Built at the behest of bishop Vincenzo Lanfranchi in the second half of the seventeenth century as a new seminary for young religious people, it incorporated the pre-existing Church of Carmine. Today it is home to the National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art.
From Piazza Vittorio Veneto we will head towards the Church of San Giovanni Battista, to descend into the Sasso Barisano area, where we will visit the permanent exhibition of Miniature Sassi. There you can visit a cave house, and then, throw Via dei Fiorentini, we will return to the Piano area.
Built in the 13th century above the ancient Benedictine monastery of Sant’Eustachio on the highest point of the Civita, the Cathedral of Matera is dedicated to the two patron saints of the city. If on the outside it still retains its original Apulian Romanesque style, thanks to repeated restorations, internally it appears in baroque style. If we consider the original thirteenth-century pictorial wall decoration, only the fresco of the Virgin Odigitria, the Madonna della Bruna, and the one of the Last Judgment, which are both attributed to Rinaldo da Taranto, are still remaining.
This is a complete tour, which includes the entire old center of Matera. From Piazza Vittorio Veneto, proceeding towards the Palazzo del Sedile, we will reach the Cathedral. We will descend into the Sasso Caveoso area throw the scenic Via Muro, up to Piazza San Pietro Caveoso. After a possible visit to a cave house and/or a cave church (Santa Lucia alle Malve, Santa Maria de Idris and San Giovanni al Monterrone), we will go up to Piazza Pascoli. Then, we will reach Piazza Vittorio Veneto, after admiring, along the way, the churches of Santa Chiara, Purgatorio Nuovo and San Francesco d’Assisi. The exploration of the Sasso Barisano district will continue, with a visit to the hypogeum which hosts the exhibition of the Miniature Sassi and possibly a cave house. We will go back up to the Piano area throw Via dei Fiorentini or, for the more daring, throw the panoramic Via Madonna delle Virtù.
Visiting Matera by night will be a romantic and evocative experience. From Piazza Vittorio Veneto we will walk towards Piazza del Sedile and the Cathedral. From the spectacular Via Muro we will descend into the Sasso Caveoso area, up to Piazza San Pietro Caveoso. We will go up comfortably throw Via Buozzi to arrive in Piazza Pascoli. We will head towards Piazza Vittorio Veneto, after having appreciated the beautiful baroque facade of Palazzo Lanfranchi, the churches of Santa Chiara, Purgatorio Nuovo and San Francesco d’Assisi.
It is an easy walk on the side of the ravine which is opposite to the one where the city of Matera stands. From that side of the canyon, perhaps towards sunset, we recommend photographing the city, which is just in front of you. Among the many interesting sites to visit, I suggest the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Palomba and the rock Church of the Original Sin.
Its original name is the Natural Historical Archaeological Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera and covers a territorial extension of approximately eight thousand hectares.…
The feast of the city’s patron saint, the Madonna della Bruna, celebrated on 2 July, embodies the sense of identity of the people of Matera, almost as if it constitutes the very emblem of the belonging to the city. The strong sense of belonging to the city has been renewed every year for centuries around this iconic festival, with the intention of repeating it even better the following year, according to the motto: Ammogghj ammogghj all’onn c’ vaen, that is, of good for better, see you next year!
There are as many as 923 plant species in the Park, that is, approximately one sixth of the national floristic species and one third of…
Among the fauna species of the park, regarding the avifauna, we highlight the river nightingale, the wren, the Egyptian vulture, which is the smallest European…