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WONDER BEE & BEE

Wonder Bee&Bee is Wonder Grottole’s project that combines innovation, sustainability and slow tourism with the world of beekeeping and bee therapy. A self-built bio-architecture, an observatory on the world of bees, an oasis of peace and well-being.

Explore the fantastic world of bees with Rocco

Immerse yourself in the sounds and scents of bees

Relaxing massage with honey and olive oil

The first integrated apiary where you can sleep in the company of a million bees in complete safety.

Wonder Bee&Bee is the brainchild of Rocco Filomeno, a beekeeper from Grottole. The apiary was conceived by designers Davide Tagliabue and Carlo Roccafiorita with Rocco’s support. The executive design was developed by Davide Tagliabue, while the self-construction work was done by Davide and Mariella Gentile with the help of, Lorenzo Lombardi, Luca Gabrieli, Andrea Paoletti, Rocco Pisilli, Nicola Viola and 15 other volunteers from the local community.

It required 3.5 cubic meters of fir and birch wood, 3,000 screws, took 35 days to build and cost just over 15,000 euros raised through a crowdfunding campaign supported by Funder 35.

The micro-architecture is surrounded by 9 hives, each inhabited by a family of bees, connected to the room via small grates that allow guests to listen to the sounds and appreciate the unique aroma produced by the honey and resin. From inside the house also it is possible to see an observation honeycomb inside which the bees are naturally building their habitat.

This wooden mini-home, positioned inside an olive grove in Grottole, was selected to join Airbnb’s new “WOW!” category, created to collect unique places where you can stay overnight through the platform.

You can book the unique experience of sleeping inside Wonder “Bee&Bee” by clicking on this link.

Soon we will also launch a calendar of possible activities to experience alone, with friends, with family, with children, with schools.

Fill out our form to find out before everyone else when and how you can book these experiences.

A bit of history – from residency to reality

Started by the dream of Rocco Filomeno, a beekeeper from Grottole, to realize an integrated apiary in 2020, we organized Wonder Residency with designers Davide Tagliabue and Carlo Roccafiorita to design Wonder Bee – a hybrid space of connection and exchange between man and nature, a micro-architecture to be built with hands starting from a grand vision of sustainable development.

Today Wonder Bee has changed its name to Wonder Bee&Bee and it is also possible to sleep inside. Wonder Bee&Bee is a facility that allows the combination of beekeeping and its beneficial properties for the community and tourists.

What is Wonder Bee&Bee

Wonder Bee&Bee is a wooden structure surrounded by hives intended for honey production. This system will also allow people to benefit from apitherapy, a wellness path made of scents and sounds, and to study the behavior of bees by promoting the defense and discovery of these animals so precious for the survival of the entire ecosystem.

Wonder Bee&Bee is an observatory on the world of bees, an educational classroom open to schools and families. The apiary is also a place to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity, ensure food security, promote sustainable agriculture, combat climate change, agroecosystem pollution and promote innovative methodologies for environmental monitoring.

The crowdfunding campaign

On October 25, thanks to the support of the Funder35 call, a crowdfunding campaign (a participatory system of “bottom-up funding”) was launched, with the aim of realizing the first prototype of the project, as a resource for the area but also as a test study for the realization of an integrated apiary, to be replicated elsewhere.

Thanks to more than 180 supporters, we reached our goal and raised €10,371

On April 9, 2022 we held a first celebratory party dedicated just to the community of supporters of the crowdfunding campaign.

Thank you to all our supporters!

Vincenzo D’Aria
Valerio Caputo
Nunzio Scalcione
Patrizia Loiola
Tina Carbone
Elisa Cozzarini
Tommaso Goisis
Dan Kidson
Nadia Bassan
Margherita Mustacciu
Francesca Parviero
Alessandra Verganesi
Graziano Amodio
MariaCristina Negro
Vito Buono
Mariano Carati
Silvia Boccia
Monica Marino
Mariella Stella
Pablo Colangelo
Linda Donini
Giorgia Bertoglio
Dalia Marioni
Neal Gorenflo
Cristina Polga
Giovanni Fontana
Giudita Melis
Alessandro Oliva
Celestina Tarenghi
Michele Ruggieri
Viviana Bassan
Daniela Bartolini
Domenica Maiorino
Rocco Iacovino
Claudio De Leo
Federica Calcaterra
Silvio Donadio
Eleonora Odorizzi
Katarina Wahlberg
Veronica Moramarco
Matteo Frigerio
Martina D’Aria
Isabella Rossi
Milena Tarquilio
Elena Jachia
Giuseppe DeMare
Valentina Schembri
MicheleD’alena
Claudia Pattarini
Nicola Specchia
Simone Ferraiuolo
Susanna Stefanoni
Roberto Battaglia
Cristina Toscano
Laura Anzideo
Alessia Zabatino


Enrico Murtula
Andrea Bartoli
Piera Mattioli
Silvia Frilli
Giovanni Teneggi
Mauro Acito
Anna Nosari
Vincenzo Nigro
Margherita Ferraiuolo
Pierluigi Argoneto
Simona Ponte
Giovanna Vizziello
Marta Plebani
Maria cristina Romano
Lucia Vizziello
Letizia Alianelli
Nicola Viola
GIianpaolo Via
Chiara Di Lecce
Federico Valicenti
Matera per Bambini
Antonio Rota
Patrizia Vita
Lorenza Gazzerro
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Marioluigi Bassan
Andrea Paoletti
Alessandro Magnani
Maura Bassan
Alessia Amenta
Margherita Dall’Oglio
Andrea Brunetti
Benedetto Bianco
Anna Calise
Amaia Baz Iriarte
Nessa Maguire
Emanuela Borsci
Mimi Coviello
Tania Marino
Emanuele Bompan
Claudia Zampella
Luca Favia
Carlo Iuorno
Roberta Tritto
Francesca Lagna
Roberto Battaglia
Massimo Capano
Antonietta Calabrese
Saskia Wahlberg
Valentina LaTerza
Stefania Taratufolo
Annamaria Pinto
Andrea Murari
Claudio Cantore
Carmen Bruno
Alberto Giordano
Mariateresa Cascino

Michela Appio
Elisabetta Redavid
Luca Bizzarri
Anna Germana Bucca
Emanuele Gaudiano
Roberta Boccia
Luca Iacovone
Veronica Marcantonio
Andrea Crudeli
Davide Agazzi
Elga Melucci
Eleonora Dileo
Francesca Raimondi
Federica Benatti
Michela Autera
Ottavia Arenella
Gianrocco Mercadante
Caterina Lupo
Vincenzo Oliva
Francesco Paolicelli
Massimo Zenga
Silvio Donadio
Patrizia Schettino
Dan Kidson
Claudia Leto
Giovanni La Guardia
Alessandra Valerio
Mariella Dondiego
Mariagrazia Decuzzi
Salvatore Falabella
Benedetta Lamacchia
Annunziata Lamacchia
Rossella Caserta
Laura Fabrizio
Luigi Paradiso
Reza Qasemi
Giuliana Ambrosecchia
Silvana Colomba
Mariagrazia Mavillonio
Emanuela Diciocia
Silvana Grassani
Nino Stella
Filippo Dubla
Claudio Bruno
Antonia Di Lucca
Claudia Di Perna
Daniela Dortenzio
Mariateresa Lomuscio
Enza Allegretti
Marzia Morfini
Giovanni Quaranta
Barzolletta
Antonio Pizzulli
Monica Villa
Cristina Farina