Norman Foster signs the work at the Matera prison: the "Door of Hope"

An authorial threshold to break down the symbolic walls of isolation and transform detention into a path of redemption and dialogue. It will be the famous British architect Norman Foster to sign the “Gate of Hope” of Matera, an imposing monumental work that will be installed by the end of 2026 right in front of the prison of the city of Sassi.

“I am thrilled to participate in the project and honored to be able to create such a profoundly symbolic work in Matera, a sign of great culture and civilization”said Lord Foster.

The initiative is part of an extraordinary year for the Lucanian city. Seven years after its experience as European Capital of Culture, in 2026 Matera will in fact hold the title of Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue (award awarded by the Union for the Mediterranean and the Anna Lindh Foundation, shared with the Moroccan city of Tetouan). The program of celebrations, managed by the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation and co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, finds one of its most significant moments in the Door of Hope.

Architecture and dignity: the meaning of the work

The international project “Doors of Hope” – promoted by the Pontifical Gravissimum Educationis Foundation of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See together with the Department of Penitentiary Administration of the Ministry of Justice – has its roots in the opening of the Holy Door in the Roman prison of Rebibbia at the beginning of the Jubilee. An emblematic gesture of Pope Francis, then relaunched by Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te.

The works, positioned at the entrance to the penitentiary institutions and clearly visible to all citizens, are created using the three traditional materials of the Cross: wood, metal and stone. The authors – true artifex, creators of beauty – worked completely free of charge, guided by a fundamental principle: to conceive each structure in constant dialogue with the prison community.

The threshold is designed to be crossed in two directions: from prison to society: it symbolizes the path taken by those who have followed an educational, rehabilitative and reintegration path; from the city to prison: it invites citizens to overcome prejudices linked to detention, bringing the community’s attention to an often forgotten place.

Created by the Jubilee Culture and Education Committee together with Rampello & Partners (with the curatorship of Prof. Davide Rampello) and supported by the Cariplo Foundation, the overall project was presented on 8 October 2025 in the Press Room of the Holy See in the presence of Card. José Tolentino de Mendonça and the general secretary mons. Davide Milani.

A new chapter for Matera

The participation of a master of contemporary architecture such as Norman Foster gives an extraordinary cultural value to a work destined to leave its mark. Pritzker Prize winner in 1999 and founder of the Foster + Partners studio, Lord Foster (Manchester, 1935) has redefined the concept of public space on a global level: from the famous glass dome of the Reichstag in Berlin to the Millennium Bridge in London, up to the Apple Park in Cupertino. Through his activity – also with the Norman Foster Foundation founded in Madrid in 2017 – the architect has always placed light, transparency and accessibility at the center of his research, the same values ​​that define the renewed relationship between prison and the city.

Institutions and the local community welcome the work as a fundamental stage of social maturation. “With Lord Foster’s Door of Hope, 2026 is not a goal achieved, but a new departure for Matera”, underlines the mayor Antonio Nicoletti.

“The city confirms its vocation to be an international laboratory of culture, social innovation and dialogue, strengthening an identity that looks to the future through the values ​​of peace, hospitality and personal dignity. Not a landing place, but a journey to be undertaken”.

The Door of Hope designed by Lord Foster will be officially inaugurated in the final months of 2026, sealing the meeting between great international architecture and the values ​​of rehabilitation and human inclusion.