Once known for their squalid living conditions, the prehistoric limestone warrens have been repurposed as lodgings, bars, and artist workshops. Would staying there feel extraordinary or tasteless?

The Pertosa-Auletta Caves are a popular tourist site with two claims to fame: Italy’s only navigable underground river and Europe’s only preserved remains of an underground Bronze Age village.

Discover Puglia, Italy! Explore UNESCO sites, Alberobello's trulli, Lecce's baroque, sea caves, olive groves & its unique Adriatic & Ionian coastal cuisine.

The Pertosa-Auletta Caves are a popular tourist site with two claims to fame: Italy’s only navigable underground river and Europe’s only preserved remains of an underground Bronze Age village.

In a cave in southern Italy, archaeologists sifted through a muddy riverbed normally submerged by the turquoise waters of an underground river.

In a cave in southern Italy, archaeologists sifted through a muddy riverbed normally submerged by the turquoise waters of an underground river.

In a cave in southern Italy, archaeologists sifted through a muddy riverbed normally submerged by the turquoise waters of an underground river.

In a cave in southern Italy, archaeologists sifted through a muddy riverbed normally submerged by the turquoise waters of an underground river.

In a cave in southern Italy, archaeologists sifted through a muddy riverbed normally submerged by the turquoise waters of an underground river.

In a cave in southern Italy, archaeologists sifted through a muddy riverbed normally submerged by the turquoise waters of an underground river.