Le Grotte della Civita ...a window in time

As a sphinx that watches over the Pyramides ,Sassi di Matera   ( "stones of Matera") an ancient city excaved from the rock of the Gravina canyon ,has been watching over the ancient memories that still whispers stories never told through its narrow streets and caves .It's been  a silent witness of the march of time .Located in the far southern Italy , Basilicata .Sassi di Matera has been inhabited by all the ages of humanity since the Paleolithic period .It's a breathtaking place where it's easy to get overwhelmed by the historic environment that encompasses all those material remains that our acenstros dating back to Paleolithic times have created in the landscape .A place wher you can hear the wise silence speaking in loud voice . 

©Nico Tucci 

A couple of years ago while searching on the web I came across one of the most beautiful and unique boutique hotels I'd ever seen called Le Grotte della Civita ,set in a prehistoric cave in Sassi di Matera (In Basilicata ,just south of Puglia) and led me to Sextantio Albergo Diffuso .It was love at first sight ,this cutty edgy boutique hotel got me head over heels in the blink of an eye .Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita is an Albergo Difuso ,this concept is a great italian sutainable tourism idea .It's a traveler inmersion into a town's history ....it not only avoids the construction of new hotels on the ouskirts but take buildings that have abandonaded and gives them new purpose while keeping their antique appeal was the creator .You can read more about it here : Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita -Albergo Difusso concept 

Daniele Kihlgren was the creator of Sextantio Albergo Diffuso and Le Grotte della Civita to preserve the natural beauty and local heritage of Italy's south In Sassi di Matera he restored some cave dwellings which for most of their 2500 years were home to peasants and monks .The result is an authentic collection of 18 simple rooms called , Le Grotte della Civita .He saids   : 

     “Italy is becoming faker and faker,” he declares. “That’s why, when I start on these projects, I begin as if I’m setting up a museum. We look at the artisanal traditions that contributed to how these buildings were originally constructed. We look for the old recipes, which then find their way into the restaurant. The kind of clients who understand what I’m doing are deeply educated in anthropology themselves. They consider authenticity to be a very real value in today’s world.”

                                        Source of the images  http://www.sextantio.it/

                                                                       ©Nico Tucci 

If you want the deeper sense of a place you have to sleep in a house of that place not in a international Hotel . Herman Hesse -On Voyage

Come in   .....

Source of the images :http://www.sextantio.it/

"An albergo diffuso is more than a tourist structure and more than a renovation project – it’s a cultural encounter that enriches the lives of the locals as well as the travelers, and often forges friendships in the process. It’s more than a hotel stay; it’s a traveler’s immersion into a town’s history and life." 

source Sustanaible Tourism World