Sextantio le Grotte Della Civita, Matera, Italy

The trip in to Matera was a bit on the sketchy side as my sisters and I appeared to be driving into a deserted shanty-town. But then, in between buildings, we caught a quick glimpse of Sassi and had to pick our jaws up off the floor. As we approached our destination, our view turned into a picture-perfect painting. We saw rolling hills and an entire village carved into the side of a massive rocky slope. Then a ravine plunging down to a small river. The streets turned into stone slabs and it was all so immaculately clean.

From the street it was a bit hard to find our hotel because it blended in so well with it’s surroundings, which is not a bad thing. We saw a small sign that said “Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita” and we pulled our rental car right in front. A smiling and sweet man came to help us with our luggage and told us where to go. We felt a bit silly in our dresses and fancy shoes. Matera is very casual so we quickly changed into some flip flops and more appropriate attire. This is a cave village, after all.

Opening the door to our cave was like seeing an entirely new world for the very first time. It was real, built thousands of years ago, and may have been the first human dwelling in all of Italy. Now this was something extremely rare. I’m not usually a history nut, but I found this to be exhilarating.

Candles everywhere! A rain shower! A separate and beautiful bath area! Fruit and wine waiting for us on the table! I had to jump on the bed and do a little happy dance!

We found ourselves laughing after we blurted out some silly questions that you would never hear a cave woman ask. Among them,”Does this cave have WiFi?” and “Can I use your dry-spray shampoo when we get to the cave?”

The town itself was magical. It felt very safe, very clean, and so authentic. Exploring Sassi by foot is the way to go, with something interesting and unique around every turn.

Tourist Tip:

At the recommendation of our hotel, we dined at Restaurante Francesca. It was fabulous and should be added to all Matera itineraries! My favorite dish below, ricotta stuffed figs.