Ars Excavandi: Matera's Underground Architecture as Model for Future Cities

Curated by Pietro Laureano, the exhibition 'Ars Excavandi' explores the enduring relevance of hypogean environments, tracing the evolution of excavated spaces from the Paleolithic to the present. The show reinterprets the art of excavation through a contemporary lens, highlighting how ancient practices of carving into rock have produced caves, monuments, landscapes, and entire cities. Matera is presented alongside other famous rupestrian ecosystems worldwide, with a timeline that interweaves chronology with references to craftsmanship, music, and folklore. The exhibition is structured around the elements Air, Water, Eros, Fire, and Earth. It inaugurated the exhibition program of Matera 2019 and has drawn visitors back to the Ipogei of Palazzo Lanfranchi. A highlight is a reconstruction by Enzo Viti and Teresa Lupo of the Murgia plateau and the Sassi of Matera based on 16th-century descriptions, offering an X-ray view of over 20,000 square meters of underground spaces.