I spent a month living in Southern Italy’s forgotten cave town

As soon as you arrive in the village of Grottole, it’s obvious that this pocket of Southern Italy is unpolluted by tourism.

We’d booked a month-long stay in this ancient and forgotten town in the province of Matera, and we didn’t know what to expect. Over the following weeks, we enjoyed full immersion in the Italian way of life among this fascinating, authentic, and historical village.

We found this opportunity through Wonder Grottole, a collective of enthusiasts that invites curious visitors to experience the food, history, and way of life that defines this hill-top village.

Surrounded by rolling olive groves and vineyards, Grottole has been inhabited for thousands of years. The name actually just means ‘caves' in Italian, and for good reason. From the 12th century hundreds of caves in the region were inhabited, including Greek and Roman settlements, before being controlled by feuding Italian families.

Grottole eventually grew into a fully developed village, with tightly packed stone houses, churches, and even a castle built over its foundation of cryptulae, or caves. Today, locals still use these caves to store the wine and olive oil they produce themselves. Sadly, as is the case in many small Italian towns, the population has shrunk to closer to 2000 people as younger generations move to larger cities.

This is what Wonder Grottole is attempting to change by inviting curious visitors to experience this authentic silo of Italian culture.

Grottole has retained a sleepy way of life, and it took a while for us to adjust to the routine that comes with it. From about 1pm to as late as 5pm, every store around the village shuts down entirely. During this quiet period, the town’s inhabitants wait out the day’s heat by having a siesta-like break or socialising in the town square and local tabacchi bars over an espresso. Italian dinners are late and long, and there’s no such thing as a light meal.

Our favourite dinner spot was the town staple, Bar Trattoria Quaranta, run by married couple Antonio and Elena. They turn on the lights to their restaurant when you arrive, and seat you at their eclectic home-style tables. They don’t have a menu, instead you just have a chat with Elena about what you want and she’ll rustle up as many courses as you can handle.

There are few grocery stores, and shopping reflects the traditions of the town. If you want meat, you go to the macelleria, if you want bread, the panificio, and for vegetables, you go to Angelo (unless he’s already away on his tractor). Every item of produce in this town is fresh enough to appease the high standards of its nonnas.

The truest evidence of Grottole’s history is its wine. Every family owns sections of vineyard, and harvest time is an all-hands-on-deck push to collect the grapes and drive them to the family’s cave cellar. Here, grapes are crushed and fermented in rotund glass bottles, as they have been for as long as the families can remember. Trying the wine is easy. Just ask a local and they’ll dig out a bottle of their family’s latest vintage.

To get to Grottole, you can fly into Bari and rent a car or catch a train to the city of Matera and rent one there. Buses also run a few times a day between Matera and Grottole. There are now many Airbnbs, or you can book longer stays and experiences with Wonder Grottole if you want to make the village feel like your own, just as we did.

It’s wise to brush up on your Italian first, as the villagers speak little English. Once you have, you can enjoy watching their eyes widen when you say you’ve come all the way from New Zealand.

There are a variety of flight options from New Zealand to Rome and Naples with connections to Bari. For more information abut Grottole, visit

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