The Villa Collection
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Matera
The city of Matera, the second provincial capital of Basilicata, lies 45 kilometers from the Ionian coast, on the Murge plateau, amidst tufa quarries and gravine. The latter are spectacular deep ravines, produced over thousands of years by the erosive action of the rivers on calcareous terrain.
The town is made up of several nuclei, which almost mark the different moments in its history, but it is universally known for the unique Sassi area, recognized in 1993 by UNESCO as one of the 395 places in the world that represent the "heritage of man" to be passed on to future generations. Matera, however, does not live of memories alone, it is a very busy city, looking to the future, with an intense economic and cultural life.
Man has been present on this site since the Paleolithic period, as has been demonstrated. In historic times, the first settlement developed on the spur of a gorge and was called Civitas (or city, an ensemble of citizens), in an easily defended position, in what is now the easternmost part of the town. Greeks and Romans had trading relations here, the Romans in particular, who passed the area with one of the routes of the Via Appia, without leaving more profound signs. Being a short distance from the sea, the town came under Byzantine influence and in the early Middle Ages saw the multiplication of hermitages, chapels and lauras, monastic organizations widespread in the East, especially among Basilian monks, which consisted in groups of hermits who lived separately in caves meeting to pray. This experience is behind the precious heritage of rock churches found in the area.
In political terms, Matera was long disputed by Byzantines, Lombards and Saracens before ending up in Norman hands, who made it a Regia town, part of the sovereign's personal possessions and thus directly under the crown, with extensive privileges. This explains the prosperity of the Norman and Swabian period, when the castle and the wall towers were built, whereas the growing population started to move into the caves outside the walls.
This new settlement, which in the 13th century started to be known as Sassi, occupied the two natural amphitheatres, Sasso Caveoso to the south and Sasso Barisano to the north, separated by the Civita spur and sloping down towards the gorge. The economic prosperity, which continued during Angevin rule, led to the construction of a new cathedral in the Civita and determined the growth of the Sassi and their organization in an increasingly complex and ingenious structure.
The Aragonese brought a period of feudalism which the town, forced to forgo the privileges previously granted, was reluctant to accept: the first lord, count Giancarlo Tramontane, appointed in 1497, was killed by the population in an uprising in 1514. Passed to the Orsini family, Matera managed to free itself in 1638. It remained part of the Apulian administrative division, Terra d'Otranto, until 1663, then became capital of the High Court of Basilicata and remained such until the Napoleonic period, in 1806, when Potenza was preferred over it.
In the period of its political-administrational centrality the town extended towards Sasso Barisano and the upland plain on the edge of the Sassi, with the new district called Piano, which developed around the pole of the Seminary, now Palazzo Lanfranchi, and which still maintains its original renaissance-baroque appearance. At the same time the new artistic taste caused them to add some baroque style to the oldest buildings. Starting from that time, because of overcrowding and the negligence of the authorities the Sassi started to deteriorate considerably, until they became a place of refuge for a very poor population reduced to subhuman living conditions.
The situation that had worsened increasingly over the centuries and had become intolerable from all points of view did not start to change until the end of the Second World War, when Carlo Levi raised an impassioned cry. The intellectual from Turin was well familiar with the region's isolation and poverty: in his book Cristo si e fermato a Eboli (Christ stopped at Eboli), in which he told of his life in forced residence in Basilicata in the years 1935-36, triggered a movement of opinion, a number of debates and initial State interest, with in 1952 the passing of a special law imposing the forced abandon of the Sassi (15 000 people were living in 3300 rooms, of which many caves dug into the tufa), the construction of new settlements and, at a second stage, the recovery of the environmental and artistic heritage.
Despite the inevitable controversy, this intervention not on a single monument but on an entire nucleus produced one extremely positive fact: the design of the new districts was entrusted to the best urban experts, who had a rare opportunity to design and construct entire districts out of nothing using the latest criteria. Thus were born La Martella, to the west, and Borgo Venusio, to the north of the town. The UNESCO in 1993 and new State intervention led to the implementation of the second stage, that of clearance and recovery. The city has several scenic spots but from one it is possible to perceive the succession of building phases: Piazza Giovanni Pascoli, dedicated to the poet who taught from 1882 to 1884 in the Duni high school then in Palazzo Lanfranchi. The area lost its identity with a debatable intervention made in the Fascist period that, however, provided a fascinating overall view.
