Cathedral: tickets, opening hours and tips

The Cathedral of Matera, dedicated to the Madonna della Bruna and Saint Eustace, stands on the highest spur of the Civita, the ridge that divides the two Sassi. It is a thirteenth-century Apulian Romanesque church that dominates the city: from here you understand why Matera looks carved from a single block.

It was commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia, on the site of an ancient Benedictine monastery. It was built between 1230 and 1270, and to make it stand tall the builders raised the rock base by more than six meters.

Outside it has stayed almost as it was. The facade has a rose window with sixteen rays, topped by the archangel Michael crushing the dragon, and in the lunette of the portal the Madonna della Bruna. On the side opens the Lions' Door, with two crouching stone lions. The bell tower, 52 meters high, dates from the same period as the church.

Inside, with a Latin-cross plan and three aisles, the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries brought stuccoes and decoration: in 1776 even a veil of gold. The Romanesque church became a Baroque jewel box.

Then, during some restoration work, a large late-thirteenth-century fresco of the Last Judgment came to light, attributed to Rinaldo da Taranto. It is to the right of the main entrance and is the only survivor of the original painted decoration.

The same painter is credited with the Madonna della Bruna, a Byzantine fresco from 1270 with the Child blessing with two fingers. She is the protector of the city, to whom the cathedral has been dedicated since 1389. Saint Eustace was added in 1627.

Among the best-loved works is the polychrome stone nativity scene, finished in 1534 by Altobello Persio and Sannazzaro of Alessano. Its figures look like inhabitants of the Sassi, and the caves in the background recall those of the real city.

The wooden choir, carved in 1453, has sixty stalls. High on the inner facade you can see the coat of arms of Matera: an ox with three ears of wheat in its mouth, and a motto that sounds like a challenge.

A reminder of Matera's past is also a detail on the door onto the square, where Abraham appears, father of the three monotheistic religions: at the time all three were present in the city. The church was raised to the rank of minor basilica in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.

Don't miss
• The stone nativity scene.
• The sixteen-ray rose window.
• The Last Judgment.
• The Lions' Door.

Did you know?
• The coat of arms on the inner facade has a rebellious motto: "the tired ox plants its foot more firmly."
• The perfect westward orientation is attributed to the calculations of the astronomer Alano da Matera.