In southern Italy, caves become luxury hotels « True Luxury Hotels

The book was Carlo Levi's account of the extreme poverty in this Basilicata region. A decade later, Di Cecce and about 15000 other sassi dwellers were relocated to new low-income housing, and the ancient grotto homes were abandoned. ... The hotel, surrounded by wildflowers and fields of grain, was once a masseria (a farmhouse with fortified walls typical of southern Italy) built by a wealthy landowner. Now it is a dream realized by the current owner, John Giannone, ...