Matera tells its story through food too. Materan cuisine has its roots in the peasant and pastoral civilisation of the Murgia: humble ingredients, long preparation times, intense flavours. Here’s what you simply can’t miss during your stay in the Sassi.
Matera IGP Bread
It’s not just a side dish: Matera bread, recognised with Protected Geographical Indication status, is the undisputed star of the local table. Baked in wood-fired ovens, it has a distinctive horn or priest’s-hat shape and a crumb that stays soft for days. Ask at one of the bakeries in the historic centre to try it fresh from the oven — you can really taste the difference.
Crapiata Materana
A symbolic dish of peasant tradition, crapiata is a soup made from mixed pulses and grains (broad beans, chickpeas, lentils, wheat, beans) that was traditionally prepared on 1 August to celebrate the end of the harvest. Today it can be found all year round in the city’s traditional restaurants.
Orecchiette with Turnip Tops, and Broad Beans with Chicory
Two great classics of Lucanian and Apulian cuisine, which take on their own local variant in Matera. Orecchiette with turnip tops combines fresh handmade pasta with the slightly bitter taste of seasonal vegetables. Broad beans with chicory — a broad bean purée with sautéed wild chicory — is one of the most iconic dishes of Lucanian peasant cooking.
Pignata di Pecora and Strazzate
For those wanting to try the most authentic pastoral tradition, pignata di pecora (mutton slow-cooked in a terracotta pot) is an important dish, often associated with festivities. Among the desserts, strazzate — biscuits made with almonds, cocoa and coffee — and pettole, fried leavened dough fritters, round off the meal with the same authenticity.
Where to Try These Dishes
Matera’s historic centre offers numerous restaurants and trattorias serving menus based on these traditional dishes, often reinterpreted using zero-kilometre ingredients. Ask us directly for recommendations: we know the places that genuinely work with local, seasonal produce, not just the more touristy spots.
A Breakfast Worthy of Materan Cuisine
Breakfast, too, can be an opportunity to discover the flavours of the local area: local produce, genuine ingredients and, as we’ve chosen to do ourselves, zero-kilometre water and zero plastic — a small daily gesture in keeping with the attention to local heritage that defines Materan cuisine.
