Sleep in Cave Hotel Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita in Matera, Basilicata

The term luxury is redefined at the cave hotel Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita located in the Sassi area of Matera. This albergo diffuso, or dispersed hotel, brings to life the history, atmosphere, life, and soul of i sassi recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When you think of sleeping in a cave, don’t you think back to prehistoric times? The cave people? The GEICO commercial? Well now a days, sleeping in a cave isn’t always associated with stone age prehistoric habits. The cave hotel Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita in Matera has taken history and turned it into a more elevated experience. We’re not talking about grabbing a sleeping bag and a flashlight and sleeping on the cold stone floor here, we’re talking about luxury amenities and services in restored caves where locals once lived. When staying in the 9000 year old village of Matera in Basilicata, there is no better way to immerse yourself into how the townspeople lived up until the 1980s (but in a bit more style and modernity), than a stay in their old abodes at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita.

How to Get There and Where to Park?

The arrival to this remote and exclusive place can be a bit difficult however, but that’s what makes the final destination even more worth it. You can’t drive into the historic Sassi area so will need to get there by foot or shuttle. You drop your car off at the Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita cave hotel parking lot located on the outskirts of the old village of Matera, in the more modern Matera. From there, you can either walk to the hotel or pay 10 euro to be escorted by shuttle. If you have a lot of luggage, you’ll want to be escorted via shuttle. Matera is no easy feat…it’s full of stairs–many, manyyy stairs. And cobblestones–many, manyyy cobblestones. So dragging heavy luggage around this city is extremely difficult and damaging to you’re luggage.

Location and Albergo Diffuso

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Once you finally make it, you find yourself in the open aired terrace of the cave hotel. Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita is a vast property. The owner Daniele Kihlgren saw potential in Matera back in 2009, so invested in purchasing caves on the Civita side of Matera, the oldest part of the Sassi (or the rocks). The Sassi quarters are a stunning and well preserved example of a village where hundreds of caves were turned into dwellings, churches, and palaces. Every room you step into at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita has been zealously preserved to revive the original structure. Sextantio goes as far as trying to repurpose the same wood and stone for furniture and walls. It’s clear that a great amount of detail and research has gone into bringing history to life.

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Of course, purchasing various caves meant not having a hub spot for the center of the hotel. There’s actually a word for this type of hotel in Italian, it’s called albergo diffuso, or dispersed hotel. This concept began in 1980 as a means to revitalize abandoned and lesser known Italian villages and spur tourism. What can be considered the “center” of the cave hotel is the small square where you’ll find the reception and breakfast nook. That’s where we first set foot on the property. We were immediately taken aback by the beauty of Sextantio’s prime location: the Murgia in front of us, the back of Santa Maria de Idris rock church jutting out from the earth, the cave hotel rooms scattered into the rock. Needless to say it’s a sight that takes your breath away.

Being Shown Around By A Local Materana

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We walk into the reception and are greeted by Marienza, one of the staff from the cave hotel. There’s a glass cistern in the reception where I believe cave dwellers used to collect water and some local products laid out on the side. Marienza offers us some fresh lemon water to quench our thirst and takes us around a quick tour of the property. Marienza herself is a local Materana. Her family actually lived in these cave dwellings till the late 50s. It was fascinating meeting a local Materana. Why you may ask? Because she gave me a renewed sense of awareness I didn’t have before.

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As a traveler, I see a restored cave and think about how stunning this revival of history is. What an unforgettable experience it would be to sleep in a cave. But I don’t think or realize what memories these caves actually bring back for local Materani. Living conditions were quite deplorable given how advanced the rest of the world outside of Matera was in the 1980s. Memories of these caves are not always positive. For many, the caves have become a distant memory many don’t want to return to. If you’re not familiar with Matera’s history, it will all make more sense in my article about Matera here.

The Room: Cave 7 Superior

There are 18 caves or rooms at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. There are 4 different types of caves you can stay in: Classic, Superior, Suite, and Executive Suite. We stayed in Cave 7, which is a Superior room. The room was everything I could’ve asked for and more. Now let’s be clear, I want this to be known. If you’re the type of person to enjoy the luxury amenities of the Ritz Carlton, the Peninsula, or other lavish hotels, you will not find those here. The term luxury is redefined at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. Luxury at Sextantio is the luxury of creating a lasting and indelible memory through a transformative and enriching experience. It’s about a new and unique physical, emotional, or intellectual feeling that comes with an appreciation for an authentic, exclusive, and finer thing in life.

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All rooms have all the essential amenities you need: hair dryer, water, and fresh fruit upon arrival, natural soap and shampoo, bathroom, bathtub, robes, and slippers. Heck, they even have a bottle of local wine in the room for you if you’d like. But if you’re looking for something fancier, then Sextantio may not be for you. The cave hotel experience and atmosphere in the Sextantio room depicts the local culture of the Materani back in the 1980s. Plain furniture elements, minimalistic interior design, but with keen attention to detail.

