Cripta del Peccato Originale
Sistine Chapel of cave churches, ninth-century frescoes, Flower Painter's hand, gravina cliff setting.
Photograph · Cripta del Peccato Originale
At a glance
Names, makers, dates, and context before the story opens up.
| Italian name | Cripta del Peccato Originale |
|---|---|
| What it is | Church |
| Where | Matera, Basilicata |
| Known for | Sistine Chapel of cave churches, ninth-century frescoes, Flower Painter's hand, gravina cliff setting |
The story
The Crypt of the Original Sin is a distinct rock-cut church in the Matera landscape, with a catalogued medieval fresco cycle.
Each statement below is linked to the record or institution that supports it.
The Crypt of the Original Sin, Cripta del Peccato Originale, is a distinct rock-cut church in the Matera area. It should not be treated as a synonym for the Sassi, the Murgia park or every rupestrian church in the World Heritage property.1
The Ministry catalogue describes the church as excavated between the eighth and ninth centuries as a Benedictine cenobium. It records later use by shepherds, its 1963 rediscovery by the La Scaletta association and subsequent restoration work. This is a layered use history, not evidence of continuous monastic life.1
The Ministry catalogue records tenth-century painted subjects including scenes of Creation, Adam and Eve, the Temptation of Eve, a Madonna Regina with two saints and a Triarchy of Angels. These catalogued subjects provide a firmer description than a generic claim of a single Genesis wall.1
The crypt is a related monument in the landscape associated with UNESCO property 670, The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera. It is not a separately inscribed World Heritage property.2
Plan your visit
Nearby
Worth folding into the same day.
MateraParco della Murgia MateranaGravina canyon opposite the Sassi, 150 cave churches, Murgia Timone viewpoint, Neolithic villages
MateraMatera CathedralApulian Romanesque on the Civita, Last Judgment fresco, gilded Baroque interior, spur between the Sassi
MateraSassi di MateraCave city of nine millennia, Sasso Caveoso and Barisano, rock churches, shame to wonder story