This is in the heart of the Piano district and all the old part of the mediaeval area is on the left, with the Civita, the duomo bell-tower and the remains of the fortifications and walls, partially transformed into steps. The balcony of the square overlooks Sasso Caveoso, oppo site mount Errone, and the rock churches of Santa Maria di Idris and San Giovanni in Monterrone.
The Sassi are the districts on the western side of the Gravina, covering an area of 36 hectares, divided between Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano. As has already been said, these were forcibly evacuated in 1952 and recovery commenced.
The long and complex work of clearance and restoration, still underway, have revealed how superficial was the totally negative judgment made of this urban reality in the Fifties. Before becoming totally dilapidated, the Sassi, apparently disorderly clusters of dwellings, were organized to sophisticated urban and technical criteria that would best exploit the difficult terrain and limited space. Now this complex is seen as an example of how to balance the needs of man and nature. Steps, passages, communal courtyards with a central well, masonry facades on rooms hewn in the rock, tiny homes and large mansions, terraces which are often the roofs of the buildings below, plumbing systems and reservoirs, hanging vegetable gardens and churches, nearly all dug into the rock, simulating architecture of domes, columns and apses hewn into the tufa: all this is part of the huge wealth that is the Sassi. In 1595 the chronicler Eustachio Verricelli as healthy and well protected presented this part of the town. Only with the modem phenomenon of migration to the towns (from the 17th century on) was the equilibrium lost.
Obviously the Sassi must be visited on foot, descending from Civita to explore a thousand comers and faces. They can also be reached from below, along a road used by cars and buses: this is the Sassi scenic road, which comprises Via Buozzi, Via Madonna delle Virtu and Via D'Addozio, opened in 1935 after reclamation of the existing drainage canal; access is from Piazza Pascoli, descending to Sasso Caveoso, or Via Pentasuglia, towards Sasso Barisano.
Events and Festivities
On 2nd July the celebration of the Madonna Della Bruna dates from 1389 and is bound to the propitiatory rites for a successful farming season and shepherding. The meaning of the word Bruna is uncertain: it apparently refers to the fertility of the soil, or, stemming from the mediaeval Latin, means "armored" and consequently is a figurative term for "protection". The origin of the festival is legendary. A peasant gave a lift on his cart to a young very poor and extremely beautiful woman who then proved to be the Madonna. At the town gates the Virgin Mary asked him to stop and sent the peasant to call the bishop. When he arrived with some followers he found just a statue on a magnificent cart, which he was unable to take to the cathedral because of the sudden arrival of soldiers with an order to confiscate it. The people threw themselves on the cart breaking it into pieces: everyone wanted at least a tiny fragment to conserve as a relic.
The celebrations are prepared much in advance because a wooden cart has to be painted and adorned with decorations, papier-mâché figures based on episodes from the Bible (the craftsmen come from families that have for centuries been specialized and work in a shed in the Picciannello district).
At dawn on 2nd July the first phase of the feast is held with the parade of shepherds who ask the Virgin Mary for protection before leaving for the pastures: today the shepherds are impersonated by young boys who carry the statue of the Virgin in a procession. At sunset the cart is solemnly paraded, drawn by eight mules and escorted by horsemen in front of the cathedral, circling the square three times. At this point the statue "descends" and is carried back into the church and the crowd is free to literally assail the cart, fighting for each piece of it until it is destroyed Those who manage to retrieve at least a small fragment will have a happy year. The celebrations end at night with fireworks.
On the 1st August the Crapiata festival commemorates the ancient customs of community life. It too is linked to the farming season and harvest, but above all to life in the Sassi and neighborhood, the typical urban solution of those districts. By tradition each family brought a handful of newly threshed wheat and one of pulses to the communal courtyard where they were cooked in a single large pot. Everyone then ate together, singing and dancing. On the last Sunday in September a solemn procession is held in honor of saints Cosma and Damiano, at the altar dedicated to them in the church of San Giovanni Battista. Between June and October the International Sculpture Exhibition is held in the rock churches of the Madonna delle Virtu and San Nicola dei Greci.
Gastronomy
Types of pasta include: orecchiette, similar to those of Puglia, strascinati, manate and fusilli. Various vegetable calzone, with hot pepper, raisins and black olives; boiled lampascioni in salad, boiled potatoes with diavolicchio (hot pepper); lamb and carcloncelli (mushrooms); pignata of mutton with layers of mutton, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and headcheese, all cooked in a clay pot. Eels alia cutturidd. Gnummaridd', special roulades with sheep and goat offal. Focaccia with cinnamon; tagliolini with sweet milk.