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Only a few modern updates were made to the property, but you wouldn’t even notice them. For instance, to keep the cave hotel warm during the colder winter months, the stones on the floor were lifted one by one in order to install a floor heater. This project took over 5 years to come to fruition. Another small thing you won’t notice is that since these caves are very dark, they’ve made small crevices into the wall for candles. There was only one window in my cave and it was in the bathroom, but barely had any light (as pictured below). I personally loved how dark the cave was and how it was minimalistically lit with candles. It made the superior room very romantic and cozy. If it’s too dark for you, you can ask for some additional candles and light.

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Of course the bathroom was very much modernized! However, our room did not have a shower. The shower was actually part of the beautiful bathtub at the end of the room. This can make showering a bit difficult because you have to sit in a bathtub, since you don’t want to splash water everywhere.

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The bathtub had to be my favorite part of the room. Even if it was fairly warm outside, the large white bathtub was calling me. The cave hotel is actually a perfect escape from the melting summer heat, that can get up to 100F in Matera in the summer. The minute you step into the cave hotel rooms, the cool air emitted from the rocks cools you down instantly to your bones. It’s the best respite from hot weather.

The View of Murgia Park

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I stepped out onto the communal balcony where I could hear cows mooing in the distance and cowbells ringing incessantly. I peered over the edge of the stone balcony overlooking spectacular Murgia Park and its rock-hewn churches and looked down into the ravine or la gravina. There was a herd of cows grazing by the river. I felt so in touch with nature.

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It may sound silly, but it doesn’t take much to make me happy. And watching animals in their element from the picturesque sassi village of Matera is one of those small things in life that made me happy. I stood there and watched as the dogs ran around the cows trying to get them in line for about 20 minutes–no joke. Some cows managed to get out of line, so I was curious to see if the dogs would find them and return them to the rest of the herd. I’ve come to the conclusion that the dogs failed in a way to do their jobs because they were distracted and having too much fun. A few cows who went off the beaten path got lost and were left there overnight. I know because I could see them and hear their cowbells and mooing in the distance at night.

Additional Services

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While the property may be simple in its amenities, it does offer unique additional services for those interested. Since the property does not have a restaurant, Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita can create a unique one-of-a-kind experience for you and your travel companions. For the foodie, upon request, you can participate in a cooking class or have a local chef cook for you, partake in a local wine tasting, and have the entire 13th century rock hewn church cave to yourself lit up with candles and live classical music for dinner. It’s quite romantic and exclusive. For those interested in wellness, they offer in room massages. And for the active traveler, they offer hiking, trekking, and cycling tours in Matera and in Murgia Park.

Dinner Recommendations

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When I got back from dinner, it was time to draw a bath. I turned the water faucet on and in seconds the tub was completely full of luke warm water–not too hot and not too cold. The water would’ve been more appealing if it were hotter, but I guess it makes sense. It was so hot outside that a luke warm bath would cool you down more than a warm one. As I sat soaking in the water, I closed my eyes lightly and let my thoughts drift lazily about. I used the natural almond milk soaps and shampoos on display in beautiful glass flasks on the wooden table. After a short amount of time, I quickly got out of the tub, toweled off, and changed into my PJs before falling into a deep sleep.

Breakfast

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The next morning, we headed to the old 13th century rock hewn cave church for breakfast. This area was once used as a church and later on someone’s abode. There’s evidence of using this cave as an animal stall and a heater. You could choose to eat breakfast inside or outside. We chose outside. The inside was marvelous, but all tables were taken. Walking through the cave church felt like walking through an enormous life-sized sponge or block of cheese. It was like jumping in and out of holes that were about 20 feet tall!

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Because of COVID, self-service at the buffet tables wasn’t an option. So one of the staff took us around the buffet tables and served us what we were craving. The breakfast spreads Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita had were quite impressive and fit for a king–ironic given the history of where we were staying. But I guess it makes sense, making up for hard past through lavish meals in a way. Almost everything you saw was made by hand by the staff or bought from a local vendor. There was a table full of fruit, cereal, grains, and yogurts. Another one rich in salty and sweet quiches. A table full of cheeses and meats. And of course, I spotted my favorite table packed with homemade cakes, pastries, and jams.

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La Lopa wasn’t the only local delicacy that Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita introduced me to. The highlight of our breakfast had to be the yogurts from Matera. The consistency and lightness of these yogurts was insane. So fluffy and soft and light on the stomach. Not a belly bomb like some yogurts can be. When we asked the staff where they got the yogurt from, they told us from a local dairy farm called Caseificio Maggiore Matera. You can stop by their POP (points of purchase) in zona Paip e in Piazza Vittorio Veneto 49. I took some extra yogurts to go for our trip on the road to Nardo’…that’s how good they were.

After breakfast we sat outside our Superior room at our wooden table. With a glass of water in hand, we took in the view one last time of Murgia park. That’s where we’d be headed next. My stay at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita was a highly memorable one. The Murgia park area had an eerie historical landscape where locals had hewn out homes and places of worship in the rocks and established farming in the valleys.

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Before leaving, Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita left us with once last parting gift. They had packaged some of the leftover quiches and focaccias from breakfast that they saw we liked most and given them to us as we continued along our journey. We drove over to Murgia Park, where we snacked on our quiches and focaccias and took one last look at the expansive and UNESCO city of Matera and Sextantio in the distance, before heading further South on our road trip around Puglia.

Rooms start at $280 p/night.

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. All opinions remain my own. I was in no way influenced by the company. 

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