MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS OF THE RUPESTRIAN CHURCHES OF MATERA. THE CASE STUDY OF SANTA MARIA DE ARMENIS.

In the old part of the city of Matera, named Sassi, and in its surrounding territory there are 155 rupestrian churches carved out into the calcareous rock of the area, a soft calcarenite of biochemical origin. These churches are UNESCO Word Heritage since 1993. Most of them date back to the early middle Ages when Benedictine and Byzantine monks came to the city. At first, the monks lived apart from society in narrow caves. Over the time, the original hermitages evolved towards complex systems of caves, referred as cenobites, embellished with magnificent frescoes. The panels illustrate the research activity carried out on the case study of Santa Maria de Armenis, which has undergone significant modifications over the centuries. The obtained results have allowed detecting the degradation phenomena of the calcarenite and knowing the peculiar systems adopted to building within the original dug environments.