The story that revolves around the construction of the Tramontano Castle represents a bitter page in the history of Matera. The manor takes its name from Count Giancarlo Tramontano, exponent of a new class made up of small entrepreneurs, rising towards the end of the fifteenth century; the ambitions of power that animated it were realized in 1497 when he obtained the investiture of the city of Matera from the King of Naples Federico D'Aragona. The commercial activities of Count Tramontano placed him in a situation of conflict with the local ruling class who saw their economic power threatened, while the taxes that he imposed on the population and the continuous abuses ended up exasperating the minds of the citizens of Matera who in 1514 they organized a conspiracy to kill him. The attack took place in a small street adjacent to the Cathedral, later called via del Riscatto. The construction of the castle was commissioned by the Count to highlight his dominion over the city. Left unfinished, it constitutes a material part of the local historical memory. It is located on the Montigny hill from which it dominates the entire territory, and is presented both spatially and symbolically opposed to the Cathedral and the religious power it represents. The castle consists of an imposing keep and two lateral cylindrical towers; the project included walls to protect the entire inhabited area. The incompleteness of the manor has remained a witness over the centuries of the historical events that determined the popular uprising aimed at killing the Count: almost a warning to anyone who had authoritarian ambitions on the city of Matera.