(31 images) 
Matera from Palazzo Lanfranchi. The Masso de Idris and the overhanging cave-church of Santa Maria de Idris. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Santa Maria di Idris, unmistakable cave-church carved into the rock. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Santa Maria di Idris. The name Idris probably derives from the Greek Odigitria, the one who shows the way, or from the water that once passed. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
Detail of a fresco of the Church of Santo Spirito (Church of Holy Spirit), hypogeum below Piazza Vittorio Veneto which, in the Civita, divides the Sasso Barisano from the Sasso Caveoso. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Church of Santo Spirito, dating from around the 8th century AD It is one of the examples of negative architecture that creates by subtracting material. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Detail of a fresco in the cave-church of Santo Spirito. It was then reused for Christian worship, keeping the traces of the previous Lombard and Byzantine presences. Like all Sassi (stones), it is a stratification of different civilizations. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Among the Sassi of Matera. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Plant shadows. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
House of a gardenlover among the Sassi. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Park of the Murgia of Matera. Detail of ferula, considered a local bamboo for its solidity and lightness. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: natural, historical and artistic park on the plateau in front of Matera. It reaches 510 meters above sea level. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: a Phillyrea born from the seeds carried by a bird, adapted to the thin soil of the Murgia and bent by the wind. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: San Falcione. A farmyard in the rocky complex reused by the shepherds. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
San Falcione and the sky of Murgia. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
Inside San Falcione (or San Canione). It is thought that Falcione, having never existed, is a distortion of San Canio a Cerenza, a town where there is a certified and dedicated cathedral. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Inside San Falcione. The central column appears to be the remnant of a wall, which in the Byzantine churches divided the sacred place, accessible only to the priest, from the area dedicated to all the faithful. This allows us to date it to the 10th century. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Inside San Falcione. It was one of the main sets of the film “Ben Hur”. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: cave-church of Madonna del Monteverde. Its facade is included into the natural cavity of the cave. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
The vegetation of the Murgia is composed of 70 endemic species and over 900 plants. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: a canyon Ph. Anna Rapisarda
The cave-church of Madonna delle tre porte (Our Lady of the three doors). Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Detail of the pilgrim crosses. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Detail of the Madonna glycophilousa or Madonna del Melograno (Our Lady of the Pomegranate), a symbol of fertility. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Madonna in prayer and St. John the Baptist. The Virgin’s mantle comes out of the frame, as if drawn by the hand of a believer. Our Lady is in fact the link between the human and the divine world. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Landscape around the extraordinary Crypt of the Original Sin, a cave used as a church by Benedictine monks, who walked through the valley and used it a lot. They cultivated (labora) the sunniest part, while in the most shaded part, where the Crypt is located, they dedicated themselves to prayer (ora). Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Wild blackthorn with yellow lichens on its trunk, a characteristic of extreme cleanliness of the air. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
San Pietro e Paolo al Caveoso, of uncertain origin. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
The etymology of Matera is not certain. One of the most fascinating hypotheses links it to Metèoron, a starry sky. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
The very peculiar Church of St. John the Baptist. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
Matera from the Murgia. The etymology of Matera is not certain: one of the most fascinating hypotheses is the connection to the root Mata, raw material. Ph. Anna Rapisarda Travelling Gardenlovers: Matera ’19
(31 images) 
Matera from Palazzo Lanfranchi. The Masso de Idris and the overhanging cave-church of Santa Maria de Idris. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Santa Maria di Idris, unmistakable cave-church carved into the rock. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Santa Maria di Idris. The name Idris probably derives from the Greek Odigitria, the one who shows the way, or from the water that once passed. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
Detail of a fresco of the Church of Santo Spirito (Church of Holy Spirit), hypogeum below Piazza Vittorio Veneto which, in the Civita, divides the Sasso Barisano from the Sasso Caveoso. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Church of Santo Spirito, dating from around the 8th century AD It is one of the examples of negative architecture that creates by subtracting material. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Detail of a fresco in the cave-church of Santo Spirito. It was then reused for Christian worship, keeping the traces of the previous Lombard and Byzantine presences. Like all Sassi (stones), it is a stratification of different civilizations. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Among the Sassi of Matera. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Plant shadows. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
House of a gardenlover among the Sassi. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Park of the Murgia of Matera. Detail of ferula, considered a local bamboo for its solidity and lightness. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: natural, historical and artistic park on the plateau in front of Matera. It reaches 510 meters above sea level. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: a Phillyrea born from the seeds carried by a bird, adapted to the thin soil of the Murgia and bent by the wind. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: San Falcione. A farmyard in the rocky complex reused by the shepherds. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
San Falcione and the sky of Murgia. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
Inside San Falcione (or San Canione). It is thought that Falcione, having never existed, is a distortion of San Canio a Cerenza, a town where there is a certified and dedicated cathedral. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Inside San Falcione. The central column appears to be the remnant of a wall, which in the Byzantine churches divided the sacred place, accessible only to the priest, from the area dedicated to all the faithful. This allows us to date it to the 10th century. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Inside San Falcione. It was one of the main sets of the film “Ben Hur”. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: cave-church of Madonna del Monteverde. Its facade is included into the natural cavity of the cave. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
The vegetation of the Murgia is composed of 70 endemic species and over 900 plants. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Murgia of Matera: a canyon Ph. Anna Rapisarda
The cave-church of Madonna delle tre porte (Our Lady of the three doors). Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Detail of the pilgrim crosses. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Detail of the Madonna glycophilousa or Madonna del Melograno (Our Lady of the Pomegranate), a symbol of fertility. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Madonna in prayer and St. John the Baptist. The Virgin’s mantle comes out of the frame, as if drawn by the hand of a believer. Our Lady is in fact the link between the human and the divine world. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Landscape around the extraordinary Crypt of the Original Sin, a cave used as a church by Benedictine monks, who walked through the valley and used it a lot. They cultivated (labora) the sunniest part, while in the most shaded part, where the Crypt is located, they dedicated themselves to prayer (ora). Ph. Anna Rapisarda
Wild blackthorn with yellow lichens on its trunk, a characteristic of extreme cleanliness of the air. Ph. Anna Rapisarda
San Pietro e Paolo al Caveoso, of uncertain origin. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
The etymology of Matera is not certain. One of the most fascinating hypotheses links it to Metèoron, a starry sky. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
The very peculiar Church of St. John the Baptist. Ph. Vittorio Peretto
Matera from the Murgia. The etymology of Matera is not certain: one of the most fascinating hypotheses is the connection to the root Mata, raw material. Ph. Anna Rapisarda