Palazzo Lanfranchi

Palazzo Lanfranchi is home to the art museum of the Musei nazionali di Matera. It stands in piazza Pascoli, right above the Sasso Caveoso, and houses one of the city’s most beloved works: the huge canvas «Lucania ’61» by Carlo Levi.

History

The palazzo was built between 1668 and 1672 as a seminary, commissioned by Archbishop Vincenzo Lanfranchi, after whom it is named. For centuries it was a place of study and training for the city. Since 2003 it has housed the Museo nazionale d’arte medievale e moderna della Basilicata (National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Basilicata), now part of the Musei nazionali di Matera together with the Museo Ridola.

The collections

• Carlo Levi and «Lucania ’61»: on the ground floor is the collection dedicated to the writer and painter of «Christ Stopped at Eboli». The highlight is «Lucania ’61», a painting almost 19 metres long, created for the exhibition «Italia 1961» in Turin, organised to mark the centenary of Italian Unification. It depicts the life of the peasants of Basilicata and is dedicated to the poet Rocco Scotellaro.
• Luigi Guerricchio: works by the painter from Matera, who portrayed his city in the 20th century.
• Local and sacred art: paintings, wooden and stone sculptures from the churches of Basilicata, from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
• The d’Errico collection: a selection of paintings from the collection of Camillo d’Errico of Palazzo San Gervasio, with works of the Neapolitan school of the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.

How to get there

• On foot: the palazzo is in piazza Pascoli, at the end of via Ridola. From the square you go straight down into the Sasso Caveoso.
• By car: it is best to leave it in the city car parks and continue on foot.

Useful information

• From the belvedere in piazza Pascoli, next to the museum, you get one of the most beautiful views of the Sasso Caveoso.
• The entrance is free on the first Sunday of the month.
• The Museo Ridola is temporarily closed for works.