Rome to Puglia

I'm a pretty sure that Matera is in the Region of Basillicata and not in the Region of Puglia. In Italy their Regions are like States in th US. I read on this Board last month that getting Matera by train is not easy if it is possible at all. You might want search back to look at the details.

You might try a trick I've used before. Find a hotel in one of those two cities and check out their website where they tell you how to get there. They'll usually lay out how to do several options (drivin, train, bus, etc.) Good luck.

Good advice so far. In some areas, busses are better choices than trains. Lonely Planet is also a good source for how to get around.

Both of those are in Basilicata and seem to have some bus service but not from everywhere in the region. There is a regional train company in that runs service from Bari to Matera. http://www.fal-srl.it/en/index.html You might want to consider flying into Bari and maybe renting a car. Ryanair flies from Rome Ciampino to Bari. It is about 1:10 on the plane. The train from Rome to Termini is about 4 hours.