Casa Grotta

Storica Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario

Useful Information

Location:	Vico Solitario, 11, Sasso Caveoso, Matera. (40.663924872708385, 16.61220246638825)
Open:	All year daily 9:30-. [2021]
Fee:	Adults EUR 3, Children (11-18) EUR 2, Children (0-10) free, Groups (10+): Adults EUR 2, Children (11-18) EUR 1.50. Only with reservation at least 2 weeks in advance. [2021]
Classification:	Subterranea Museum
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=1 h. Audioguide , , , , , , , free download from website
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Storia Casa Grotta, Vicinato di vico Solitario, 11 Sasso Caveoso, Matera MT75100, Tel: +39-0835-310118, Fax: +39-0835-310118. E-mail: Gruppo Teatro Matera, Via B. Croce n°14, 75100 Matera, Tel: +39-0835-263900.
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

1700	cave built.
16-APR-1956	cave house in Vico Solitario, inhabited by the Viziello family and owned by the Tralli family evacuated and walled up.
1974	Associazione Culturale Gruppo Teatro Matera (Cultural Association of Matera Theater Group) founded by Enrico Anecchino.
1977	first Casa Grotta museum opened to the public.
1993	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

The Casa Grotta or Storica Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario is a museum which shows a typically furnished 19th century cave house. The long name actually translates the historic cave house in the Vico Solitario quarter, so its not really a name. The museum is generally referred to as Casa Grotta for simplicity.

This local history museum, which is a fully equipped cave house of the early 20th century, is filled with original furniture and household goods. The museum was created by Enrico Anecchino, the president of the Associazione Culturale Gruppo Teatro Matera (Cultural Association of Matera Theater Group). In 1974 he founded the theater group, who organized several events like the living representation of Christian Nativity, the Carnival, and the Passion of Christ. They also started to offer guided tours with guides who played historic persons. In 1977 they had the idea to open a cave dwelling located in Sasso Caveoso to the public. As a result this museum is still operated by this non-profit group. The director of the museum is currently Raffaella Anecchino, his daughter.

The Casa Grotta (Cave House) became a cultural monument of the life of the Sassi and has contributed to the touristic development of the town. It was actually the first of those Casa Grotta, long before the inscription into the UNESCO WHL, and due to its popularity it was copied several times. Unfortunately it was copied including the name Casa Grotta, so there are now numerous other Casa Grotta's, so they are named after their location. In this case its Vico Solitario, the road where it is located in Sasso Caveoso.

The museum was originally visited self guided but due to COVID-19 it currently offers semi-guided tours. New is also an audio guide in eight languages available for free on smartphones. Only 10 persons are allowed in the museum and when the bell sounds they have to move to the next station. Tickets must be bought online and afterwards the audioguides are available for download for free. This is a very good idea in our opinion, but actually we do not know why the audioguides are not available directly from the homepage. Hopefully the audioguides are still available after the pandemic.