Dedicated to the Madonna della Bruna and Saint Eustace, the Matera Cathedral Basilica was built between 1230 and 1270. The facadem of considerable figurative impact for the harmony and simplicity of forms, houses the statues of the patron Saint Eustace and his wife Santa Theopista and it includes a braided portal and a beautiful Romanesque rose window sixteen rays, symbolically depicting the wheel of life.
The interior has a Latin cross and it has undergone major renovations especially in the years 1703 and 1776, by Mons. Brancaccio and Mons. Zunica, who transformed the original purely Romanesque style in a beautifully baroque 'Domus Aurea'.
The coat of arms is visible on the front counter: a bull with three ears of corn in its mouth. On the horns there is the Angevin lily crown with the inscription "Bos lassus firmius figit pedem" at bottom, which means "the tired ox better balances the foot".
Of particular note are the fresco of the Madonna della Bruna, protectress of the city, and the fresco "Last Judgement", attributed to Rinaldo from Taranto. The most important artistic piece however is the crib of Altobello Persio in polychrome stone, built in 1534 and inspired by the caves and by the inhabitants of the Sassi.
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