MATERA
From the districts of the
Sassi we can see the churches of: Santa Maria de Idriss, probably
the oldest, completely dug out in the rocks, apart from its
front, with frescoes from the 14th, 15th and 16th Centuries;
San Pietro Barisano, from the 12th and 13th Centuries, partly
rocky with a 17th Century curvilinear façade; San Pietro
Caveoso, erected in 1656 on the edge of a precipice. The Tramontano
Castle, which remained unfinished, but notable for the donjon
or keep and its two towers, dating back to the 15th Century.
The Cathedral is in the Roman-Pugliese style (1268-1270) with
internal decoration in the Baroque style of 1627 and 1776.
The following Baroque buildings are also noteworthy: the churches
of Carmelo, San Francesco (erected in that hypogeum of Saints
. Peter and Paul, dating back to 1000) with a façade
from 1670 and a beautiful polyptych by B. Vivarini, of Santa
Lucia, of Purgatory (1747), Sant’Agostino on the scenographical
façade (reconstructed in 1750), the convent of Santa
Chiara (National Museum), the seminary (secondary school specializing
in the Classics), ex Dominican convent (Law building), the
Palazzo Bronzini Padula of 1779, but in Baroque style, dominating
the Sassi.
Many archaeological and historical finds are preserved in
the Domenico Ridola National Museum.
For the last few years ago, some of the most beautiful “Sassi,”
have been revalued and assigned to evocative exhibitions;
and with particular frequency, those of the sculptural exhibitions.
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