Photo spot in Matera
Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio
A small terrace at Piazzetta Pascoli where the whole Sasso Caveoso opens below — the postcard view, two minutes from the main street.
About Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio
Get directionsThis is the balcony everybody photographs from and, unusually, it deserves it: the Caveoso spreads out directly below, San Pietro Caveoso and the Idris spur sit in the middle distance, and the ravine closes the frame behind. Being at the edge of the modern town, it takes about two minutes to reach from Via Ridola, with no steps.
Because it is easy, it is busy. Come at sunrise for an empty terrace, or stay for blue hour, when the Sassi light up and the crowd thins to a few people with tripods. In the last light the stone is the warmest it gets all day.
Use the parapet: shooting slightly along it, rather than straight out over it, keeps a bit of foreground and stops the picture flattening into a postcard with two small figures pasted on.
Best time to shoot
Sunrise for an empty terrace; blue hour for the lit city
Tips
No steps and two minutes from the main street — the accessible alternative to the Sassi lanes. It fills up at sunset, so arrive early and hold your spot at the parapet.
Other spots in Matera
The Murgia belvedere, across the ravine
The one viewpoint that holds all of Matera in a single frame — the whole city on its cliff, seen from the empty side of the Gravina.
Piazza Duomo and the cathedral terrace
The highest point of the Civita, where the town ends in a balcony over the Sasso Barisano and the roofs run downhill from your feet.
Sasso Caveoso and Santa Maria de Idris
The oldest, rawest half of the city: cave façades, staircases cut into rock, and a church sitting on top of a boulder above it all.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio — free of charge.