Italy Called It a National Disgrace Then James Bond Came

Matera was once a place Italy wanted to hide. Its cave homes were emptied, its streets fell quiet and decades later, filmmakers saw something the country had overlooked.

In this episode of Reel Places, we trace Matera’s transformation from the Sassi to the screen: from its difficult past and restoration to the streets of No Time to Die. We also track down the famous Bond bridgeand reveal why it isn’t actually in Matera.

Stay for practical travel tips, the Palombaro Lungo beneath the main square, and the sunset view that brings the whole city into focus.

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Bond's cave city
0:37 Where is Matera?
1:12 1945: the book that exposed the caves
1:50 "A national disgrace"
2:09 1952: emptying the Sassi
2:52 Filmmakers move in
3:29 The comeback
4:33 No Time to Die in Matera
5:01 The bridge that isn't in Matera
5:22 How to get there
5:47 What a cave hotel costs
6:09 The giant cistern under the square
6:38 Cave churches
6:56 The best viewpoint: Murgia Timone
7:26 Europe's greatest comeback

PRACTICAL NOTES (checked Nov 1, 2026)
• Prices are per room, per night, and change constantly: simple cave rooms from about $100, mid-range $100–200, luxury cave hotels from a few hundred, top suites over €1,000.
• Palombaro Lungo cistern: €3 adult ticket.
• Trains: Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL) from Bari. Replacement buses run on some days, so check the FAL timetable before you go: https://ferrovieappulolucane.it/

SOURCES
• No Time to Die locations: The James Bond Dossier https://www.thejamesbonddossier.com/films/no-time-to-die/locations/italy.htm
• Matera history: Matera Sassi e Murgia https://materasassiemurgia.com/en/history-of-matera/
• Palombaro Lungo: MateraWelcome (official tourism) https://www.materawelcome.it/en/luogo/palombaro-lungo
• Santa Maria de Idris: Italia.it (official tourism) https://www.italia.it/en/basilicata/matera/chiesa-santa-maria-de-idris
• Tibetan bridge and path 406: MateraWelcome https://www.materawelcome.it/en/?p=14189

FOOTAGE (Creative Commons Attribution, CC BY)
• World With Wife, "Inside Matera: Italy's Ancient City That Looks Unreal" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jBc8ZM1ltw
• Saverio Galax / dronefilmpro.it, "Matera 2023" drone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A95tbl2wNDw
• Traveling Expats, "Matera Travel Guide" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvmYbVgkMAo
• Wild Fishing Ken, Matera POV walk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4S_XHbmax8
• Additional footage: Pexels (Pexels License)

PHOTOS
• Ernst Haas / ECA, Matera 1951, U.S. National Archives (public domain)
• ECA, Italian family c. 1948, U.S. National Archives 541720 (public domain)
• Matera Cathedral c. 1895, W. H. Goodyear / Brooklyn Museum (public domain)
• Matera panorama postcard, 1926 (public domain)
• Pacichelli engraving of Matera, 1703, Biblioteca de la Universidad de Sevilla (CC BY 2.0)
• Pier Paolo Pasolini on set, 1964, Domenico Notarangelo (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Il Vangelo secondo Matteo (1964) still (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
• Cave hotel room, Rex Hammock (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/rexblog/39128492792/
• Ponte Madonna della Stella, Gravina in Puglia: Danielclauzier, Lorenzo Ciaccia, Lucrezia Gennaro (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Matera Sud station, Phil Richards (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Matera Centrale station, Fabio Bettani (CC BY 4.0)
• Matera station, Giovanni Silvano (public domain)
• Tibetan bridge, trail and Murgia Timone view, Benjamin Smith (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Satellite imagery: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016, https://s2maps.eu by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0

FILM CLIPS
Short clips and stills from No Time to Die (2021), The Passion of the Christ (2004) and The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) are used for commentary and criticism. All rights belong to their owners.

MUSIC
YouTube Audio Library: "Keys To Unravel" (The Soundlings), "Heartbeat Of The Wind" (Asher Fulero), "Inconsciousness" (Mini Vandals), "Scale The Mountain" (Density & Time)

#Matera #NoTimeToDie #FilmingLocations