Via Peuceta - Cammino Materano

• Lunghezza:

  166 km

• Tappe:

  7

• Partenza:

  Bari

• Arrivo:

  Matera

• Periodo ideale:

  Spring - Fall - Winter

Water sources are not always present along the STAGES, so it is recommended to leave each day with a good supply of water; however, there is no shortage of farms and agritourisms where you can stock up on water.

STAGE 01: Bari-Bitetto

Length: 16.8 km
Height difference: +141 m/ -11 m

Our journey on the Via Peuceta begins at the basilica of St. Nicholas of Bari, a symbolic place of pilgrimage in Puglia and toward Jerusalem. The old town, characterized by narrow alleys where a colorful humanity bustles frantically, an “anthill drunk with vitality” (Italo Calvino), is the starting point of the ancient medieval road that connected Bari to Bitetto.

STAGE 02: Bitetto-Cassano delle Murge

Length: 25.1 km
Height difference: +232 m/ -27 m

The second STAGE features the olive tree, symbol of Puglia and living monument of Mediterranean civilization. Olive groves, almond orchards and vineyards tinge the vast expanses of the plain in which stand ancient farms, trulli and dry stone walls, bearing witness to its ancient agricultural vocation. This is the landscape that accompanies the traveler throughout the STAGE in the gradual ascent to the Murge plateau, all the way to Cassano.

STAGE 03: Cassano delle Murge-Santeramo in Colle

Length: 22.5 km
Height difference: +295 m/ – 153 m

The STAGE takes place mainly within the Mesola forest: a path through oaks, ash trees, holm oaks, Aleppo pine forests and shrubs typical of the Mediterranean scrub. All the typical sceneries of the Murgia landscape follow one another along the way: rocky ridges, karst cavities, gentle slopes, blades, wheat fields and barren pastures bordered by the characteristic dry stone walls (recently declared a Unesco heritage site as “examples of the harmonious relationship between man and nature”). A STAGE immersed in places where the action of nature mixes and coexists with the millennial action of man, who has shaped and altered its forms.

STAGE 04: Santeramo in Colle-Altamura

Length: 22.9 km
Height difference: +207 m/ – 216 m

We leave Santeramo in Colle to enter the heart of the Alta Murgia, among the most important steppe areas in Italy. Accompanying us are lichens, mosses, wild orchids and the characteristic “fairy flax” that gives the landscape a unique and evocative charm. Along the STAGE we encounter the Grotta Sant’Angelo complex, one of the most important places of Micaelic worship in ancient Apulia, and the Fornello rock site. We travel the last stretch on an ancient medieval cart road that leads us to the Altamura gates.

STAGE 05: Altamura-Gravina in Puglia

Length: 20 km
Height difference: +135 m/ -257 m

Simple STAGE, not too long and with little elevation gain. From the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta we pass through the charming old town of Altamura in the company of the smell of warm bread. The landscape stretches over fields planted with wheat and legumes (lupins and chickling peas). We arrive in Gravina in Puglia through a forest and along an ancient paved road. Please remember to bring enough water with you: the entire STAGE has no fountains to refuel.

STAGE 06: Gravina in Puglia-Picciano

Length: 29.7 km
Height difference: +529 m/ -440 m

One of the most challenging STAGES of the Camino. From the scenic stone aqueduct bridge you begin the ascent to the village of Botromagno; this is followed by a long descent to the Difesa Grande forest, one of the largest and richest in all of Puglia. It proceeds through rolling hills and wide cultivated expanses before the last asperity of the day: a climb of more than 3 km to the Benedictine sanctuary of Picciano, the stage destination. It is suggested, before departing from Gravina, that you carry food supplies for this and the subsequent lunch: in fact, in Picciano it is not possible to refuel.

STAGE 07: Picciano-Matera

Length: 29.7 km
Height difference: +424 m/ -463 m

Matera is now close by and, step by step, we begin to immerse ourselves in its rocky habitat. While the recommended route touches on the San Giuliano nature reserve, the shorter variant halves the distance but forces us to travel almost entirely on asphalt. Two routes to one destination: the Sassi and the cathedral of the Madonna della Bruna, which fully repay the exertions of the entire Camino.

All essential services are present at each STAGE point, except for Picciano, a location where there is only the Sanctuary

Accommodations that allow tents to be pitched:

Bitetto: B&B Soluzio (located along the Bitetto-Cassano STAGE, 14 km from Bitetto)

Cassano delle Murge: Masseria Brigaré and Agriturismo Amicizia (along the Cassano Santeramo STAGE)

Altamura – Masseria Scalera (along the Santeramo Altamura STAGE)

Gravina scout base in the Difesa Grande forest (mid-stage Gravina Picciano)

http://www.gravina1.it/il-nostro-bosco

Picciano – Masseria La Fiorita or the Sanctuary

Matera – Masseria del Pantaleone

The Trail is fully marked in paint (yellow-green) and wooden signs

55% asphalt, 45% dirt

The credential is obtained by filling out the application form:
https://camminomaterano.it/credenziale-del-pellegrino

Email: camminomaterano@gmail.com