Corleto Perticara, Italy + Add a trip

Automobiles

You'll want a car for exploring the mountain ranges, ruins and ravishing coastline, but watch out for driving in the small hamlets and towns - the streets are narrow and winding, and finding parking space can be challenging.

Planes

Palese airport in Bari is served by British Airways from London Gatwick (www.britishairways.com), or Ryanair from London Stansted (www.ryanair.com). The airport is 15km from the city centre; taxis cost around €20. Ryanair flies to Papola Casale airport in Brindisi. The city centre is 7km away - taxis are around €15-€20.

Trains

If you want to travel by Eurostar part of the way, sleeper trains from Paris connect to Italy's major cities. Direct trains run from Bari to Matera (www.ferroviedellostato.it).

Dialing

Country code for Italy: +39. Basilicata: 08 (don't forget to retain the initial '0' of the area code when dialling from outside Italy).

Reads

Carlo Levi was exiled to Basilicata by the Fascists in the 1950s; his account of the poverty-stricken sassi prompted the government's enforced relocation. Read Levi's account of Matera in his memoirs, Christ Stopped at Eboli. The Roman poet Horace was born in Basilicata (the city of Venosa, to be precise). If you're feeling erudite, take his Odes, Epodes or Satires. Any of Marcella Hazan's cookery books will inspire and inform your dinner choices - the Italian chef is a top authority on her country's cuisine.

Do go / Don't Go

Cuisine

Taxis

You can flag taxis by bus and train stations - since they're not particularly wallet-friendly, they're best for short journeys.

Tipping

Currency

Euro (€).

Packing

Loose linens, rock-proof sandals and a blank Moleskin notebook for recording local recipes.

Arts

Visit Matera's 13th-century cathedral and admire the recently discovered fresco portraying the Last Judgement. The stone nativity, rose window and Baroque decorations will also widen the eyes. The underground churches are just as stunning, on a smaller scale.

And...

The monks and pious peasants who once lived in Matera have left their mediaeval mark with more than 100 rock churches scattered across the area, some adorned with Latin and Byzantine frescoes.

Shopping

Matera's weekly food markets are the best places to stock up on picnic provisions. Haggle like a local for the best cheeses, olive oil, fresh bread and pastries. Matera's more modern part has plenty of clothes, jewellery and gift shops; in the sassi itself, shops tend to be tourist-driven and pricey.

Viewpoint

Climb the stone steps to the top of the Piazza del Duomo in Matera and look out over the sassi and the ravine ('gravina') - listen out for the tinkling of cow bells below.

Something

Stroll around Matera and listen out for students from the local music school practising in the flats above the cafés and squares - if you're lucky you'll be treated to an impromptu opera performance (in which case, pull up a chair at a little café, and order an espresso).

July The Festa della Madonna Bruna is an annual religious ceremony held in Matera, first celebrated in the 14th century. Expect floats, processions, food and a late-night fireworks display.