New artists for the Nouveau Grand Tour
The Institut Francais Italia and the Embassy of France in Italy have renewed the call for the "New Grand Tour" art residency project. This nationwide artistic program promotes cultural dialogue and European values of exchange and sharing by offering the opportunity for young French and German artists to spend a period in Italy. This year […]
New temporary residents in Grottole
Sarah and Christoph come from Hamburg and have decided to spend some time in Italy, working remotely. Through our experiences, they are discovering the area, the traditions and the welcoming community of Grottole. We asked Sarah, who is an illustrator in life, some questions about their stay in the village and her creative work. Hi […]
Wonder Grottole in the project “Re-animate: Designs for Life-enhancing economies in Anthropological Perspective”
Christina Jerne, from the University of Copenhagen and the Community Economies Institute, is currently studying Wonder Grottole, and its activities in territorial regeneration and cultural investment. Wonder Grottole will be one of the case studies in a project entitled 'Re-animate: Designs for Life-enhancing economies in Anthropological Perspective' funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. Christina […]
Discovering your Italian roots, the role of the genealogist
The search for one's roots and family history can be a fascinating and emotional journey. In Grottole, a key person for those embarking on this path is Giovanni Quaranta, a genealogist who is dedicated to helping Italian-descendants find their roots. In view of the Year of Italian Roots in the World, we decided to ask […]
The rural coliving experience as told by a remote worker
At the end of 2022 we had the pleasure of hosting Capucine and Wilko in our residence, two wonderful people who have integrated perfectly into the community of Grottole (Matera) and with whom we have formed a beautiful human relationship. Capucine is a seamstress in life and we talked about her sabbatical in Italy in […]
Remote work as an opportunity for rural areas
In Grottole, Basilicata, we host, for medium to long periods, remote workers. We do this in the only two rooms available in our Wonder Casa, in a mode we have called rural coliving. And we are moving our steps toward a sustainable model for hosting digital nomads in symbiosis with the whole local community. Remote […]
From Paris to Grottole to learn the art of crochet
Have you ever thought of immersing yourself in a new culture and learning local traditions and arts? That's exactly what Capucine, a young seamstress from Paris, decided to do when she chose to spend a few months in Italy and Grottole in search of living culture and authentic relationships with the local community, such as […]
Call - Open School for Village Hosts
Applications are open to join the Open School for Village Hosts, of which Wonder Grottole is a partner. We are looking for people or groups already active in the territory who have new ideas to develop (spin-offs of their current projects) or who want to implement what they are already doing. The school will teach/guide: […]
Grottole as educational destination
We were first contacted by POP Education, a French association that organizes study vacations for young people, in 2019. Three years have passed and, after years of travel restrictions, we hosted our first group of students in Grottole. This fall 10 kids aged 14 to 16 came to the village to have immersive experiences in […]
Roots Tourism and Wonder Grottole
2024 will be the year of Roots Tourism, but what is it all about? Roots tourism, or return tourism, involves first or second generation emigrants who decide to rediscover the places of their family origins. In numbers: 80 million is the number of Italian descendants or Italians living abroad, the potential audience for this form […]