Palazzo dell'Annunziata, 18th-century baroque palace in Matera, Italy.
Palazzo dell'Annunziata is an 18th-century baroque palace whose facade is marked by a central archway and a decorated cornice topped with a clock. The building now houses a library with reading rooms and research facilities open to the public.
The Dominican nuns commissioned the monastery in 1734 from architect Vito Valentino, who had five years to finish it. Foundations had to reach about 15 metres down, and the front rests on a 16th-century tower of Count Tramontano's fortifications. Valentino was dismissed in 1739; Mauro Manieri took over in 1742, demolished the half-built church and made a courtyard instead. The nuns moved in in 1747, still without a church.
The Provincial Library inside carries the name of a notable local writer and preserves manuscripts and printed texts that visitors can study. People come here to explore historical documents and artifacts connected to the region.
The building sits at Piazza Vittorio Veneto and is easy to find while walking through Matera's center. The reading rooms are accessible to students, researchers, and the general public, making a visit feasible at various times.
The church built inside the courtyard in 1844 by engineer Gaetano di Giorgio later became the municipal cinema named after Gerardo Guerrieri, while ground-floor rooms housed the provincial media library. The monastic church planned by Mauro Manieri outside the complex was never built.
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