Thanks to some once-forgotten, revived villages in Italy, visitors from all over the world can review the meaning of travel. Instead of visiting a place, they can immerse themselves in its soul and history. This is a unique story about travel and hospitality and what’s called the Sextantio project.

It all started in the late 1990s. The moment that Swedish-Italian Daniele Kihlgren first saw Santo Stefano di Sessanio when he was passing through. Santo Stefano near Rome in the mountains, was of Italy’s many ghostly, abandoned villages. He immediately wanted to save it from developers taking over. To keep its dignity. In doing so, he did not only save the village. He made it a unique place to stay for travellers, as it was developed from the inside up.

His vision came to life with local people who saw it too and took part in it. Keeping the integrity of each building and the essence of local life intact in each room. It began with constructing the separate hotel restaurant with his friends. From here, Kilhlgren set out to breathe new life into the village with unique places to stay for visitors.

Traces of ancient rural life

Today, Santo Stefano is a globally reported destination. Thanks to its Albergo Diffuso (or Scattered Inn) concept, visitors can stay among a village its inhabitants themselves. It is also where, as Kihlgren put it, they can find traces of a bygone countryside and ancient rural life.

For example, visitors can have a coffee on its little square where stray dogs will sit with them. They can visit a little store where material for the bed covers is woven traditional style. The can stay in the very room where women and children once told each other stories. A space where they kept warm in the winter, together with the cattle returning from the mountains. Or they can dine at a restaurant whose menus are inspired by local cooking techniques of the past. Age-old ways of cooking, collected through video interviews with the locals by a woman of the local history museum. If they’re lucky, they will chat with the bartender at the small local cafe. Who happens to be the granddaughter of a local shepherd.

Slow travel

Santo Stefano would later become the prototype for further Albergo Diffusos in other locations, under the name Sextantio. What binds them all, is their ability to lend themselves for slow travel. With the history and local life are left intact, travellers can live and breathe each location’s soul and essence.

For example, the Le Grotte della Civita in South Italy, which has been open since 2009. It dates back to Stone and Bronze ages and was once home to monasteries from the Middle Ages. There are 18 rooms to stay in, as well as an ancient church, the Cripta della Civita. This is now in use as a visitor communal area.

The next location, the Palazzo della Civita in southern Matera, opened its doors in the summer of 2023. This traveller’s destination includes a palace from the 17th century. They can also marvel at its Rupestrian church, built out of rock. Plus there are all the elements that have been inspired by local traditions.

Today, Santo Stefano’s visitors can find a unique location to visit. They can also find a place that offers a few different perspectives on what it means to travel.

Other places waiting to be revived

Another recent Sextantio project is in Africa. Rwanda’s Capanne (huts) Project at the remote location on Nkombo Island in Africa has been open since 2022. Described as “two huts in a small village,” its traditional Rwandan beds are made with layered straw mats and mattresses. It was created by Kihlgren once again to prevent tourism from destroying the precarious natural balance of the area.

“The identity of a place, and its preservation, gave life to the projects in the villages of Santo Stefano di Sessanio and in the Sassi of Matera in Italy,” Kihlgren told Perspective Living. He added that this philosophy: “wanted to be revived in a different place of social disadvantage: Nkombo Island, Lake Kivu, Rwanda.”

In-keeping with the ideology behind the Sextantio projects, Kihlgren’s team had interviewed local elders from the area. These elders “were all part of a population with a certain religious syncretism,” said Kihlgren. Basically, an amalgamation of different religions, cultures, and schools of thought. Their local knowledge, proved useful in implementing the project. The project also helps finance health insurance to those in Rwanda that need it the most. To treat common diseases which are inexpensive to treat but have a high rate of mortality.

So, visitors can get a feel for the local atmosphere and history. In line with the essence of the Sextantio locations, the project includes local knowledge of culture, plants and birds. And a few unique perspectives on what it means to travel. For instance taking our time to really get a feel for the soul of a place. Or, to embrace the opportunity to give back, and not just take from a locality.

In the mood for some more Slow News that is timeless? Check it out here.