Sextantio Albergo Diffuso Le Grotte Della Civita

Useful Information

Location:	Matera, Via Civita 28, Sasso Barisano
Open:	All year daily. [2010]
Fee:	Classic Cave EUR 275 per night. Superior Cave EUR 350 per night. Suite Cave EUR 495 per night. [2010]
Classification:	Cave House
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Sextantio Albergo Diffuso Le Grotte Della Civita, DOM slr, Via Civita 28, Sasso Barisano, 75100 Matera, Tel: +39-0835-332744, Cell: +39-345-7902449, Fax: +39-0835-337331. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1993	Sassi inscribed at the UNESCO WHL.
2009	opened to the public.

Description

The Sextantio Albergo Diffuso Le Grotte Della Civita is one of now several underground hotels in the Sassi of Matera. The 2,000 m² big property was developed by by the entrepreneur and hotelier Daniele Kihlgren, his business partner Enrico Ducrot, and the architectMargareta Berg. The result are 18 rooms and suites up to 140 m² in size with five to six meter high ceilings. Younger alterations were completely removed, to show the original structure of the caves, the rooms were carefully equipped with antique or design furniture. The whole furnishing follows the arte povera tradition, the local craftsmanship. Even the sheets are from an unused bride price found in an palazzo. The structure of the cave is used too, sometimes there are benches made of wooden planks fixed to the wall, or former feedlots used as washbasins.

The artificial underground rooms were once a simple way to create room for living, storage, and cattle. Later the underground houses were used primarily by poor people and so they were finally abandoned and the inhabitants relocated to public housing. But after decades of abandonment the underground rooms were renovated since the 1980s and some of them are now used as living space again. Some hotels allow everyone to experience the underground lifestyle.