Overview
In the historic centre of Matera, Palazzo De Miccolis-Zagarella-Motta is a late 17th-century building. Extension work began in 1811 and was completed in 1860, when the neo-Gothic-inspired construction was completed. Inhabited until the early 1970s by the Zagarella family and then used as the headquarters of the Circolo Unione, it was later bought by the Motta family, who restored it and currently open it to the public on certain special occasions.
For those fortunate enough to access it, the history of the location and the stages of the building’s recent restoration are narrated during the tour, with photos and documents testifying to the changes that have taken place from its origins to the present day. Meanwhile, you can admire the furnishings and decorative objects still on display.
The original entrance with its 17th-century doorway at no. 3 Via San Bartolomeo still shows the structure of the old courtyard with an external staircase that led to the main floor, while the ground floor housed the oil press, stables, cellar and storerooms. On the surfaces of the underground rooms, you can see the signs of beams, wooden pillars and oil lamps used to light up rooms almost devoid of natural light. Lengthy stairways lead to areas used for ageing wine, storing oil, maturing products and pressing olives.
Via Domenico Ridola, 21, 75100 Matera MT, Italia
