Sassi of Matera hosts Puglia by UTMB on 23 October
Published on 10/04/2026 at 00:32 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Sassi of Matera (I Sassi di Matera) will host the start of the Puglia by UTMB trail race in Matera, Italy, on 23 October 2026. The 145-kilometre course begins at 9pm and links the World Heritage site with the ravines and coast of southern Puglia.
Puglia by UTMB starts at the Sassi of Matera on 23 October
The official race page lists 23 October 2026 as the start date for the event named I Sassi di Matera. The starting location is Matera, and the longest race is scheduled to cross the Gravine landscape before reaching Castellaneta Marina on the Ionian coast.
The course is part of the Puglia by UTMB programme, whose official information describes a route through the Terra delle Gravine. The race page presents the course as a trail journey from the land of the Sassi through limestone ravines, Mediterranean scrub, rock churches and coastal terrain. Its stated elevation gain is 3,500 metres.
The event gives the ancient districts a specific role rather than using Matera only as a regional reference. The race begins beside a settlement shaped by caves and ravines, then carries that same geological setting into a much longer route across Basilicata and Puglia. The official race information places the start in Matera.
How the trail route connects Matera with its cave heritage
The World Heritage property is a complex of houses, churches, monasteries and hermitages built into natural caves in the Murgia. UNESCO describes the Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches as a troglodyte settlement with continuous occupation over several millennia.
The historic area includes the districts of Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, with the Civita between them. A Romanesque cathedral stands on the Civita, while the wider property extends across the ravine to the highland plateau and the rock churches of the park.
That setting explains the character of the opening kilometres without turning the race into a sightseeing tour. Runners leave a dense historic district of cave dwellings and enter a landscape of fissures, paths, rock churches and open plateau. UNESCO records the site as a cultural landscape whose buildings and terrain remain closely connected.
The route therefore places a current sporting event against a settlement that UNESCO identifies as an outstanding example of adaptation to its terrain and ecosystem. The connection is practical as well as visual: the race starts in the same Matera landscape whose caves and ravines define the property.
Visiting Sassi of Matera: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Puglia by UTMB race starts on 23 October 2026 in Matera. The longest course starts at 9pm and is listed with a distance of 145 kilometres.
- The event is a trail race, not a general evening opening of the historic districts. The organiser requires runners to collect their bibs in person and book a collection slot by 14 October 2026.
- The place is in Matera in Basilicata, southern Italy. The route continues from the Sassi towards the Terra delle Gravine and Castellaneta Marina, so the start and the finish area are in different parts of the region.
- The terrain includes natural caves, ravines, rock-cut churches, steep highland edges and uneven paths. These are permanent features of the World Heritage landscape and are distinct from ordinary city streets.
- Italian is the official language and the currency is the euro. The race information uses Matera as the start location and refers to the surrounding landscape as the land of the Sassi.
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Frequently asked questions about Sassi of Matera
When does the Puglia by UTMB race take place at the Sassi of Matera?
The race starts on 23 October 2026 in Matera, with the longest course beginning at 9pm.
What is the Sassi of Matera?
It is the historic cave settlement and part of the wider World Heritage property that includes the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera.
Where is the Sassi of Matera and how do you get there?
The site is in Matera, in Basilicata in southern Italy. The Puglia by UTMB race information identifies Matera as the starting location, while the route continues towards Castellaneta Marina.
