Italy Travels: MUSMA Museum of Contemporary Sculpture

A beautiful museum in a stunning location is the MUSMA Museum of Contemporary Sculpture in the World Heritage Site of the Sassi in Matera. It is one of the few cases where the museum itself is a masterpiece more valuable than the art it contains, the impression you get entering into it is provoked by its walls and its unique architecture which develops irregularly like a maze of cellars, dungeons, courtyards and verandas on 2 levels.

Lower Floor

Upper Floor

The buliding known as Palazzo Pomarici was built in the 16th Century, it was known as the Palace of 100 Rooms due to his massive size and to the incredible complexity of his plan.
The external view is even more impressive with a panorama on the Gravina Canyon and its Paleolithic caves.

Sculptures accommodate themselves in a perfect blend with the surrounding architecture and are distributed wisely along a thematic route inside the museum which guide you across the labyrinth:

Still the most fascinating part remains the building itself where art is not only on display but embedded into the walls as in those pictures below:

The museum has recently hosted the exhibition of Japanese artist Kengiro Azuma. A library of 5000 volumes of art catalogues, literature and essays on art created by the publisher Vanni Scheiwiller complement this excellent collection of contemporary art.

Palazzo Pomarici - Via San Giacomo (Sasso Caveoso)

Matera

Basilicata

75100 Italy