La "Cripta del Peccato Originale" (The Crypt of the Original Sin) , commonly known as “the Sistine Chapel of Rock-Hewn Art” is located inside a natural cave on the Murgia plateau, near the old Appian Way. It is embellished with a cycle of frescoes which go back between the eighth and ninth centuries, depicted by an artist known as “the Flower Painter of Matera”. The anonymous and humble artist depicted biblical figures in total freedom: God the Creator, Light and Darkness, Adam and Eve, the three Apostles John, Peter and Andrew, the Archangels and Mary. The paintings on the rough walls of the cave are different and unique in Matera’s iconographic context. The scenes are the result of the painter’s personal creativity and certainly speak of his freedom in translating complex depictions, and of a lively spontaneity in drawing images.