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Places of Interest
Church of Materdomini
The church of Materdomini (piazza Vittorio Veneto), or the church of the Knights of Malta, was constructed as a chapel in 1680 to a commission by Silvio Zuria, knight commander of the Knights of Jerusalem, formerly of Malta. The building is in tufa with an external balcony and a ramp leading to the bell-tower. On the facade is a terracotta statue of the Madonna col Bambino. The tympanum of the bell-tower bears the cross of eight points of the Order of Malta. Inside the sculpted group of the Annunciazione is attributed to Persio family circles.
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Church of San Domenico
The church of San Domenico (piazza Vittorio Veneto), dating from the first half of the 13th century, was originally the church of the Dominican convent, founded in 1230 by Nicola da Giovinazzo, and today the Prefecture. Of the original Romanesque layout it conserves only the upper part of the facade, with suspended arches and a rose window surrounded by four sculptures.
The interior was altered in the 17th century, in 1744 stucco decoration was added to the walls and the chapel of the Rosario constructed, with a rich sculpted tufa doorway attributed to the Persio family (their tomb is to the right of the entrance) and the paintings of the Madonna del Rosario and the Misteri, a work by Vito Antonio Conversi, a local painter of the 18th century, also responsible for the Madonna dei sette dolori and an Annunciazione in this church.
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, once Piazza del Plebiscite, on which the church stands, was created in 1880 by filling in the Fondaco di Mezzo, the town's old marketplace. Recovery work has opened an underground route through an entire district, comprising houses, shops, wells, parts of an Aragonese tower and the rock church of Santo Spirito, dating from before the year One Thou sand. The route surfaces in Via Fiorentini in Sasso Barisano.
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Church of San Pietro Caveoso
In Sasso Caveoso the church of San Pietro Caveoso, on the square of the same name, is the only church in the Sassi not dug into the tufa; it was built in the 17th century to replace a previous building and was reopened to worshippers in 1995. Inside it has a nave and two aisles; in the right aisle is a 16th century Madonna col Bambino in tufa. On the main altar a polyptych in wood, of 1540 circa, represents the Madonna col Bambino e i santi Pietro e Paolo, with an Ultima Cena in the predella. 15th century frescoes depicting the Vite dei Santi have been rediscovered beneath the stuccowork. Restoration work on the altar of Sant'Antonio uncovered six panels in bas-relief of the 15th century painted with Episodi delta vita del santo.
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Church of Santa Chiara
Of the baroque constructions mention must be made of the church of Santa Chiara (Via Ridola), its facade richly decorated with sculptures in niches. Inside the most precious decorations are a large pointed triumphal arch and carved and gilded wooden altar.
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Church of Santa Maria di Idris
On a large rock, mount Errone, stands the church of Santa Maria di Idris, half dug into the rock and half reconstructed after the vault collapsed in the 16th century. The name comes from the Byzantine name odigitria, guide of the way. On the altar is tempera with a Madonna col Bambino of the 17th century. A corridor, decorated with frescoes of the 12th - 13th centuries, including a Pantocratore, a Santo Monaco and a San Nicola, leads into the church of San Giovanni Monterrone, originally used as a baptistery. Frescoes of the 13th to 15th centuries have been found in the hall. Other rock churches are situated in Via Casalnuovo: Santa Barbara, the church of the Cappuccino Vecchio and that of the Cappuccino Nuovo.
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Church of the Purgatorio
The church of the Purgatorio (Via Ridola), erected between 1727 and 1756 by Giuseppe Fatone, has a curved facade with sculpted decorations concerning the subject of death. The interior has a central plan with baroque altars in polychrome marble. In the dome are eight panels painted in the 18th century. The canvas on the main altar shows San Gaetano che intercede presso la Vergine per Ie anime del Purgatorio and is attributed, as too the canvases of the side altars, to Vito Antonio Conversi. The pictures showing the Vita di Cristo, of 1765, are by Francesco Oliva.
