Slow Italy Tours
by Ferula Viaggi
Our journey in the tourism industry began in 2002, fuelled by our profound love for our homeland. We established Matera Turismo, a cooperative of multilingual tour and excursion guides, with a mission to showcase the enchanting city of Matera and the hidden treasures of Basilicata’s countryside.
In 2005, recognising the immense potential of the regions, we expanded the cooperative to become the Ferula Viaggi tour operator, specialising in inbound tourism to Basilicata and Puglia.
Over the following years, we developed new brands to align with emerging tourism trends in our regions: Matera Turismo for experiences centred around Matera, Bike Basilicata and Cycling in Puglia for cycling enthusiasts, and Walk Basilicata for trekking, one of our founders’ first passions.
Around the same time, in collaboration with Italianside, we began welcoming the first Italian-origin travellers to explore their ancestral roots.
Today, Slow Italy Tours by Ferula Viaggi operates in various international markets, offering cultural, food and wine, and outdoor tourism programmes. The company is a partner of the Active Italy Network, specialising in active and sustainable tourism, and is also a member of the FTO (Federation of Organized Tourism). It has been part of the international ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association) network since 2022, and a Travel Life partner since 2023.

Our ecosystem
One tour operator, several specialised travel brands.
At Slow Italy Tours, we operate in various sectors of slow tourism and have several websites and brands, all of which are linked to our business.

Slow Italy Tours
slowitalytours.itThe tour operator's central hub featuring all our services, itineraries and experiences in Puglia and Basilicata
Visit websiteCycling In Puglia
cyclinginpuglia.comOur division specialises in bike tourism with a focus on tours across Puglia, including itineraries ending in Matera, in the Basilicata region.
Visit websiteBike Basilicata
bikebasilicata.itOur bike tourism and inspirational cycling content page dedicated to Matera and the Basilicata region.
Visit websiteMatera Turismo
materaturismo.itOur travel experiences page centred around the UNESCO World Heritage site of Matera.
Visit websiteWalk Basilicata
walkbasilicata.itOur website dedicated to the Basilicata region walking tours
Visit websitePeople behind the journeys
Meet the team
Pictures and short bios can be managed here. Use this section to introduce the people behind Slow Italy Tours, bringing out their local knowledge and their passion for cycling tourism, trekking and slow travel.

Michele Cappiello

Dora Cappiello

Giuseppe Antezza

Sandra Suriano

Anna Paterino

Carlo Magni

Sebastiano Geminale

Adriano Carosone

Ivana Calciano
Our Values
The spirit we bring to every journey.
Family atmosphere
Our founders are siblings, and the other members have become like family. Rest assured that you’ll never just be another client, but will be part of our gang for the duration of your trip.
Light-hearted spirit
We love what we do and always bring a sense of humour to our work. You’ll definitely sense this, even if you don’t speak Italian!
Local expertise
Our guides, partners and suppliers are all local. We know them personally, and love spending time with them even when you travellers are not around.
Personalisation
We get to know our travellers and build their journey around them, and we’ll also let them know when “word-of-mouth” is not pointing to the best option.
Slowness
Well, it is at the heart of our brand! We believe the best journeys happen at human pace, or at most the pace of a bike ride.
Ready to imagine your trip?
Have we piqued your curiosity enough?
Then browse our catalogue of experiences and let us know which ones best capture your imagination when it comes to travelling to Southern Italy.

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