Ulderico Pesce, Stefano Saletti, and the co-creation participants will tell the story of Niccolò Venusio in a traveling performance within the palazzo that bears his name—Palazzo Viceconte—located near the Matera Cathedral and considered one of the city’s finest buildings. Niccolò Venusio hailed from Amalfi; in the late 15th century, he produced and traded cotton paper—a high-quality product sold primarily to the Byzantine world of Constantinople and Athens—across the Mediterranean. He later moved to Matera, where he began producing and trading grain, shipping it to ports throughout the Mediterranean. His descendants built Palazzo Venusio (now Palazzo Viceconte) atop the Roman Civita district, right next to the cathedral. The family later received a noble title in Turi, Puglia—where they relocated—before eventually moving their business operations to Naples. Over the centuries, Palazzo Venusio fell into abandonment. It was eventually purchased by Giuseppe Lamacchia, a gynecologist and former mayor of Matera; rather than renovating the building, he allowed it to deteriorate further and altered parts of it by introducing reinforced concrete. Later, under the “Sassi Rehabilitation” legislation, the Municipality of Matera commissioned Renzo Piano to transform Palazzo Venusio into a cultural center. During the performance, the original architectural plans for this project will be displayed in one of the palazzo’s halls for the very first time. Ultimately, the project was abandoned, just as the building had been. In 1994, Dr. Viceconte purchased the property; instead of proceeding with Renzo Piano’s plan, he undertook a conservation-focused restoration that lasted approximately twelve years.
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