Matera - Santa Lucia alle Malve

The original settlement of Matera lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a complex of cave dwellings carved into the ancient river canyon. The settlement is divided into the districts of Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso.

The cave settlements in the area are an exceptional example in the Mediterranean area. Inhabited since the Neolithic Age, Matera can be considered one of the oldest cities in the world.

According to Greek, Roman, Langobard and Byzantine history, which Matera shares with all of southern Italy, Saracens devastated the place in 938. It came under Norman rule in 1043, became a royal seat and thus achieved considerable wealth. This bloom continued under the subsequent regiments of the Staufer and Anjou, in 1270 the cathedral of Matera was completed.

Already by the late 1800s, Matera's cave dwellings became noted for intractable poverty, poor sanitation, meager working conditions, and rampant disease. In 1948, when the city was hit by malaria, 15,000 people lived in 3,300 rooms. From the 1950s on the residents were relocated to newly built apartment blocks. Since the Sassi are now a museum town, tourism is also becoming increasingly important.

Known as la città sotterranea ("the underground city"), the Sassi and the park of the Rupestrian Churches were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. In 2019, Matera was declared a European Capital of Culture.

Today Matera has a population of about 60.000, who live in the city "above" the sassi. Dozens of small rock-hewn chapels, churches and former hermitages are carved into the rocks here.

The church of Santa Lucia alle Malve is the first female monastic settlement of the Benedictine Order, dating back to the VIII century. The nunnery has been an integral part of the life of Matera, following its historical-urban development over the course of a millennium. Santa Lucia alle Malve is a church in rock of considerable size that develops in three distinct naves. Despite having undergone heavy upheavals, after the abandonment by the monastic community in 1525, the structure is clearly visible.

Of the three aisles that articulate the interior space, the right one, in which it is the current entrance, has always remained open to worship, so much so that even today on the day of Saint Lucia, December 13, there is a solemn mass here; the other two naves were transformed into dwellings and stores until the 1950s.

On the interior walls are valuable frescoes, many of which were found during the 1977 restoration and date from the 12th century.

The "Maria lactans" ("Madonna del Latte") is dated around 1270 and probably created by the "Master of Bruna", who painted as well the "Madonna della Bruna" in Matera´s Cathedral.



Since I have already uploaded many photos from Matera from previous trips, I will only add a few now.

If you want to see more photos from Matera, click here:

www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1334046