The Cattedrale della Madonna della Bruna was built between 1230 and 1270 on the highest point of the Piano di Matera — its position above the Sassi is both civic and geographical. The exterior is Apulian Romanesque: a rose window, a carved portal, a campanile. The interior is an argument between periods: the nave retains its Romanesque proportions while the ceiling is an 18th-century Baroque intervention of gilded stucco, frescoed medallions, and painted coffers that would be overwhelming anywhere else but here functions as a counterpoint to the tuff stone geology below. The icon of the Madonna della Bruna — Matera's patron — is the object of an annual festival procession in July that involves the ritual destruction of a decorated float. The cathedral is open most mornings and is generally uncrowded before the midday heat.
Piano di Matera, Matera, Italy