Must-see attractions in Matera

  • Exterior of the Chiesa San Pietro Barisano church in Matera, Italy.

    Chiesa San Pietro Barisano

    Matera

    Dating in its earliest parts to the 12th century, St Peter's, the largest of Matera's rupestrian churches, overlays an ancient honeycomb of niches where…

  • Palombaro Lungo

    Matera

    This giant cistern, arguably as magnificent as a subterranean cathedral, is one of Matera's great sights. Lying under the city's main square with arches…

  • Casa Noha

    Matera

    Highly recommended as a precursor to visiting the sassi themselves, this wonderful 25-minute multimedia exhibit, spread across three rooms of a 16th…

  • The main cathedral of the Italian city of Matera

    Cathedral

    Matera

    Set high up on a spur between the two natural bowls of the sassi, the wan, graceful exterior of the 13th-century Pugliese-Romanesque cathedral makes the…

  • Italy, Basilicata, Matera, Crypt of the Original Sin. Detail. Bishop and diacon. (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

    Cripta del Peccato Originale

    Matera

    A fascinating Benedictine site dating to the Lombard period, the Cripta del Peccato Originale (Crypt of Original Sin) houses well-preserved 8th-century…

  • Castello Tramontano

    Matera

    Situated on a hill near the town centre, this 15th-century castle was left unfinished after the unpopular Count Tramontano, seemingly unaware that high…

  • Museo della Scultura Contemporanea

    Matera

    The setting of this fabulous museum of contemporary sculpture – deeply recessed caves and the frescoed rooms of the 16th-century Palazzo Pomarici – is as…

  • Belvedere

    Matera

    For a great photograph of the sassi, take the Taranto–Laterza road (SS7) and follow signs for the chiese rupestri. This road takes you to the Belvedere,…

  • Casa-Grotta di Vico Solitario

    Matera

    For a glimpse of life in old Matera, visit this historic sasso off Via Bruno Buozzi. There's a bed in the middle, a loom, a room for manure and a section…

  • Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve

    Matera

    Dating to the 8th century, when it was built as the Benedictine Order's first foothold in Matera, this cliff-face church has a number of 13th-century…

  • Convento di Sant'Agostino

    Matera

    Centred on the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, this 16th-century monastic complex in Sasso Barisano was built by the monks of the Order of the…

  • Chiesa di Santa Maria di Idris

    Matera

    Dug into the Idris rock, this church has an unprepossessing facade, but the narrow corridor communicating with the recessed church of San Giovanni in…

  • Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso

    Matera

    The only church in the sassi not dug into the tufa rock, Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso was originally built in 1300 and has a 17th-century Romanesque…

  • Museo Nazionale Ridola

    Matera

    This impressive collection includes local Neolithic finds and some remarkable Greek pottery, such as the Cratere Mascheroni, a huge urn more than 1m high.

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