Matera, Italy

Among the main features that have contributed to the Sassi of Matera becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the city’s complex water system, which included numerous underground cisterns of various sizes, connected to each other like the roots of a large tree, extended under all the Sassi. The largest of these cisterns, located under the central Piazza Vittorio Veneto, is called Palombaro Lungo. In the past, it served as a source of water supply for all the buildings located in the area called “al piano”, inhabited by middle-class families, just outside the most popular Sassi. The cistern, where rainwater and spring water from the surrounding hills converged, has tuff walls covered with a special waterproof plaster, is about 50ft. tall and can reach a capacity of about 5 million liters of water.

We are now back to the main square.

View of the main square with the Palombaro Lungo (underground) on the left under the metal fences and is lying under the city's main square.

View from the main square looking down at the entrance of the Palombaro Lungo

Before entering the Palombaro Lungo there are a few arched ways with a view of the city below,

Staying in line to buy tickets.

After being used for about a century and a half as a water reserve, with the construction of the Apulian Aqueduct in 1920, the Palombaro Lungo became superfluous and was abandoned. It was rediscovered only in 1991, during the requalification works of Piazza Vittorio Veneto.

Entering the cistern.

The interior cistern is gigantic and arguable as magnificen as a subterranean cathedral. I am amazed at how they were able to build this under ground.

It feels like we are in a maze.

People throwing coins at the bottom of the cistern

There are stairs going up, going down, and crossing from one point to another.

This is the highest level of the cistern

The interior is really amazing with pillars, arches ways, round walls and I am not surprised why it is called "Water Cathedral"

Looking down at the cistern from the top. It is so grandiose.

People crossing one of the many bridges inside the cistern.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of water right now because it is the summer.

It is mind boggling to see the scale and ingenuity it took to built this cistern

View from below to the highest point of the cistern.

We are now leaving the cistern.

This pretty much the end of our visit of Matera.

The palace of the governors.

As we are leaving the square I noticed a bronze statue in front of the Pallazzo Dell'Annunziata

A plaque to commemorate Francesco Paolo Conte

Commemorative monument has been dedicated to the public security guard Francesco Paolo Conte, Silver Medal for Civil Valor, who died at just 28 years of age while helping fellow citizens during a terrible storm that hit the city of Matera on 24 October 1928

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