# Matera: the one capital with no national railway

> Matera is the only Italian provincial capital off the national rail network. You arrive on the narrow gauge line from Bari, or by road, until 2028.

URL: https://myitalia.it/towns/matera
Last updated: 2026-09-02

Matera is the only provincial capital in Italy with no link to the national rail network, so you arrive on the narrow gauge line from Bari, by coach or by car, and the new railway is not due until 2028.

## The railway that does not exist yet

No RFI line reaches Matera in 2026. The new Ferrandina to Matera La Martella line, 20 km of single track electrified railway costing €525 million with part of the money from the PNRR, has been under construction since 2023, with design in 2019, permits and tender in 2022, and activation planned for 2028.

Until then the city is served only by the narrow gauge network of the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane. That is the fact behind every itinerary problem here, and it is why a Rome to Matera day trip does not work. Read [the only capital without a railway](/stories/the-only-capital-without-a-railway).

## What you actually ride: the FAL from Bari

The service contract between the Basilicata region and Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, running 2024 to 2033, sets the direct Matera to Bari journey at 1h25, against 1h42 before, and funds five new battery trains plus a Sunday service planned from September 2026.

The same contract raises the local service around Matera from 32,873 to 80,940 train kilometers a year, with €12.5 million for rolling stock, €9 million for infrastructure and €330,000 for passenger technology. One recent detail worth carrying: the Bari Centrale to Grumo Appula stretch reopened on August 31, 2026 after summer maintenance, with replacement buses in place until August 30. See [getting to Matera](/towns/matera/getting-there).

## The Sassi were emptied by an act of parliament

Law 619 of May 17, 1952, titled the clearance of the Sassi districts in the town of Matera, ordered the evacuation of dwellings declared unfit and financed the transfer of their inhabitants: 700 million lire for expropriations and public works between 1951 and 1955, and 4,500 million lire for public housing between 1951 and 1957.

Article 7 set out how a dwelling was declared unfit and how quickly the mayor could require it to be vacated; article 14 let families buy their new flat over 35 years. The districts emptied and stayed empty, and repopulation began only in the 1980s. That sequence, and not neglect, is why the caves you photograph were derelict within living memory. More at [Matera evacuated by law](/stories/matera-evacuated-by-law).

## The listing includes the ravine

The Sassi and the park of the rupestrian churches were inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1993 under cultural criteria (iii), (iv) and (v), with a core zone of 1,016 hectares and a buffer zone of 4,365 hectares.

Those hectares matter for planning. The protected area is not only the two cave districts you see from the belvedere but the Gravina ravine opposite, with its rock cut churches, which takes a half day and proper shoes rather than an hour after dinner. See [things to do in Matera](/towns/matera/things-to-do).

## Driving here: three zones, three rules

The yellow zone covering the Sassi is restricted every day from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm, the blue zone around the Duomo and San Biagio is off limits 24 hours a day, and the green zone in the historic center has three subzones, Mercato, Prefettura and Centro, on seasonal hours.

Deliveries in the urban pedestrian areas are allowed 7:00 am to 10:00 am and 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, except on holidays. Exemptions cover authorized residents, emergency vehicles, disabled badge holders, electric vehicles and taxis, depending on the zone. The base rule is managerial ordinance 291 of August 27, 2014, and the city publishes the boundaries as KML and GeoJSON, last updated August 9, 2026. If your hotel is inside the Sassi, ask them to register the plate before you arrive. More at [the Matera FAQ](/faq/matera) and [Basilicata](/regions/basilicata).

## FAQ

### Is there a train to Matera?

Not on the national network. Matera is the only Italian provincial capital with no RFI connection, and the trains that do reach it are the narrow gauge Ferrovie Appulo Lucane from Bari. A new 20 km line from Ferrandina, costing €525 million, has been under construction since 2023 for 2028.

### How long does the train from Bari to Matera take?

1h25 on the direct service set by the 2024 to 2033 contract between the Basilicata region and Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, down from 1h42. The same contract funds five battery trains and Sunday services, planned to start in September 2026.

### Why were the Sassi abandoned?

By law. Act 619 of May 17, 1952 ordered the clearing of dwellings declared unfit and paid for the move: 700 million lire for expropriations and public works from 1951 to 1955, and 4,500 million for public housing from 1951 to 1957. People came back only from the 1980s.

### What exactly is the UNESCO site in Matera?

The Sassi and the park of the rupestrian churches, inscribed in 1993 under cultural criteria (iii), (iv) and (v). The core zone covers 1,016 hectares and the buffer zone 4,365, so the listing includes the ravine and its rock churches, not just the two Sassi districts.

### Can you drive into the Sassi?

Only outside the restricted hours, and not at all in one zone. The yellow Sassi zone is limited every day 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm, while the blue zone around the Duomo and San Biagio is restricted 24 hours a day.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matera e' l'unico capoluogo di provincia italiano non collegato alla rete ferroviaria nazionale: la nuova linea Ferrandina-Matera La Martella, 20 km a semplice binario elettrificato per 525 milioni di euro anche da PNRR, e' in costruzione dal 2023 con completamento previsto nel 2028 | [Gruppo FS Italiane](https://www.fsitaliane.it/it/opere-strategiche/nuova-linea-ferrandina-matera-la-martella.html) | medium | 2027-08-31 |
| Il collegamento su ferro fra Matera e Bari e' esercito dalle Ferrovie Appulo Lucane; il contratto di servizio Regione Basilicata-FAL 2024-2033 prevede il diretto Matera-Bari in 1 ora e 25 minuti (contro 1 ora e 42), cinque nuovi treni a batteria per il servizio metropolitano di Matera e l'attivazione del servizio domenicale da settembre 2026 | [Regione Basilicata](https://www.regione.basilicata.it/matera-bari-diretto-in-unora-e-25-con-nuovo-contratto-fal-regione/); [Ferrovie Appulo Lucane](https://ferrovieappulolucane.it/); [doc 2](https://ferrovieappulolucane.it/comunic-di-servizio/riduzione-estiva-programma-ferroviario_27072026_1116) | medium | 2027-03-31 |
| La legge 17 maggio 1952 n. 619 'Risanamento dei rioni dei Sassi nell'abitato del comune di Matera' impose lo sgombero delle zone dichiarate inabitabili e finanzio' il trasferimento degli abitanti con 700 milioni di lire per espropri e opere pubbliche (1951-1955) e 4.500 milioni per alloggi popolari (1951-1957) | [Edizioni Europee (testo integrale della L. 619/1952)](https://www.edizionieuropee.it/law/html/1/zn14_04_010.html) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| I Sassi e il parco delle Chiese rupestri di Matera sono iscritti nella Lista del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO dal 1993 per i criteri culturali (iii), (iv) e (v); l'area tutelata copre 1.016 ettari di core zone e 4.365 ettari di buffer zone | [Ministero della Cultura - Ufficio UNESCO](https://unesco.cultura.gov.it/projects/matera/) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| A Matera la ZTL dei Sassi (zona gialla) e' attiva tutti i giorni 10.00-13.00 e 17.00-21.30, mentre la zona blu Duomo/San Biagio e' interdetta 24 ore su 24 e il centro storico ha una zona verde con limitazioni stagionali; la disciplina di base e' l'Ordinanza dirigenziale n. 291 del 2014 | [Comune di Matera - portale open data](https://dati.comune.matera.it/dataset/ztl-e-apu) | medium | 2027-06-30 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/city.matera.1600.jpg
Author: Gianfranco Vitolo. License: CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matera_(235706743).jpeg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/paesi/matera.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/pueblos/matera.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/villages/matera.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/orte/matera.md