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Complex of Madonna delle Virtu and San Nicola dei Greci
The monastic complex of Madonna delle Virtu and San Nicola dei Greci dates from the 10th-11th century and for its age and artistic value is one of the most important monuments in Matera. The church of the Madonna delle Virtu was excavated in the 11th and 12th centuries and transformed in the 17th century. Now it has been restored and can be visited from June to October, when the annual International Sculpture Exhibition is held. It has three aisles on four pillars with a women's gallery, apse and simulated domes. A 17th century Crocifissione is in the apse. Over this church was built San Nicola dei Greci, with two aisles, of note for its frescoes; in the right aisle is a Crocifissione of the 14th century, in the left apse a Madonna col Bambino e santi, Byzantine in style, of the 13th century. In front of the church are many tombs dating from barbarian times; on the opposite side are a number of service structures, such as the settling tank, connected to the well, and bell-shaped storage bins.
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Domenico Ridola National Archaeological Museum
The Domenico Ridola National Archaeological Museum (Via Ridola) is housed in the former monastery of Santa Chiara, originally a hospital, created by Bishop Vincenzo Lanfranchi in the late 17th century. It contains the collections bequeathed to the State in 1910 by the doctor and archaeologist Domenico Ridola, added to over the years thanks to new archaeological finds made in the region. The exhibition considers two areas: the mountain zone of fortified villages and the Apulian-Lucanian area along the Bradano. The pieces, which date from between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, come from Tirlecchia, Trasano, Serra d'Alto, Timmari (to which a room is dedicated), Trica-rico, mount Irsina, Montescaglioso and several other sites. One room is dedicated to the scholar who started the museum, with his chosen arrangement, according to the criteria of the times.
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La Martella
In the countryside, approximately 8 kilometers from the old center, the rural settlement of La Martella was conceived in 1951 by a group coordinated by Ludovico Quaroni, with due consideration of the conformation of the terrain and the needs of the inhabitants. The project permitted the construction of a nucleus around the church of San Vicenzo, from which the roads branch off in a radius towards the countryside; the two-story dwellings, in local stone, included stables and barns. The social changes of recent years have at least in part changed the nature of their use, turning La Martella into a residential district. A visit should be made to the church of San Vincenzo, with internal furnishings designed by Quaroni and the Cascellas.
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Monastery of Sant' Agostino
With Sasso Barisano as the point of departure, to the north, the first landmark is the Monastery of Sant'Agostino, with a balcony sheer above the Gravina, right opposite the Sasso coven. The complex was constructed in 1591 and rebuilt in the 18th century; the church was erected over the ruins of the ancient hypogean (underground) church of San Guglielmo.
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Palazzo dei Sedile
Palazzo del Sedile (Piazza Sedile), built in 1540 was the home of municipal administration until 1944, and then became the Egidio Duni Conservatory. The building was altered in the 18th century with a large arch between two bell-towers on the facade and decorations inspired by its use: two tufa statues portray the cardinal virtues essential for governors, the stone sculptures of Sant'Eustachio and Sant'Irene, protectors of Matera and Altamura, guarantee divine intervention. In the porch is a fresco of Charles III of Bourbon on horseback; in the vault are views of the beauties of the Kingdom of Naples.
In front of the building. Piazza Sedile, formerly Piazza Grande, was originally outside the walls, created in the 16th century as a link between Civita and Sassi: the northern side is connected to Via Duomo towards the stately facade of Palazzo Bronzini-Padula and the cathedral; the arch of Palazzo del Sedile provides access to Sasso Caveoso, the arch of Sant'Antonio, on the opposite side, leads down to Sasso Barisano.
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Palazzo Dell' Annunziata
Palazzo dell'Annunziata (piazza Vittorio Veneto) was built for the Dominicans in 1734 as a new convent, which they occupied until 1861, when it was converted to Law Courts. Now it is the home of the rich Provincial Library. It is built with two orders and large arches. The central arch conceals a neo-classical church, never officiated. The symmetrical steps lead to a hanging garden, which affords a fine view.
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Palazzo Lanfranchi
The Palazzo Lanfranchi, former Seminary, in piazza Pascoli, built for bishop Lanfranchi between 1668 and 1672. The architect, Francesco da Copertino, incorporated the existing church and convent of the Carmine, with an asymmetrical facade, moving the entrance from the Sassi towards the Piano, which was being built as a new residential district. To the left, behind the facade, is hidden the church of the Carmine (1608-10) entered via a doorway with architrave and classical motifs; to the right is the entrance to the Palazzo itself, and the home of the Artistic and Historic Heritage Service of Basilicata and the Carlo Levi centre, with an exhibition of paintings by the artist and writer from Turin, including the famous Lucania '61 panel painted for the Turin Italia '61 exposition.
