The first settlement of Benedictine nuns in Matera – and one of the rock churches with the most striking frescoes. Later, people lived in the same rooms.
A convent in the rock
Santa Lucia alle Malve belonged to a women’s convent founded in the Middle Ages in the Sasso Caveoso. The church interior is worked entirely out of the rock, with pillars, arches and niches that imitate built architecture. The nuns lived in adjoining caves; church, living quarters and working rooms lay directly side by side.
The epithet alle Malve refers to the mallows that grew on this slope – a way of giving a location in a time before street names.
The paintings
Images of saints from several centuries survive on the walls. They show how the visual language changed: from strict, frontally aligned Byzantine-influenced figures to softer, more narrative depictions. Among the best known is a figure of the Virgin nursing the child – a motif that was rare in the Middle Ages and therefore particularly noted.
Because people kept painting here over centuries, the layers overlap. At the edges of damaged patches you can see older images showing through beneath younger ones.
After the convent
When the convent was given up, parts of the complex served as living space – right up to the time of the clearance. This double use can still be read today and is typical of Matera: sacred building and cave dwelling are not separate worlds here. A consecrated room was not demolished but carried on being used.
Practical
The church lies on the slope above the gorge; access is by steps. Inside it is cool and dim – your eyes need a moment before the frescoes appear. Flash is not permitted.
Read on
- Santa Maria de Idris – the rock church in the Monterrone next door
- Sasso Caveoso – the district it lies in
- The rioni of the Sassi – the Rione Malve that carries its name
