The patron saint of Matrice is Saint Urban, celebrated on the third Sunday of May together with the Madonna della Strada, with a solemn procession from the town to the countryside church of Santa Maria della Strada: the wooden statues are paraded to the church entrance on ox-drawn carts, and the religious programme alternates with a civic one of dances, concerts and tastings of local products. The proper feast of the Madonna della Strada is instead celebrated on 14 and 15 August.
The relics of the patron Saint Urban, donated by Pope Benedict XIV and placed by Archbishop Francesco Pacca on 31 May 1752 in a special reliquary in the parish church of San Silvestro, were partly destroyed in a fire in 1891; the church was reconsecrated on 14 May 1896 by Cardinal Archbishop Di Rende. San Silvestro was the first church built within the town walls, in 1246. The church of Santa Maria della Strada, located outside the village on an ancient Italic temple later converted in the Roman era, is today considered among the oldest and best preserved in the region.
