Crypt of Original Sin — Attraction in Matera

It was not made clear that punctuality is absolutely essential. Every other museum I've visited with timed entry has been flexible if you arrive a few minutes late. I assumed this would be the case here, too, since I had to specify the requested audioguide language for each member of my group. I understood this to mean we would have some independence. Furthermore, the website indicates the cave is a 15 minute drive from Matera. It does not explain that the ticket booth is a 15 minute drive but the cave itself requires a further drive down a narrow and steep dirt road, then a small hike down a rocky stairway. All in all, it's more like 30 minutes than 15 minutes. We arrived around 10 minutes late due to all of this and were dismayed to find it was just one recording being played for all attendees, which was already underway. No explanation making clear that the experience would be like thks. No attempt to contact us to ask where we were before starting. Once we arrived, we were told it was "almost over" and I was therefore not offered an audioguide in the language I requested, meaning I ended up understanding nothing. The man managing the site offered a solution which at first I understood was to replay the audio once it had finished. But no, his solution was for us to return in an hour for the next showing - extremely impracticable. A waste of time and money, sadly. More clarity on the website and in the welcome email would have avoided all of this and made for a much...

This is a very special experience in a Rock Church, just 25 mins from Matera. But we almost didn’t go because of some bad reviews. The crypt is in a remote location, down a country road, so it is a bumpy ride but you don’t need a 4x4. It’s not as bad as some reviewers suggest.

The Crypt is an amazing place where the devotion of Benedictine Monks from the 8th Century is expressed in beautiful frescos. The Flower Painter of Matera is named as the artist due to the beautiful red flowers that connect all the different areas of the artwork. The visit lasts only 20 minutes, but that is long enough to take in the wonderful artwork and experience something truly sacred. Of note: no photos are allowed in the Crypt.

There is a ticked office about 750m from the entrance where we purchased our tickets. See photos. We were unable to buy online (PayPal only), but we knew that the time slot we wanted was not booked up, so we just drove there and bought the tickets on site. If you do this, be sure to check the website for availability especially in high season. We went in mid April and there were only 4 of us in our viewing. The cost was 11 euros per person.

BE ON TIME - this is a scheduled visit and all visitors are taken to the crypt together.

The staff were excellent - very friendly. And we also purchased the red wine they sell at their store for 10 euros, which...

This place was kind of an afterthought on my recent trip but I am glad we finally decided to try to squeeze it in on the way to the airport! It's about 20 minutes outside of Matera and the coordinates they give you in the email are correct, I'm not sure why so many people comment that it's hard to find. We reserved the night before but everything was ready when we arrived first thing in the morning. You drive your car down to the site which is about 700 meters after checking in. It's a group tour but you sit in the cave while the audio guide plays. It really is amazing. We arrived at 0900 for check-in (reservation time was 0930) and were on the road by 10:00. Definitely a must see...