(CNN)"Sleeping in our caves is a mystical experience," says Umberto Paolucci. "You'll find your spirit and the real essence of life. Even if you're looking for neither." As the co-owner of Grotte della Civita, a luxury resort dug into a precipice of primeval stones that seemingly rise from nowhere at Matera in Italy's deepest south, Paolucci knows a thing or two about journeys of discovery and redemption. Once a refuge for monks, nuns and hermits fleeing persecution in the Middle Ages, the caves slowly fell into oblivion. For centuries, Matera's 156 rock crypts and maze of grottoes, known as Sassi, were home to "troglodyte" outcasts living in inhuman conditions.
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For centuries, Matera, Italy's rock crypts and maze of grottoes have been home to "troglodyte" outcasts living in inhuman conditions
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Now many of the caves have been converted into upscale "spiritual hotels"
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Matera is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and picked as the 2019 European Capital of Culture
Several of @placeholder's cave dwellings and crypts have been restored as a "spiritual hotel."