ACERENZA AND MATERA, ARCHDIOCESE OF. — A. stands on the ruins of Acheruntia, described by Horace as “high” (Carm., III, 4, 13-16). Because of its position on the ridge between Apulia-Daunia and Lucania, it was regarded as the most important point of defence for the two regions. Later it became one of the strongholds of Byzantine rule in southern Italy and a garrison of Totila during the struggle between Greeks and Goths. When attached to the Duchy of Benevento, the lands of its gastaldate were divided in 849 between Benevento and Salerno, yet everything drew it into the orbit of Greek influence, so much so that even the Lombard officials ended up collaborating with the Byzantine government. In 1041 it was conquered by the Normans, and Robert Guiscard made it a bulwark of offence and a centre of resistance for the reconquest of Lucania and Apulia. It was one of the few royal cities that sided with Manfred against the Pope and, later, with René of Anjou against Alfonso of Aragon.
The city gradually declined and by 1561 had only 2,000 inhabitants; strong migratory currents prevented it from flourishing again. A. covers an area of 77 sq km and belongs to the province of Potenza, from which it is 42 km distant. Major works to consolidate the inhabited area have recently been begun to remedy the serious landslides caused by rain. Notable is the Cathedral, built towards the end of the 8th century by Bishop St Leo II, with three circular apses, a Romanesque-Apulian portal and a Roman bust of Julian the Apostate, long venerated as that of St Canius, whose body was brought to A. in 799. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt around 1082.
M., a city of Greek origin, was a Roman colony (Matteola), occupied by Pyrrhus and Hannibal. Ravaged by the Goths, it was rebuilt by Belisarius and later joined to the Lombard Duchy of Benevento. Again destroyed by the Franks and Saracens at the end of the 10th century, after a brief period of Greek rule it passed in 1042 to the Normans and in 1133 to royal authority. In 1663 it became part of Lucania, of which it was the chief town until 1806.
The Cathedral is a magnificent Romanesque-Apulian construction from the first half of the 13th century. Of interest are the two churches of St Peter Caveoso and St Mary of Idris, both situated on the Sasso Caveoso, the latter almost entirely excavated from the heart of the cliff. Numerous and noteworthy Byzantine rock-cut churches scattered through the Materan countryside attest to the flourishing of the Greek rite in the region. M. also possesses the remains of an unfinished ancient castle and an interesting palaeoethnological museum with artefacts from the necropolis of Timmari. As provincial capital, M. has 20,243 inhabitants; the province covers 3,793 sq km and has a population of 157,002 distributed among 32 communes.
The diocese of A. was founded in the 4th century, and its first bishop is said to have been Romanus, though the first prelate known with certainty is St Justus, who took part in the Roman Synod of 499. In the 10th century the emperor and the archbishop of Constantinople abusively attached A. to the Greek archbishop of Otranto, and this transfer marked another victory of the Greek rite in Italy. In 993 it was again united to Salerno and at the Council of Melfi in 1059 raised to the status of archdiocese; Alexander II confirmed the measure in 1068 and Paschal II in 1106 assigned as its suffragans Venosa, Gravina, Tricarico, Anglona-Tursi and Potenza. In 1203, A. having almost disappeared, Innocent III raised the church of St Peter in M. to cathedral status so that the bishop might reside there worthily, but only in 1440 was M. elevated to a diocese by Eugenius IV and later joined to A. *aeque principaliter*. To calm local discord and sensitivities, in 1471 Sixtus IV decreed that the archbishop should be styled “of A. and M.” when in A.’s territory and “of M. and A.” when in M.’s territory. In 1599 Clement VIII granted precedence to A. on account of its antiquity and established the residence in M. The diocese of M. was suppressed in 1818 but, at the entreaty of the archbishop and the king, was restored by Pius VII in 1822.
The archdiocese now has as its suffragans Anglona-Tursi, Potenza, Tricarico and Venosa. It has also united the abbatial title of St Michael the Archangel of Montescalpioso. The archbishop resides in A. from May to October and in M. from November to April. In all there are today 168,794 Catholics out of a total population of 169,069; 185 churches, 31 parishes, 88 diocesan priests and 7 regulars.