The Rock Churches of the Murgia Materana
Dozens of frescoed churches in the caves opposite the Sassi
On the other side of the Gravina ravine, opposite the Sassi of Matera, stretches the Murgia Materana, a wild limestone plateau of rocks, pastures, Mediterranean scrub and canyons, protected by the Parco della Murgia Materana, which together with the Sassi is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the centuries, from the early Middle Ages onwards, monks, hermits and local communities carved here, in the soft rock, more than 150 rock churches, from small chapels to churches with several naves, columns, altars and iconostases, often decorated with frescoes of Byzantine and Romanesque saints, Madonnas and Christs, of great beauty and spirituality, a heritage unique in Europe. The plateau also preserves traces of Neolithic villages, caves used as shelters by shepherds and ancient "jazzi", stone enclosures for flocks.
Among the most beautiful churches in the park are Madonna delle Tre Porte, with frescoes of the Virgin, San Falcione and Madonna della Croce, many reachable on foot by paths. From the Belvedere di Murgia Timone, reached by a path that descends into the Gravina and crosses a suspended Tibetan bridge, or by road, there is the most famous view of the Sassi of Matera, especially at sunset. A short distance from Matera, outside the park, the Cripta del Peccato Originale, the Crypt of Original Sin, preserves a cycle of frescoes of the eighth or ninth century depicting the Creation and Original Sin, called the "Sistine Chapel of rock art", which can be visited only with a reservation. The park's visitor centre is at Jazzo Gattini.
Tip: take a guided excursion to visit the churches, many of which are closed; watch the sunset over the Sassi from Murgia Timone.
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