Also in the Palazzo is the D'Errico Picture Gallery, with hundreds of paintings of the Neapolitan school dating from the 17th to 18"' centuries by artists such as De Mura, Rosa, Bruegheli, Preti, Ruoppolo. The pictures were part of the collection put together by Camillo d'Errico towards the end of the 19th century and were conserved in the family residence in Palazzo San Gervasio.
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San Francesco D' Assisi Church
Like the cathedral and church of San Domenico, San Francesco d'Assisi (piazza San Francesco) was built in the 13th century, it is said after a visit made by St Francis in 1218, over the underground church of Santi Pietro e Paolo, which can still be reached by descending from the third chapel to the left and conserves frescoes of the 11th century. However, various interventions were carried out on the Romanesque structure before the baroque remake of 1670. The facade in Bari-baroque style is preceded by a double flight of steps leading to the entrance. Of note inside are the eight panels belonging to a polyptych by Lazzaro Bastiani, of the 15th century, portraying the Madonna col Bambino e otto santi.
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San Pietro Barisano
San Pietro Barisano, a rock church with a 17th century facade, also stands over an ancient underground church. Via Fiorentini, with 17th- and 18th- century houses at the foot of Civita, has many courtyard houses on two floors. Palazzetto del Casale, situated on the passage towards Sasso Caveoso, has a loggia and a rusticated decoration. The Metellana tower, now amidst houses, was part of the town's walls.
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Santa Lucia alle Malve
Santa Lucia alle Malve was the first Basilian settlement, founded in the 12th century. The restoration has uncovered many frescoes. It has a nave and two aisles, the latter converted into dwellings. On the vault the traces of the iconostasis (screen between the aisles and presbytery) are a reminder of the use of Eastern rites. In the right aisle are frescoes of Angevin times: there is also a statue of Santa Lucia and a Madonna col Bambino of the 17th century while the images of San Benedetto, Santa Scolastica and San Giovanni Battista are of the 14th century. In the left aisle other frescoes have appeared, with the Madonna del latte, son Michele arcangelo e san Gregorio, of the mid 13th century and a saint's face of the 12th century. Behind the church, to the south, you can visit the Vicinato di Malve, inside the district of the same name: this is a number of one-room dwellings, dug into the tufa, that have entrances on a communal courtyard with well.
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Serra Venerdi
Mention must also be made of the new districts of Matera designed to accommodate those evacuated from the Sassi. As already mentioned, these were developed after debate and extensive study, entrusted to great names in contemporary architecture, and based on a general urban plan drawn up by Luigi Piccinato in 1956.
Serra Venerdi, the first of the new districts, was partially built by Piccinato who strove to reproduce in modern forms the traditional model of the neighborhood, with a few houses overlooking a small square, used as a module; La Nera, designed with the same criteria was built with local stone finishing; Spine Blanche, designed in 1955 by a group led by Carlo Aymonino, and the assistance of Giancarlo De Carlo, envisaged the use of fired clay and large communal gardens.
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The Cathedral
The major medieval monument is the cathedral, dedicated to the Madonna Della Bruna, patron of the town together with Sant'Eustachio. It is reached by following Via Duomo, which rises along the line of the mediaeval walls. The ogival arch of the "suso" gate leads to the square, dominated by 18th century buildings and open on the west side towards Sasso Barisano. The construction of the impressive religious building was ordered by bishop Andrea and accomplished between 1230 and 1270, rose above the square, using the stone from the nearby Vaglia quarries. The facade conserves its original Pugliese-Romanesque appearance: it is divided into three parts, the middle decorated with a suspended loggia and its tympanum with animal figures. Images of San Michele, at the top, and three Angels, lower down and at the sides, flank the magnificent rose window. The central doorway, at the top of a flight of steps, presents a woven decoration and a lunette with a Vergine col Bambino. At the sides the statues of San Pietro, San Paolo and, in the lower corners, of Sant'Eustachio and San Teopista are later, attributed to the Persio family of master sculptors, prominent in the artistic life of Matera in the 16th and 17th centuries.
On the right side are another two doorways: one is called that "della piazza" ("of the square") with the figure of a monk in the lunette and a mysterious "Abraham" inscribed on the cornice; the other "dei leoni" ("of the lions") has richly stylized decorations. The majestic square bell-tower rises 52 meters on three floors with two-light windows.
