Piazza Vittorio Veneto - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Palombaro Lungo is the largest underground water cistern in the city of Matera and is located under the pavement of Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where rainwater and spring waters from the hills of La Nera, Lapillo and Macamarda converge. Together with other underground cisterns it forms the famous underground Matera; the cistern is part of a water collection system that extends along the entire length of the stones of Matera and was necessary for the supply of its inhabitants.

Situated on a hill near the town centre, In Aragonese style, the castle, with a central male and two lower side towers, one and the other round, scalloped and equipped with loops, was built from 1501 by Giovanni Carlo Tramontano, Count of Matera. This 15th-century castle was left unfinished after the unpopular Count Tramontano, seemingly unaware that high taxes and his habit of bedding every new bride on her wedding night wasn't winning much favour, was killed by rebellious subjects.

The Cathedral of the Madonna Della Bruna and Sant’Eustachio is the Cathedral of Matera, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the city, and to the Christian martyr Saint Eustace. The church is located on the highest point of the old city, between the two Sassi, the ancient districts of Matera. Formerly the seat of the Bishops, later Archbishops, of Matera, it is now the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Matera-Irsina.

The Domenico Ridola National Archaeological Museum is an Italian state museum, located in the former convent of Santa Chiara in Matera. It was established on 9 February 1911 by the will of the senator and physician Domenico Ridola, who donated his important archaeological collections to the state and is, therefore, the oldest museum in Basilicata. It exhibits numerous archaeological remains found in excavations in the province of Matera and in the Murge.

The Sassi di Matera are two districts of Matera, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, made up of rock buildings and architecture dug into the rock of the Murgia of Matera and inhabited since prehistoric times. Together with the Civita district (built on the spur that separates the two Sassi), they constitute the historic center of the city of Matera. In 1993 they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The MUSMA ( Museum of contemporary sculpture Matera ) is an Italian museum located in Matera and dedicated to sculpture . It was inaugurated in 2006 and is located in Palazzo Pomarici , on the highest part of the Sassi district. It houses about 270 works by 200 different artists, including Kengiro Azuma , Duilio Cambellotti , Pietro Consagra , Pericle Fazzini , Luigi Guerricchio , Emilio Isgrò , Giacomo Manzù , José Ortega and Arnaldo Pomodoro.