Underground Matera reveals its thousand-year-old stories thanks to an immersive experience, one of a kind. Her name is Matherarium the new tourist attraction that announces the extraordinary preview opening, on the occasion of the Easter holidays.
“We have been working on this project for some time,” he said Elisabetta Filippucci responsible for the initiative “and we decided to create this preview of Matherarium both for the Easter holidays and for the next long weekends, while waiting for the official grand opening scheduled for next summer”.
Matherarium is located in Matera in via Ridola, in the characteristic Motta hypogea which host an evocative and rare example of an underground oil mill, a full protagonist in the visual narrative which is articulated along over 1000 m2 of tunnels dug in ancient times in the heart of the city.
“From national shame to UNESCO world heritage site, Matera contains thousand-year-old stories and small secrets that Matherarium will reveal to its visitors,” he comments Fabio Di Gioia, curator and artistic director of the project. Di Gioia was the pioneer of immersive experiences in Italy with the project ‘Van Gogh, the immersive experience’, and has now decided to bet on Matera and its thousand-year history.
With the use of sophisticated software and high-definition projection tools, the video contents created in 4k are projected directly onto the walls of the underground caves, with a visual effect that welcomes and embraces visitors, accompanying them along the entire underground route, to discover of stories often little known to the people of Matera themselves.
Matherarium tells, involving the five senses, the ancient history of the Sassi and of the population who lived and worked in those hypogea that host the experience, and which have made the history of Matera unique in the world.
The itinerary is guided by an audio commentary and by the suggestion of the luminous paths and 360° projections, which accompany the visitor into cavities and tunnels to descend up to 10 meters below the level of the city, where once… there was the sea. Ancient original fossils, set in the tuff of the hypogea, form the backdrop to the appearance of the queen of the seas, the Julian whale, who arrives to greet visitors. The narrative of Matherarium also enhances the ancient professions linked to agriculture, starting from the underground oil mill which is visible and can be visited and is an integral part of the underground route.
The immersive show lasts about 50 minutes, is suitable for all ages, and departures are scheduled every 15 minutes from the infopoint located in via Ridola, 15. The cost of the ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros for students, over 65s and disabled people. Entrance for children up to 4 years is free, while the cost is 8 euros for children aged 5 to 10. The family ticket option (two adults and two children up to 10 years old) is 40 euros. The cost for groups (minimum 8 people) is 9 euros per person. A Nimphea production, in collaboration with the Motta Ipogei.
