Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve, Cave church in Rione Malve, Matera, Italy.

Santa Lucia alle Malve is a cave church with three naves carved directly into the rock of the hillside. Multiple entrances lead into separate chambers that were designed for different religious purposes and gatherings.

Santa Lucia alle Malve is a rock church attached to a Benedictine women's monastery founded in the 11th century. It was first dedicated to Sant'Agata and took the name of Santa Lucia between 1217 and 1267. In 1283 the community moved to the Civita, and after the nuns left in 1525 for Santa Lucia alla Civita and then Santa Lucia al Piano, the church was used as a dwelling.

The painted walls inside show how worshippers expressed their faith through religious images over centuries. These decorations reveal what mattered most to the people who prayed in this space and how they wanted to decorate their sacred place.

Wear comfortable shoes because the rock surface is uneven and some chambers are reached by steep pathways. Bring a flashlight since some interior areas receive little natural light from outside.

Above the church lies a necropolis of rock-cut tombs, and the facade carries three carved chalices from different periods, alluding to the martyrdom of Saint Lucia. The three naves are not perfectly or symmetrically aligned, which makes the layout resemble a quarry more than a planned building.