Transport
No airport (Bari is the closest, about an hour from Matera); Potenza on the Battipaglia–Metaponto railway, Matera reachable by train only on the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane from Bari. Coaches to Naples, Salerno, Rome and Bari. Basentana and Potenza–Melfi state roads, A2 in the Lagonegro area. A car is indispensable.
Sections: Arrival · Airports · Trains · Buses · Car & licence · Cycling · Accessibility
Rail
Potenza is served by the Trenitalia Battipaglia–Potenza–Metaponto–Taranto line, with regional trains to Salerno and Naples (over two hours) and to Metaponto and Taranto; some Rome–Taranto Intercity trains stop in Potenza. Matera has no station on the RFI network: it is linked to Bari (about an hour and a half) by the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, which also run the slow Potenza–Avigliano–Bari line (few daily runs) and many bus lines. The Ionian Metaponto–Sibari–Reggio line is slow and single-track. On the Potenza–Foggia line via Rocchetta Sant'Antonio, RFI began electrifying the Rocchetta–Potenza section in 2024, with completion expected by 2026, and in September 2026 reopened the Potenza–Melfi section after repair works: services and any replacement buses should be checked on the Trenitalia timetable. Trenitalia offers FrecciaLink coaches Salerno–Potenza–Matera connecting with high-speed trains.
Airports and buses
Basilicata has no commercial airport: Bari Karol Wojtyła is about an hour from Matera and two from Potenza, Naples Capodichino two hours from Potenza, Lamezia Terme serves the Lagonegro and Pollino areas; the Pisticci airfield has no scheduled flights. Intercity buses (Sita Sud, FAL, Grassani, Liscio and others under regional concession) link villages to the provincial capitals and offer direct lines to Naples, Salerno, Rome, Bari and Lecce; many internal routes have few daily runs and none on Sundays.
Roads
The main corridors are the SS407 Basentana Potenza–Metaponto, the SS658 Potenza–Melfi, the SS7 towards Matera, the SS106 Jonica along the coast and the Sicignano–Potenza link road connecting the capital to the toll-free A2 Mediterranean motorway, which crosses the Lagonegro area (Lauria, Lagonegro). The SS585 Fondovalle del Noce leads to Maratea. Many provincial roads are closed or reduced to one lane by landslides; in winter snow requires chains or winter tyres above 700 metres. In the villages public transport is residual: a car is a necessity.
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/20/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-04-30
No questions in the community · Ask the community