Casa Grotta Antica Matera

Antica Casa Grotta di Via Fiorentini

Useful Information

photography — Antica Casa Grotta di Via Fiorentini, Matera, Italy. Public Domain.

Location:	Via Fiorentini, 251, 75100 Matera MT. (40.66760135792323, 16.610038540081483)
Open:	APR to OCT daily 9-20. NOV to MAR daily 9-18. [2021]
Fee:	[2021]
Classification:	Subterranea Museum
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	T=20 °C.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Antica Casa Grotta di Via Fiorentini, Via Fiorentini, 251, Sasso Barisano, 75100 Matera MT, Tel: +39-083-5334031, Cell: +39-339-1371413. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

17-MAY-1952	Sassi rehabilitation law n. 619 by Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi.
1952-58	new quarters were built and the inhabitants of the Sassi relocated. The whole quarter was abandoned.
1993	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

The Antica Casa Grotta di Via Fiorentini is a cave house with original furniture and household items, restored and collected by Eustachio Rizzi and his sons. They are all master craftsmen and under the headline c’era una volta (once upon a time) they collected and repaired the caves and the furnishings. But they also created artworks, sculptures and puppets. There are three rooms: the kitchen, the stable with the donkey and the other farm animals, and the living room. The living room was used for various tasks during the day, and at night it served as a bedroom with a bunk bed. The lower double bed was for the parents, the upper for the children. It contains a cradle for a little child and an alcove containing the outhouse. An entire flat in a single multifunctional room.

This is a quite impressive local history museum, art museum, and cave house all at once. If you want to learn about the Matera cave houses and the living conditions, you should start here. And then you should cross the street and have a look at the fantastic Sassi in Miniatura by the artist Eustachio Rizzi.