Matera - caves, churches and palaces

On Matera's main square, the Piazza Vittorio Veneto, visitors travel from prehistory to the present. Below the square, you can view a giant centuries-old subterranean cistern, along with water channels that have been exposed. The Palazzo dell’Annunziata, a former convent from the 19th century, now houses a library and a cinema.

The Romanesque cathedral was built between 1230 and 1270 on the site of a Benedictine monastery in which Pope Urban II spent the night in 1094. To make sure it towered over the city, its rocky foundation was raised by six meters. Whereas its exterior has largely been preserved in its original state, the interior of the church with its three naves has undergone several transformations.

The cathedral was closed for 13 years after part of the ceiling in the internal side nave collapsed in 2003. After extensive restoration of the baroque-period interior, it was re-opened in 2016. During the renovation work, two crypts featuring 12th century frescoes were discovered under the floor.

Until the 1950s, many local inhabitants still lived in the caves of Matera's Sassi district. In existence since the Stone Age, the caves make Matera one of the oldest cities in the world. The cliff dwellings have served as a backdrop for films including "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" by Pier Paolo Pasolini, and a remake of "Ben-Hur." Nowadays some caves are used as cafes or restaurants.

The dwellings cut into the Matera cliffs are regarded as some of the most remarkable examples of early human settlement. Not only are the caves safe from destruction by fire, they were also interconnected. Meanwhile, an elaborate system of cisterns and channels also link the cave dwellings and supplies them with water.

Churches carved into the rock are also part of Matera's distinctive panorama. The Church of Santa Maria di Idris dates from the 12th century. A modest masonry facade clings to the mighty cliff, while the small bell tower doesn't even try to compete with the remarkable backdrop. Visitors arrive in the recessed crypt of San Giovanni via a tunnel, finding frescoes from across five centuries.

The Palazzo Lanfranchi, built in the 18th century, first served as a seminary for priests and then as a secondary school — one of the teachers was the revered Italian dacadent poet and scholar, Giovanni Pascoli. Since 2003, the palace has been a museum of medieval and modern art.

Every year about 1000 lesser kestrels spend their summers in Matera. The species is endangered and has died out in other parts of Europe. However in spring, the small falcons return from Africa to raise their young among the many caves in the barren countryside of the Basilicata region around Matera.

The best view of the Matera's towering townscape is from Murgia Materana Park on the other side of the Gravina river. Due to the numerous churches built into Matera's rock face, the town is also on UNESCO's World Heritage list.