Sextantio Santo Stefano di Sessanio

Sextantio Albergo Diffuso is the natural variation of a cultural project based on
recovery and transmission of the identity culture of the territory in which it develops. In our
accommodation facility the services offered are linked to local cultures, from the customs expressed in the
domestic sphere, popular food and crafts, brought to light by an ethnographic research carried out
in the last ten years with the Museum of the People of Abruzzo.

Rooms. The interiors of the rooms are inspired by the photographs that Paul Scheuermeier, linguist
Swiss, shot in Abruzzo in the 1920s. To preserve the aesthetic-affective unity
of the interiors and avoiding the over-use of contemporary material, the use of
autochthonous objects often stored in museums or, where necessary, the use of recycled material
also de-contextualized. The search for the most archaic soul of these spaces led to
preservation of small windows, dim light, uneven floors and the choice of individuals
details, such as unscented handmade soaps, obtained from olive oil and produced according to methods
strictly traditional and a lupine oil hair soap, made following research
about folk medicine. The only "poetic license" applied, for understandable reasons, is the choice
of contemporary, sober, geometric sanitaryware with an extremely recognizable design.

The restaurant, the "Locanda sotto gli Archi". The restaurant has undergone a restoration work in view
strictly conservative. The internal space is characterized by the two large stone arches which
they rest on support columns and a central stone fireplace. The tables and chairs are previous
to the twentieth century; the ceramic plates and dishes are handmade and inspired by research
on ceramics for use commissioned by the Museo delle Genti d'Abruzzo. At the same museum it was
commissioned a research on popular cuisine, the data of which are the reference point for the
proposal of the presented menus. The project on food, which in its complete form starts from its use
exclusive of native crops up to the domestic presentation of the dishes on the plate, it is still
in the experimental phase.

Il Cantinone. "Il Cantinone" by Sextantio Albergo Diffuso takes its name from the "cellar" o
"Fondaco", a characteristic room of traditional Abruzzo houses used for the conservation of
foods. Located on the ground floor or in the basement, often built on the extension of a cave,
this place was fundamental in the agro-pastoral domestic economy because it contained
food necessary for family sustenance during long and poor winters. Held "under
key ”by the head of the family or by the elderly matriarchs of the rural society of Abruzzo, the cellar
it kept the wine barrel, the demijohns of oil, the vinegar, the sausages of pork, the cheeses
seasoned in wooden cupboards, vegetables prepared in oil in ceramic pots and jars in
glass. The "Cantinone" offer follows this world of self-sufficiency, with the presentation of
natural conservation cellar products, and is enriched with the proposal of a few unique dishes,
simple and essential, belonging to local cultures. In the internal space, the recessed benches recall the ability of mountain people to work wood; tables with tops cut and dug
they recall the age-old gestures of housewives in the kitchen. The prince of the scene is the wall fireplace, in stone,
with the typical niche structure of the Barony of Carapelle, where, today as then, they are held in
hot meals of the day.

The Home Craft Shop. The Bottega dell'Artigianato recalls a space
house typically lived by women, with the large frame in the center. In the same space, yes
they can buy the objects of material culture seen in the rooms, from simple ones
glass bottles to ceramic glasses. Emblematic objects of a world that this project
intends to represent. In addition to a large variety of self-produced fabrics, there are antique fabrics or
made by Abruzzo weavers. Some artifacts belong strictly to the traditions of the
Abruzzo mountains and have been assisted by an ethnographic research on historical memory and on
iconographic sources.

The Herbal Tea. The Tisaneria develops in the same space as the shop. With herbal teas prepared with
local herbs are flanked by herbal teas obtained from non-native plants, but of great value
therapeutic. The desserts offered are made for Sextantio in a historic workshop in S. Stefano di
Sessanio or self-produced. Among these, the "ferratelle" stand out, a sweet symbol of Abruzzo and rituality
currently made by Gianna, our weaver.