Matera is truly rich in museums, public and private, all very interesting and useful for getting to know the city more completely.
Here is a list of the most important museums in Matera to visit, based on your curiosities, tastes and cultural orientations.
Domenico Ridola National Archaeological Museum
Located in the central Via Ridola, in the former convent of the Church of Santa Chiara, this museum presents the sections:
Protohistory, Paleolithic, Neolithic, funerary contexts of the Metal Age, Magna Graecia.
Furthermore, inside there is the beautiful multimedia exhibition Giuliana degli abissi which tells in a compelling way the context of the Matera territory in distant geological eras. Millions of years ago, when the Murge plateau had not yet emerged from the sea, whales, among other marine organisms, also lived in this area, fossil remains of which were found in the area near Matera, in the locality of San Julian. Hence the name Giuliana.
National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Palazzo Lanfranchi
This museum is located in Piazza Pascoli, in Palazzo Lanfranchi, and presents the sections:
Territorial Art, D’Errico Collection, Contemporary Art: Carlo Levi and Luigi Guerricchio.
National Museum of Matera San Rocco
The location of this museum coincides with the former San Rocco Hospital, which is located in Piazza San Giovanni Battista.
Inside there is the Church of the Flagellated Christ, which constitutes the exhibition hall. In another area of the former hospital complex there is also an educational point where it is possible to read books, participate in reading meetings and creative workshops (Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 3pm to 6pm).
Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola dei Greci rock complex
It is located in Via Madonna delle Virtù, at the foot of Sasso Barisano. The rock complex, which hosts exhibitions, reviews and cultural events, consists of two rock churches (Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola dei Greci), a monastery and a cave house.
MATA – Matera Diocesan Museum
This museum is in Via Riscatto, next to the Cathedral, and is located in a funerary area where the Benedictine abbey of Sant’Eustachio was located, about a thousand years ago. It consists of three exhibition rooms that house works of sacred art.
Ortega House – Museum of Applied Arts
It is located in Via San Nicola del Sole, in Sasso Barisano. Here we tell the story of the Spanish artist Josè Garcia Ortega, who lived in Matera in the 1970s. Fascinated by the local papier-mâché processing, used by local artists for the construction of the Bruna chariot, during his stay in Matera he created works which he then exhibited in Spain.
Bruna Immersive Museum
It is located in Sasso Barisano, in Recinto II Fiorentini, 8. Here you can see up close an example of the Bruna chariot and much more: in particular, by wearing 3D glasses, you too can be among the assailants of the chariot, during the moment of the massacre, the day of the feast of the patron saint of Matera.
TAM – Tower Art Museum – Torre Capone
It is a contemporary art museum located in Via Ridola, n. 13. From here the exhibition itinerary begins, which ends with a visit to the ancient Torre Capone, from the 12th century.
Water collection – Underground complex
In Via Purgatorio Vecchio, in Sasso Caveoso, this complex is made up of a large cistern, the so-called Palombaro del Caveoso, and the ancient church of Purgatorio Vecchio.
Vicinato a pozzo – Park of the History of Man – Museum of rural civilization
Near the so-called Barbarian Cemetery, in Sasso Caveoso, this museum narrates the life of the neighborhoods, that is, the countless small squares of the Sassi districts, where the people of Matera shared their social life.
Laboratory Museum of Rural Civilization of Matera
Located in Via San Giovanni Vecchio n. 60 in Sasso Barisano, extends for 500m2 and also includes various underground environments, and prepares educational itineraries for students.
MOOM – Matera Oil Museum
Located in Vico I Casalnuovo, n.3, the museum has a path that describes the oil production system.
Spark me Space Academy – Science Museum of Matera
This museum, which has a planetarium, is located in the new area of the city, in Via dell’Industria, s.n, PAIP 2 area.
MUSMA – Museum of Contemporary Sculpture
It is based in Palazzo Pomarici, in via San Giacomo, in the highest part of Sasso Caveoso.
MateraSum Hypogeum
Located in the XX Settembre enclosure, this large hypogeum extends for 1200 m2. up to 12 meters below the city of Matera.
