The best traffic-free bike rides around Irsina

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Picciano, located near Matera, is a place of profound spirituality and history. It houses an ancient image of the Madonna, a place of pilgrimage. Its architecture, blending Romanesque and Baroque elements, and its panoramic location make it a site of great charm, evoking centuries of devotion and meditation.

Matera is an Italian city in the Basilicata region, the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on the edge of the Murgia plateau. Its surroundings are home to the most important caveman settlements in the Mediterranean region. Since 1993, the "Sassi di Matera" (Stones of Matera), the oldest part of the city, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Metera with its Sassi and rock churches is impressive.

Fabulous Malconsiglio Castle, where the famous Conspiracy of the Barons took place.

The Ducal Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio, known as the Church of Purgatory , was a place of worship dating back to the mid- 17th century located in the city of Gravina in Puglia at the entrance to the Cathedral Square for those arriving from Porta San Michele. The Church is called ducal because its construction, begun in 1649, took place thanks to the generosity and religiosity of the Dukes of Gravina, Ferdinando III Orsini and his wife Giovanna Francipane della Tolfa, parents of Pope Benedict XIII. It was dedicated to Santa Maria del Suffragio for the celebration of masses in suffrage for the souls in Purgatory . The Church of Purgatory is a pearl of religious architecture, it belongs to a specific category of Catholic places of worship, that of the Monti del Suffragio, which can be found in many other cities in Puglia . These are Churches dedicated to the cult of the dead: prayers and Holy Masses are aimed at the salvation of the souls of the deceased, assigning to the Monte del Suffragio a mediating function between the devotion of the living faithful and the conquest of the Celestial Kingdom by those who have passed on to a better life. On the facade of the Church you can read two inscriptions that clearly refer to the memento mori : “Quod tu es ego fui” I was what you are, “Tu eris quod ego sum” You will be what I am.

It is one of the oldest public libraries in Puglia, and could be defined as a true "secular temple" of knowledge and culture, strongly desired and enriched by enlightened representatives of the episcopate and local clergy. The most conspicuous donation in terms of book and financial heritage is due to the cardinal from whom it takes its name, Francesco Antonio Finy (1669-1743), a close collaborator of Pope Benedict XIII, who arranged for the assignment to the Chapter of the Cathedral of his rich personal library, including volumes of very high artistic and historical value, which increased the endowment of the old collection, and 2000 ducats for the construction of a "vase" to place the library, previously located inside the sacristy of the cathedral, with its furnishings. It was officially founded in 1686 by Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini, then Archbishop of Benevento, who ascended to the papal throne in 1724 with the name of Benedict XIII, who acted as executor of the last will of the bishop of Gravina Domenico Cennini dei Salamandra, ruler of the diocese from 1645 to 1684, who had left a first substantial nucleus of his books. The collection was further enriched with donations from Archdeacon Donato Angelo Lettieri (1700) and Pope Benedict XIII (1729). In 1740 the construction was entrusted to the architect Donato Giannuzzi of Altamura and completed in 1743.

From a place of penance to a great church The church was known by the name of Santa Maria la Nuova and was a place for Augustinian nuns of Accom, penitents who came here from Palestine. From the end of 1400 until 1695 it remained abandoned until Monsignor del Ryos Culminares reopened it for worship with its current name which might be Chiesa Convento di Sant' Agostino or Chiesa di San Giovanni in Sant'Agostino. The church has a Latin cross plan with three naves defined by quadrilobate pillars, zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and phytomorphic capitals with large cross vaults. It was built in the classic local brown stone and inside it houses a statue of St. John the Baptist and numerous frescoes depicting various saints.

Rarely have I seen such a beautifully preserved city