Matera: no mainline train, and other answers

Matera has no station on the national rail network: trains from Bari are run by the narrow-gauge Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, on Sundays and holidays they give way to buses, and a car in the Sassi meets a ZTL active every day from 10 am to 1 pm and from 5 pm to 9:30 pm.

No mainline train until 2028

Matera is not connected to the RFI national network, and its rail service is the narrow-gauge Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL). The new Ferrandina-Matera La Martella line, 12 miles (20 km) of single electrified track costing €525¹ million, partly from PNRR funds, has been under construction since 2023, with activation planned for 2028.

Until then, arriving by rail means Bari and the FAL. How that came about is at the capital off the national rail network.

Weekdays from Bari: change at Altamura

On the FAL weekday timetable in force since August 31, 2026, the first train leaves Bari Centrale at 4:14 am and the last at 10:10 pm. Most trains for Matera need a change at Altamura, about 1 hour 12 minutes out of Bari.

The fare distance from Bari Centrale to the Matera stations is 70 km on the 2026 tariff table; the ticket price itself is not published in a form we could read. The Bari Centrale to Grumo Appula stretch reopened on August 31, 2026 after summer maintenance.

The 2024-2033 service contract between Basilicata and FAL plans a direct Matera-Bari run in 1 hour 25 minutes, against 1 hour 42 today, and five new battery trains. Every route in is at getting to Matera.

Sundays and holidays: buses, not trains

The August 3, 2026 Sunday and holiday timetable has no Bari-Matera trains: FAL runs buses instead, and rail tickets are valid on them. It shows eight arrivals at Matera Centrale from Bari, from 9:48 am to 11:03 pm, leaving Bari from the FS bus terminal on via Capruzzi, with an indicative 105⁴ minutes on the road.

The service contract foresees Sunday trains from September 2026, but the latest Sunday timetable we could read is still buses only. Check the FAL site in the week you travel, not before.

The Sassi ZTL: two daily windows

In the Sassi, the yellow zone is closed to unauthorized traffic every day from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm, the blue Duomo-San Biagio zone is restricted 24 hours a day, and the historic center's green zone has seasonal hours. The base rule is ordinance 291⁶ of August 27, 2014.

The city issues further ordinances on the Sassi from time to time, so the albo pretorio, the council's public notice board, is the place to check before you drive. Zone by zone: ZTL in Matera.

The crypt you must book

The Cripta del Peccato Originale, a rock church outside Matera frescoed in the 8th and 9th centuries, can only be visited by booking a fixed slot: six a day from April to September (9:00 and 10:30 am, noon, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00 pm), five in March and October and four from November to February (2026).

The booked time is your appointment at the ticket office, and the visit starts 30 minutes later. It isn't reachable on foot from town: you need a car or a transfer, about 15 minutes' drive.

Museums and the cistern

The Musei nazionali di Matera have three sites, the Ridola, Palazzo Lanfranchi and the former Ospedale di San Rocco, open daily from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm: €10 each for Ridola and Lanfranchi, €3 for San Rocco, €15 for a two-day combined ticket, free under 18 (2026). The Ridola has been closed since April 7, 2025 for works, so Lanfranchi and San Rocco are the two you can visit.

The Palombaro Lungo, the cistern under piazza Vittorio Veneto, is 52 feet (16 m) deep and held 5 million liters of water; it was found still full in 1991 and is run by the FAI. Prices throughout are in euros.

Why the Sassi are protected

The Sassi and the park of the rock churches have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993, under criteria (iii), (iv) and (v), with a core zone of 1,016¹⁰ hectares and a buffer zone of 4,365¹⁰.

Why the Sassi were emptied before they were listed is at Matera evacuated by law, and the city at Matera.

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