A three-day journey between Altamura and Matera to discover two extraordinary cities, joined by a thousand-year history, landscapes carved in stone and traditions deeply rooted in the land.<\/p>\n
Altamura rises on the striking karst plateau of the Alta Murgia, a landscape shaped by nature and inhabited by humans since Prehistory. Among expanses of stone, sinkholes, pastures and ancient paths, the territory preserves testimonies that span the millennia: from the Man of Altamura to the medieval re-founding commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia.<\/p>\n
Strolling in the historic centre means crossing a labyrinth of alleys, squares, claustri and narrow streets called “strictule”. Here you find monuments of great value, ancient shops and gastronomic specialities that tell the most authentic identity of the Alta Murgia.<\/p>\n
The stay is arranged at Hotel San Nicola, housed within a refined 18th-century noble palace in the historic centre of Altamura. Its position makes it easy to reach the main monuments, restaurants and traditional shops of the city on foot.<\/p>\n
On the first day, after arrival and check-in at the hotel, we enjoy a short introductory walk among the alleys of the historic centre. We discover the characteristic claustri, small enclosed courtyards around which the life of the communities developed, and the strictule, narrow streets that still preserve the ancient urban structure.<\/p>\n
The day ends in a restaurant in the historic centre, where we savour dishes inspired by traditional Murgia cuisine.<\/p>\n
The second day is dedicated to the cultural and gastronomic discovery of Altamura. We visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the great sacred building linked to the figure of Frederick II of Swabia, and admire its monumental fa\u00e7ade with the 14th-century portal.<\/p>\n
The route continues in the Diocesan Museum, housed in the ancient medieval matronea of the Cathedral and guardian of precious works of sacred art.<\/p>\n
The walk continues among the flavours of the historic centre, with the chance to learn about and taste some of the most representative excellences of the area: Pane di Altamura DOP, focaccia, the cheeses and dairy products of the Murgia, the Tetta della Monaca and the Amaro Padre Peppe.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon we reach Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage city famous for the ancient Sassi districts. Here we experience the atmosphere of the Living Nativity, an evocative route set among rock dwellings, alleys and settings that recall the landscapes of Bethlehem over two thousand years ago.<\/p>\n
After the visit we return to Altamura for a dinner dedicated to traditional local dishes.<\/p>\n
The third day takes us into the territory of the Alta Murgia. At the Lamalunga Visitor Centre we learn the story of “Ciccillo”, the name affectionately given by the people of Altamura to the Man of Altamura.<\/p>\n
The Neanderthal skeleton, dating back about 150,000 years, was found inside a karst cave and represents one of the most important palaeontological discoveries in Europe.<\/p>\n
Through multimedia content and a 3D reconstruction we can understand the features of the cave, the story of the discovery and the exceptional scientific value of the find.<\/p>\n
The route continues towards the nearby Pulo di Altamura, a large karst sinkhole of remarkable geological and scenic interest. An evocative place that allows you to observe up close the characteristic natural formations of the Murgia plateau.<\/p>\n
The experience ends with a lunch at a typical restaurant or a masseria, where you can enjoy a final selection of local dishes and products.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A three-day journey between Altamura and Matera to discover two extraordinary cities, joined by a thousand-year history, landscapes carved in stone and traditions deeply rooted in the land. Altamura rises on the striking karst plateau of the Alta Murgia, a landscape shaped by nature and inhabited by humans since Prehistory. Among expanses of stone, sinkholes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-363782","hsn_experience","type-hsn_experience","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotelsannicola.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hsn_experience\/363782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotelsannicola.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hsn_experience"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotelsannicola.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hsn_experience"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotelsannicola.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hsn_experience\/363782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":364457,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotelsannicola.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hsn_experience\/363782\/revisions\/364457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotelsannicola.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}