Jazzo Gattini - Centro Visite - Per raggiungere il Parco della Murgia Materana e delle Chiese Rupestri occorre spostarsi in auto, percorrendo la SS 7 Via Appia in direzione Taranto fino al km 583; successivamente risalire la via che, sulla destra, si inerpica sulla collina di Murgecchia o Murgia Timone. Murgia Timone, a panoramic area facing the Sassi di Matera, is very representative of the entire protected area. In the area, which includes a spectacular stretch of the Gravina di Matera canyon, are a series of rock settlements. This is a guided walk of just over 2 hours following a fascinating, scenic route. It winds along the slope of the Gravina opposite the Sassi, taking in several caves and rock churches.

Chiesa Rupestre di Madonna delle Tre Porte - Despite the church’s rather rustic entrance, the interior is well-decorated with frescoes and multiple crosses scratched into the walls. However, gaps in the masonry are the result of German archaeologist Rudolf Kubesh removing more valuable frescoes from the church in the 1960s.

Chiesa Rupestre Di San Falcione - The rupestrian church of San Falcione is also known as San Canio (Saint Canius) or San Canione. Saint Canius, bishop and martyr, is the patron saint of Acerenza and its archdiocese, which is historically linked to Matera’s. Rock churches excavated in the 9th and 10th centuries generally conformed to a Byzantine model, having a rectangular or square chamber with plain walls and behind this two arched presbyteries supported by a central pillar.

Villaggio Trincerato di Murgia Timone - The village, on the whole almost oval in shape, groups several Neolithic huts and has a moat on the outside, described by Ridola as a ‘trench’, most probably dug with stone tools. The moat varies between 1.90 and 2.70 metres in width and 1.50 and 2.50 metres in depth. The total perimeter of the moat is 664 metres and encloses an area of over 20,000 square metres, while the village has a total of two entrances: one to the west about 4 metres wide, the other to the east. Numerous holes for inserting wooden poles were found by Ridola inside the moat, suggesting the presence of several huts. Burials took place in pits or in grottoes in the now-buried ditches; in fact, three underground grotto tombs were found on the south side of the western ditch (photo above), obviously after the occupation of the site.