Archaeological sites in Matera

Archaeological Wonders

Matera’s archaeological landscape spans from prehistoric cave dwellings to sophisticated medieval rock-hewn churches. This collection highlights the "Sistine Chapel" of rupestrian art at the Crypt of Original Sin and the massive Palombaro Lungo, a 19th-century underground cistern carved beneath the main square. Across the Murgia Materana Park, sites like the Villaggio Saraceno and various rock sanctuaries reveal how early inhabitants adapted limestone cliffs into religious and residential complexes, preserving Byzantine-style frescoes and ancient hydraulic engineering.