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About Slow Italy Tours

About

Pioneering Slow Tourism in Basilicata and Puglia ⎯since 2002

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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.

Homepage preview of Slow Italy Tours

Slow Italy Tours

slowitalytours.it

The tour operator's central hub featuring all our services, itineraries and experiences in Puglia and Basilicata

Visit website
Homepage preview of Cycling In Puglia

Cycling In Puglia

cyclinginpuglia.com

Our division specialises in bike tourism with a focus on tours across Puglia, including itineraries ending in Matera, in the Basilicata region.

Visit website

People 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.

Our Values

The spirit we bring to every journey.

01

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.

02

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!

03

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.

04

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.

05

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.

Contact us

Reviews

Read some reviews from our happy travellers

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Caterina Morgantini profile picture
Caterina Morgantini
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Tour in Gravel lungo la Basilicata organizzato perfettamente: nel corso delle varie tappe si attraversano meravigliosi scenari naturali tutti diversi, dalle Dolomiti lucane fino al mare, facendo tappa in piccoli borghi da scoprire con lentezza e curiosità. Assistenza ottima, presenza continua e costante degli organizzatori competenti e disponibili. Super consigliato!
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Sara Wilde profile picture
Sara Wilde
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Great experience. We did the Heel of the Boot tour. Well organised, good communication and a great selection of hotels in brilliant locations. The tour was classed as easy to moderate, but we found it quite challenging in the heat. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed the tour, and the experience. We would thorougly recommend Slow Italy Tours. We are already looking at our next challenge!
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Sophie F. Marcil profile picture
Sophie F. Marcil
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Notre expérience avec Ferula Viaggi fut très positive. Le circuit était très agréable et les villes d'arrêts très bien choisis. Il y eu quelques petites sections de routes où il était plus difficile de rouler, mais dans l'ensemble, les routes étaient praticables; certaines plus passantes par les voitures et d'autre beaucoup plus tranquilles et de belles pistes cyclables. Les vélos loués étaient de qualités; un des vélos était avec assistance électrique et l'autre un vélo de route. Petit bémol; la chaîne du vélo de route aurait pu être nettoyés avant la location. Et que dire des hébergements choisis; tous très bien situés; à quelques pas des lieux à visiter le soir et des restaurants, mais surtout, bien souvent sur des sites magnifiques; des cours intérieurs avec des jardins luxuriants, des toits avec jardins à couper le souffles. Nous avons eu un très bon accueil à chaque endroit. Michele et son équipe furent très rapide à répondre à nos questions et nous ont accompagnés durant la planification et pendant le voyage. Merci Michele! C'est sans hésitation nous recommandons cette agence pour votre voyage de vélo dans les Pouilles.
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Klaus-Peter Hübner profile picture
Klaus-Peter Hübner
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We had a fantastic cycling tour through Puglia. We started in Matera and rode to Lecce via Alberobello, Ostuni, Gallipoli, Manduria, Santa Maria di Leuca, and Otranto. Renting the e-bikes in Matera and returning them in Lecce went smoothly, and the bikes got us safely to our destination. Many thanks to the Ferula Viaggi team—we would happily do it again anytime. Best regards, Astrid und Klaus-Peter
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Willy Schaapman profile picture
Willy Schaapman
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Wij hebben bij de Ferula bikeshop voor 10 dagen 2 BH e-bikes gehuurd. Wat een geweldige fietsen en service van Pino en Michele Een aanrader!!
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niels famaey profile picture
niels famaey
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We had a wonderful tailor-made cycling trip. Basilicata is probably one of Italy’s most underrated regions. There is an incredible variety of landscapes, charming villages, and of course the Pollino National Park, which stretches all the way to the Tyrrhenian Sea. Stunning! We cycled from Matera to Maratea in five days, with an extra day at the end to explore that fantastic coastline. Ferula Viaggi and Michele responded quickly and thoughtfully to all our questions during the booking process. The hotel selection was excellent, offering great value for money. The accommodations were often in unique locations and always authentic. Transport and transfers were perfectly organized: punctual, comfortable, and flexible whenever needed. The routes were beautiful, although they used secondary roads a little too often when smaller tertiary roads were available. As a result, we occasionally opted for alternative routes ourselves. Of the five bicycles, two were equipped with wider tires and were perfectly suited to the trip. The other three had standard narrow tires, which felt a bit too light for a five-day cycling journey—more like city ebikes than touring ebikes. The navigation app worked flawlessly and provided all the information we needed. Although this was a self-guided tour, it was absolutely worth recommending, with excellent and highly personal remote support throughout the trip.
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Twan Graat profile picture
Twan Graat
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We hebben 2 fietsen gehuurd om door Puglia te fietsen. We zijn zeer goed geholpen door Michelle onze contact persoon. De fietsen waren zoals afgesproken en in zeer goede staat. We hadden 1 keer onderweg een probleem en dat hebben ze fantastisch opgelost. Ik raad ze iedereen aan om te huren!!
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Gary Cammorato profile picture
Gary Cammorato
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Our journey with ItalianSide and SlowItaly was far more than an Italian vacation — it was an emotional and unforgettable connection to our family history. Thanks to ItalianSide’s incredible genealogical research, we were able to trace and confirm my grandparents’ home village in the heart of Sicily and even meet living relatives we never thought we would know. The care and preparation that went into this experience was remarkable. Our SlowItaly genealogy guide had done extensive research before we arrived, and every detail of the visit felt personal and meaningful. Seeing a new museum before it’s opening, walking the same streets as my grandparents, meeting local living relatives and even the mayor of the town made us feel welcomed and deeply connected to my family’s roots. I was initially nervous about arranging such an important trip through companies based in Italy, but both ItalianSide and SlowItaly exceeded every expectation. Their professionalism, kindness, and attention to detail created memories my family will treasure forever. If you are considering a genealogical journey to Italy, I cannot recommend them highly enough.
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Martyna Przytuła profile picture
Martyna Przytuła
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Bardzo polecam tą wypożyczalnie w Materze! Dlaczego? Bardzo pomocni panowie! Bardzo dobrze przygotowane rowery, dobrane indywidualnie, wszystko mieliśmy przygotowane, pompka, klucze, dętki, kaski, bidony, uchwyty na telefon! Do tego polecił nam Pan cudowną trase (farmę, na której możesz napiś się wina, kupić makaron, czy wypić pyszną kawę! Pełne zaangażowanie i profesjonalne podejście! Gorąco polecam!