A former convent on the main square, today the city library and a cinema – one of the few places in Matera where monument and everyday life fall together directly.
The building
The Palazzo dell’Annunziata defines the north side of Piazza Vittorio Veneto. It was built in the eighteenth century as a convent of Dominican nuns. The broad front with its pilasters and curved gable is among the best-known views of the square and appears in almost every photograph of it.
From convent to public building
After the convent was dissolved the building changed function several times before it was converted into a public cultural building. Today it houses the city library and a cinema auditorium.
That makes it one of the few places in the old town where monument and everyday life coincide: people who go in are usually not visitors but there to collect a book or watch a film. For travellers that is precisely the appeal – you see the city using itself.
Practical
The interior is accessible during library opening hours. The square in front is the busiest in the city, especially in the early evening.
Read on
- Piazza Vittorio Veneto – the square in front
- Chiesa di San Domenico – the church on the same side of the square
- The palaces of the upper town – the other palazzi
