The main cathedral of the Italian city of Matera

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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 neobaroque excess within all the more of a surprise. Following 13 years of renovation, it's possible once again to admire the ornate capitals, sumptuous chapels, 17th-century frescoes, 13th-century Byzantine Madonna and two 12th-century frescoed crypts, uncovered in the works. Note the pediments mounted on the cathedral's altars, which come from Greek temples at Metaponto.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Matera attractions

1. Casa Noha

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

2. Museo della Scultura Contemporanea

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

6. Chiesa San Pietro Barisano

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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…

7. Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso

0.18 MILES

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…

8. Chiesa di Santa Maria di Idris

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

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