Join our exciting excursion to the Stone Hives - Discover the hidden heart of the Murgia. Take a rocky walk along one of the most evocative trails in Matera's Murgia Park, an area little frequented by agencies and regular tours.
Michele Garofalo (environmental hiking guide) will lead you to the rediscovery of ancient rock sites and priceless environmental treasures guarded from the bowels of the earth. An interweaving of art, archaeology, nature, and history that fears few rivals.
As a first step, we will meet in the center at the agreed time to head via bus to Constellations Square, in the suburban area, and from there to Contrada Sant'Angelo.
1 - The first stop on our way will be the famous Bat Cave, a fabulous place inhabited by man since the Neolithic period and dedicated in medieval times to the cult of St. Michael.
2 - The second stop will be the Ofra complex, located nearby. Here, we will be able to admire from above the spectacular rock site of S. Pellegrino, whose outer walls host in quantity the so-called "avucchiare": small cells dug into the rock in which colonies of bees were once bred. In the same area, one can come across ancestral underground tombs, ancient cisterns, and archaeological remains from 4,000 years ago.
3 - A few hundred meters away stands a cave church embellished with beautiful rock paintings in a good state of preservation.