The Latin-cross interior conserves the original structure with nave and two aisles, figured columns and capitals and a lantern over the presbytery. Major interventions were made on several occasions in the 17th and 18th centuries, to satisfy baroque taste. Important frescoes have been discovered to the right of the main entrance, in the font area, in particular a Giudizzio Universale which was part of the IS^'-century painted decoration attributed to Rinaldo da Taranto. In the lower order, a row of saints seems to date from the mid 14th century. A Vergine con santi of the 16th century sits on the main altar.
Giovanni Tarantino of Ariano Irpino, carved in 1453, embellishes the presbytery with a magnificent wooden choir. On the back wall of the left transept is an altar frontal dedicated to San Michele, made by Altobello Persio in 1539. Beside it is a niche containing the statue of the Madonna Della Bruna and in the chapel to the left you can admire a large stone crib, with polychrome statues in a peasant setting, the 1534 work of Altobello Persio and Sannazzaro d'Alessandro.
In the left aisle, level with the first altar, a fresco of the Madonna Della Bruna col Bambino of the Byzantine school dates from approximately 1270. In the same aisle, the chapel of the Nunziatella is a fine late 16th-century renaissance work, by Giulio Persio, with a coffered ceiling, a sculpted group of the Annunciazione, a Pieta in the lunette and statues of San Rocco and Santa Caterina.
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The Church of San Giovanni Battista
The church of San Giovanni Battista (Via San Biagio), once called Santa Maria la Nova, or Santa Maria delle Nove ai Foggiali, is the third church of Matera erected in the Romanesque period, in 1220. It suffered the same fate as the others (cathedral and San Domenico) and was altered to baroque style between the 17th and 18th centuries. The original facade and northern side are not visible, because incorporated in the 17th century in the adjacent buildings; the entrance is at present on the right and conserves a Romanesque doorway below a rose window. The apse has maintained its old structure, with a decorated window with corbels and elephant figures.
The interior has eight pillars with half-columns and interesting figured capitals of the 13th century. The cross vaults have ogival arches. On the altar of the chapel of Santi Cosma and Damiano is a painting of the Vergine in gloria con angeli e santi, painted by Vito Antonio Conversi. The church also has a wooden Pieta of the 17th century and an Annunciazione by the Persios.
The Bishop Andrea who had ordered the construction of the cathedral also founded the annexed convent of Santa Maria la Nova ai Foggiali. On return from Palestine Andrea brought nine nuns, with him and installed them in the rock monastery of the Madonna Della Virtu, donating things that would serve for the new building, erected in the 13th century in the area where the Foggiali were (from fovea or hole), stores for the conservation of food provisions.
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The Convincinio of Sant' Antonio
The Convicinio di Sant'Antonio consists in four rock churches dug between the 14th and 15th centuries overlooking a communal courtyard: San Primo has a canopy ceiling; the Annunziata, later turned into a cellar; San Donate, the most complex, with a cross vault in the left aisle and fragments of frescoes and lilied cross in the presbytery; Sant'Antonio Abate, again converted to a cellar. The small terrace provides a view of Sasso Caveoso.
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The Rock Church Park
All the Murgia (a word perhaps derived from mur, i.e. steep rock, in ancient Lucanian) territory around Matera, marked by friable rock and gravine, bears traces of the age-old presence of man, forced to live in a harsh land, on which he has left remarkable signs of his social life, work and art. Numerous prehistoric settlements scattered over the area reveal the appearance of the entrenched village, while the impressive phenomenon of monasticism, come from the East in the 6th century and developed in subsequent phases with the contribution of the Byzantines and Benedictine monks, has created an extraordinary system of rock churches, hermitages, lauras and cenobies, numbering as thus far ascertained 155.
More modestly, the shepherds also scattered their jam, shelters for themselves and their animals, over the land some in caves and some entrenched with walls. In more recent times farmers have often cleared massive forest areas; also the need for construction materials has led to the exploitation of small and large tufa quarries, which have transformed the landscape.
The appearance of the plateau however is fascinating, cut into the gravine, with cultivated zones, bare parts and the odd surviving patch of Mediterranean maquis. In 1978 the Rock Church Park was established to safeguard both the natural environment and the remarkable art forms and in 1990 this was extended to 8000 hectares, as far as the border with Puglia, in the Gravina di Matera river furrow.
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Tramontane Castle
Situated outside the old center, on a small hill opposite the cathedral, the Tramontane Castle was started by Giancarlo Tramontane, become count of Matera in 1497, but it remained incomplete following the death of the feudatory, killed on the 29th of December 1514 as he left the cathedral. Two large cylindrical towers and an impressive keep remain.
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Hotels
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Restaurants
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Museums
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