Palazzo dell’Annunziata

Palazzo dell’Annunziata is a Rococo-style palace located in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, in Matera.

The front part of the palace rests on the 16th-century tower of Castello Tramontano.

SHORT HISTORY OF PALAZZO DELL’ANNUNZIATA

The palace was built starting with 1735 as the new Monastery dell’Annunziata for the Dominican nuns, as is written on the architrave of one of the entrances.

The architect Vito Valentino from Bitonto was in charge of the project, with the approval of the Pontifical Commission of Rome.

In 1734, the project was ready, and in 1735 the work was already proceeding at full speed.

However, a strong friction appeared between the Dominican nuns and the architect Valentino, and in 1739 the works were suspended and Valentino was removed.

In 1742, Mauro Manieri became the new architect, called directly from Lecce together with the Simone brothers, who took on the commitment to complete the work and build also a new church.

Before the construction was completed, the nuns temporarily settled with other congregations.

Only in 1747, the nuns came into possession of the new monastery, with the construction not yet finished and without the construction of the church.

About a hundred years later, the nuns finally decided to build the church to give completeness to the monastic complex.

In 1844, the engineer Gaetano di Giorgio built the Church of the Annunziata in the central courtyard of the monastery.

In 1861, the monastery was suppressed and the assets passed to the Municipality.

The complex became partly the seat of the Court and judicial offices and partly the seat of the middle school.

In the early 1900s, the cornice was built, on which a clock was positioned.

After the 1980 earthquake, the judicial offices and the middle school were moved to other buildings, due to the state of degradation of the former convent.

In total decay, the palace was restored in 1993.

On May 14, 1998, the Provincial Library Tommaso Stigliani was inaugurated in the presence of the President of the Council of Ministers, Romano Prodi.

Inside the library, in addition to the important and vast collection of books and manuscripts, there was an important numismatic collection.

The old church inside the monastic complex was used as a municipal cinema named after Gerardo Guerrieri.

Palazzo dell’Annunziata

ARCHITECTURE OF PALAZZO DELL’ANNUNZIATA

The lower part of the facade is characterized by a large central arch, through which, at one time, one entered the 19th-century church.

The upper part of the facade is decorated by a pediment in which a clock is set, surmounted by the coat of arms of the City of Matera.

HOW TO GET TO PALAZZO DELL’ANNUNZIATA

Palazzo dell’Annunziata is located about 450 meters away from the Matera Centrale railway station.