Must see attractions in Matera

  • Top Choice

    Chiesa San Pietro Barisano

    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…

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    Top Choice

    Palombaro Lungo

    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…

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    Top Choice

    Casa Noha

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

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    Museo della Scultura Contemporanea

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

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    Belvedere

    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,…

  • Cathedral

    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…

  • Cripta del Peccato Originale

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

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    Casa-Grotta di Vico Solitario

    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…

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    Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve

    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…

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    Chiesa di Santa Maria di Idris

    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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    Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso

    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…

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    Museo Nazionale Ridola

    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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    Castello Tramontano

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

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    Convento di Sant'Agostino

    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…