Where to Go and What to Do | Travel + Leisure
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Where to Go and What to Do

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WHEN TO GO

Spring or fall—in April and May, the fields are green and lush.

HOW TO GET THERE

Trains from Rome's Termini station travel deep into Basilicata, to the beach area of Metaponto. The ride is a little more than four hours. Car rentals—there are several agencies, including Avis—are available in Potenza; the drive to Matera takes about an hour. Or rent a car in Rome and drive south to Matera, a trip of four hours. The least scenic, but fastest, way: fly into Bari, rent a car at the airport, and drive 32 miles to Matera.

WHERE TO STAY

Locanda di San Martino A complex of modernized caves: think Fred Flintstone meets Ian Schrager. The hotel owners are Antonio Panetta and Dorothy Zinn, an American anthropologist. 71 Via Fiorentini, Matera, Sasso Barisano; 39- 0835/256-600; www.locandadisanmartino.it; doubles from $102.

WHERE TO EAT

L'Osteria As at all of Basilicata's restaurants, the antipasto is a must, with fresh goat cheeses, homemade sausages, and owner Giovanni Dileo's transcendent shaved- zucchini salad. His wife, chef Filomena Fabrizio, cooks delicious local dishes with the freshest seasonal ingredients. 58 Via Fiorentini, Matera, Sasso Barisano; 39-0835/333-395; dinner for two $35.

Ristorante Rivelli One of the fanciest and finest in Matera—the waiters wear jackets. Good, hearty country fare, with large carafes of deep-red primitivo wine to wash it all down.27 Via Casalnuovo, Matera; 39-0835/311-568; dinner for two $60.

Ristorante Locanda Pezzolla Run by Mario Pezzolla and his mother, Isabella, this award-winning hideaway is tucked into the mountaintop village of Accettura— but worth the trip. 21 Via Roma, Accettura (halfway between Potenza and Matera); 39-0835/675-008; dinner for two $47.

WHAT TO DO

Visit the frescoed cave churches of Matera, including Santa Lucia alle Malve and Santa Maria de Idris. Arrows point the way. Some caves are locked to protect against vandalism and require a key from an authorized tour guide. Ask your hotel clerk for a reference. Carlo Levi was the first writer to immortalize Basilicata, in his book Christ Stopped at Eboli. The Carlo Levi Center (Palazzo Lanfranchi, Piazzetta G. Pascoli, Matera; 39-0835/314-235) has many of his paintings on view.

Metaponto has sandy, uncrowded beaches and a collection of lidos. An ancient Greek settlement, it was a resting spot for Spartacus and Pythagoras.

WHAT TO READ AND WATCH

Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli is a must. Ann Cornelisen's books, Torregreca and Women of the Shadows, are set, in part, in the Basilicatan village of Tricarico. Norman Douglas's Old Calabria, published in 1915, has held up well.

Many films, most of them biblical, have been shot in and around Matera. Pier Paolo Pasolini led the procession in 1964 with The Gospel According to St. Matthew, followed by Richard Gere's 1985 stinker King David, both to be outdone by Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. It's hard to find a Materan restaurant that doesn't have a picture of Mel or Monica Bellucci taped to the wall. Io Non Ho Paura (I'm Not Scared) is a 2003 thriller set in the bleached-yellow fields of Basilicata.

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