Just behind Maratea is the town of Padula (exit Padula-Buonabitacolo of the A3 Salerno/Reggio Calabria highway), where you can admire the magnificent Carthusian Monastery of S. Lorenzo, one of the most important yet least well known monuments in the south of Italy and the largest Carthusian monasteries in Europe.
The whole religious establishment including church, convent, cloisters, courtyards and gardens stretches out over a total of more than 5 hectares. To have some idea of its size and accommodation capacity, just remember that in 1535 Charles V stayed there together with all his followers and legend would have it that to feed them all, the monks had to prepare an omelette using 1,000 eggs. The Baroque facade dates back to the 1700s and is decorated with statues of saints. The church features a number of altars and chapels and the complex boasts choir lofts, refectories, kitchens, guest quarters, libraries, fountains and even a cemetery. Some will undoubtedly remember that Francesco Rosi’s wonderful film “C’era una volta” with Sophia Loren and Omar Sharif was set there.

A second itinerary covers the other side of the coast, the one facing the Ionian Sea.
The nature changes completely from Maratea to Metaponto, which looks onto the Gulf of Taranto. Woods slowly give way to endless pine forests and wide stretches of beach running out to the sea, and small towns and villages, hidden among the flatland vegetation. Some rare, protected species of tortoises live in this still unspoilt environment that forms the Metaponto Nature Reserve. This is another of the region’s treasures. Here you will not find the jutting, breathtaking landscapes of the western side, but rather endless, linear, horizons facing east.
In Metaponto itself, to the north of the modern city, you can find the ancient archaeological site of Metapontum (Visits – summer 9am-7pm, winter 9am-4pm). The city was founded by the Greeks in the 7th century BC and present day digs occupy an area of approximately 200 hectares where you can admire the remains of the Park of Apollo Licio which included the 6th century BC Ekklesiasterion Theatre, the Temple of Apollo Licio, the Temple dedicated to Hera and another erected in honour of Athena. If you carry along the main road, you come to Matera, the city of “stones” or rocks from which the city gets its ancient name.
The city is of Neolithic origin and has two neighbourhoods, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, which have made it famous thanks to the book - “Christ stopped at Eboli” - by Carlo Levi. Two areas where the houses are dug out of the ravine on which the city stands.