MATA – Museo Diocesano di Matera

Museum of sacred art in the former Seminary of Matera, with silverwork, reliquaries and statues from the 11th to the 20th century from the Cathedral Treasury.

Ask the museum for opening hoursAdmission €2.50

Directions

About the museum

The museum opened in 2011 in the former Seminary of Matera, a building erected in 1906 at the wish of Archbishop Raffaele Rossi between the Episcopal Palace and the Cathedral, with entrance from via del Riscatto. It is a museum of sacred art of the diocese.

The three large rooms on the ground floor display works from the 11th to the 19th century, mainly from the Cathedral Treasury and the church of Santa Chiara. The main core consists of silver objects from the 15th to the 18th century, alongside wooden and polychrome stone statues of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Among the oldest pieces is a Byzantine enkolpion from the mid-11th century, probably made in a workshop in Palermo. Also on display are the reliquaries of Sant’Eustachio, patron saint of Matera, and of San Giovanni da Matera, which bears the hallmark “MATA” linked to the goldsmiths of Matera, and the bust-reliquary of Sant’Agapito, as well as a liturgical service in silver filigree of Palermitan workmanship dated 1702 and 1720. The museum also holds one of the twenty Italian copies of the Bible of Federico da Montefeltro.

Highlights

Byzantine enkolpion of the 11th century
Arm-shaped reliquary of Sant’Eustachio
Reliquary of San Giovanni da Matera with the “MATA” hallmark
Silver filigree liturgical service dated 1702 and 1720
Copy of the Bible of Federico da Montefeltro

Permanent exhibition

Arte sacra dall’XI al XIX secolo – Three rooms on the ground floor with silverwork, reliquaries and statues from the Cathedral Treasury and the church of Santa Chiara, including the Byzantine enkolpion of the 11th century.

Founded: 2011
Operated by: Arcidiocesi di Matera-Irsina
Visitors per year: approx. 9,472