The Sassi
Matera and the memory of rock
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
Seven niches walled up before the Shame of 1952
Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world — since the Palaeolithic.
Its Sassi — cave-house districts carved into the limestone — housed 15 000 people in 1952, before the forced evacuation dubbed "the Shame of Italy". Before leaving, the last inhabitants are said to have walled up in seven niches the objects that defined their millennial civilisation. Ethnologists and archaeologists are still looking.
« "La vergogna nazionale." »— Palmiro Togliatti in Parliament, 1948
A civilisation of caves
The caves of Matera have been inhabited without interruption since the Palaeolithic. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Lombards and Normans followed one another, and Basilian monks fleeing Byzantine iconoclasts carved over 150 rupestrian churches into the walls of the Sassi and the Murgia plateau between the 8th and 13th centuries. The labyrinth grew as a palimpsest: each level of caves, each staircase, each cistern layers a new civilisation.
In the 20th century, the Sassi became a symbol of extreme poverty: families of ten, donkey included, in a single windowless carved room. In 1945, Carlo Levi published Christ Stopped at Eboli and exposed the sanitary horror. In 1952, the Medici law evacuated 15 000 inhabitants to new districts. The Sassi remained empty for thirty years before being UNESCO-listed in 1993, becoming European Capital of Culture in 2019, and serving as a backdrop for Mel Gibson, James Bond and Wonder Woman.
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
The game downloads to your phone on start. Once the "✓ Downloaded" indicator appears, everything works without data — narration, AR, GPS and puzzles. Perfect abroad without a data plan.
Want to go deeper?
Places tied to your adventure — optional entries, totally up to you · per person
The Route
8 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
Cave houses
A vertical city carved into the Murgia limestone.
Rupestrian churches
150 churches carved by Basilian monks.
Seven walled niches
The secret deposit of the last inhabitants before 1952.
Memoria petrae
The rock remembers
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01What's the difference with a regular indoor escape room?
Outdoor escape game format: no physical locks, no actor, no fixed time slot. You start when you want, progress through Matera, Basilicata with your phone, and the city itself is the set. More immersive on local history, more flexible in pace.
Q02What walking pace should we expect?
Easy stroll: between stops you walk 3 to 7 minutes. No tough climbs unless flagged on the product page. If you really want to push, you can jog between stops, but that's not the point.
Q03Does The Sassi work for team-building?
Yes — it's actually one of our main use cases. Outdoor escape game format, teams of 4 to 6, live ranking possible between groups. For companies above 12 participants, contact us: we can issue linked codes.
Q04Is The Sassi stroller-accessible?
Depends on the exact route in Matera, Basilicata. The vast majority of stops are downtown, on sidewalks or squares. If a stair or narrow passage is involved, it's flagged on the product page. Generally: yes, doable with a standard urban stroller.
Avis des aventuriers
Soyez le premier à partager votre expérience.
Did you play les sassi? Check the email you received after your game to leave a verified review.
Your turn to play
The Sassi are listening. Book your crossing of Matera.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
🪙+24 TripCoins granted with your booking
Other escape games in Italie
View Italie→More destinations, tours & urban treasure hunts across the country
Explore other cities in Italie
Paestum
The world's best-preserved Greek temples
Naples
Napoli Sotterranea, Dracula and the skull cult
Rome
Porta Magica, catacombs and the Popes' Passetto
Palermo
Normans, Arabs, Byzantines — the city of three crowns
Syracuse
Archimedes' city and the Ear of Dionysius
Civita di Bagnoregio
The dying city perched on a tuff bridge