Basilicata in 3 days = Matera (the cave city: from shame to UNESCO to European Capital of Culture) + Castelmezzano (zipline between two peaks at 120km/h) + Craco (the ghost town of a hundred films). The region nobody visits, where prices are half and drama is double.
Each day is a logical geographic loop. Mornings for sights, afternoons for food, evenings for aperitivo. Car essential in Basilicata.
Day 1: Matera. Sassi di Matera — walk the Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso. Casa Grotta (reconstructed cave dwelling). Chiesa rupestre (rock churches). Sleep in a cave hotel (from 80/night — sleeping WHERE people lived 9,000 years ago). Day 2: Dolomiti Lucane. Castelmezzano (wedged between peaks) + Volo dell'Angelo zipline 1,452m to Pietrapertosa. Craco ghost town (guided tour only). Day 3: Venosa or Metaponto. Venosa (Horace's birthplace, the Incompiuta abbey) OR Metaponto (Greek temples, Pythagoras' last home).
Best time: April-June, September-October. Agriturismi 60-100/night with breakfast. Book 2-4 weeks ahead in summer.