Matera's Cathedral

On the top of the hill of the city there’s the Cathdral which offers an amazing view of the “sasso Barisano”. This church is dated back at the XIII century and rose on the remains of an older church: Sant’Eustachio. The exterior presents a rose window with 16 small columns, and the bell tower it’s in Apulian-Romanesque style; the interior is composed of a nave and two aisles, with a Latin cross plan, and houses exemplar works of baroque art. The famed stone crèche, made in 1534 by Altobello Persio, is in the Basilica, where you can also see: the sarcophagus which contains the mortal remains of San Giovanni in Matera, a XIII century Byzantine fresco representing The Virgin with Child, a wooden choir in the apse and a fresco of the Last Judgement, that has just recently been restored. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Madonna della Bruna, that is Matera’s Saint Patron and is celebrated on 2nd July.

How to get here: by the city bus which arrive in Piazza del Duomo, where the Cathedral is.