities observed during his time as a political exile in the 1930s. Visits to Aliano, town of his principal residency, and Craco, an atmospheric ghost town, reveal the great challenges that forced so many to emigrate from their homeland. Lunch, dinner and overnight.
Landscape surrounding Aliano
Day 9 – Metaponto, Matera
After check-out, we travel in the footsteps of the ancients, back to the days of Greater Greece as we behold the remains of Metapontum’s Doric temple and visit a national archeological museum. Following lunch in an agriturismo, we proceed to Matera’s Murgia Materana Park, where we learn of the city’s Neolithic origins and bask in the dramatic view of the “Sassi” just across the ravine. Check-in to Matera hotel. Dinner on your own, overnight.
Day 10 – Matera (Sassi di Matera)
Our exploration of the Sassi, World Heritage Site and Europe’s 2019 Capital of Culture, features visits to a peasant house, cave churches, the stately Romanesque cathedral, an enormous underground cistern, and Palazzo Lanfranchi with Carlo Levi’s monumental mural to the people of Lucania. Lunch in the old town, dinner on your own, overnight.
Walking in the Sassi di Matera
Day 11 – Matera
This morning, you will have free time to stroll in the ancient Sassi or to do a bit of shopping, and in the afternoon, after our farewell lunch, we will see the exquisite Byzantine images of Matera’s “Flower Painter” in the Crypt of Original Sin, often called the Sistine Chapel of rupestrian art. Dinner on your own and overnight.
Day 12 – Departure
Transfer to airport or train/bus station in Bari or Matera for your flight home or other travels.
2026 Basilicata Cultural Tour basics:
$5,000 USD per person, $500 single supplement
Small group Basilicata tour – maximum of 15 participants
Comprehensive Tour accompanied by Karen Haid, author of Basilicata: Authentic Italy and Calabria: The Other Italy, together with expert local guides
Tours, transportation and transfers as outlined above (airfare not included)
11 nights in top-quality hotels, breakfast daily, 10 lunches (including wine tasting), 8 dinners, wine and water included with meals
For many, many photos and a description of this travel experience, check out my blogpost Basilicata Cultural Tour, Much More Than Matera and my short Basilicata Cultural Tour Video!
Al fresco dining on the Basilicata Cultural Tour
Join me on this comprehensive Basilicata tour! For more information, please get in touch on my contact page or my Basilicata: Authentic Italy Facebook page.
Would you also like to visit Calabria, Basilicata’s southern neighbor? Combine this tour with a Calabria tour!
Karen’s Travel LLC