Italy’s villages are to be saved with a new concept

There are more than 7000 medieval villages in Italy. Quite a few were close to the end of their migration. But a creative concept breathes new life into them. In the Ligurian village of Borgomaro you can see the wondrous transformation.

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Sometimes you have to go the furthest way to appreciate what is most obvious. Sometimes you have to move to England and then to Australia to be ready later to revolutionize a village. And sometimes a smart idea has to meet the right person at the right time. Just like she met Elena Scalambrin. The Italian is in the process of transforming her grandparents’ village.

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First impressions upon arrival in the 300-soul village of Borgomaro in the mountainous hinterland of Liguria initially show nothing revolutionary at all. On the contrary, I only see scenes that seem incredibly idyllic: a young woman is sweeping the picturesque alley in front of her house in a meditative manner, three older women are chatting on the bench in front of the grocery store, and across the street an older man is studying his newspaper over coffee.

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What you can’t see: The everyday life of the inhabitants of such small mountain villages is often anything but idyllic. Seniors are forced to drive many kilometers every week, for example to see a doctor. Many young people are moving away because they have no future here.

As in Borgomaro, many villages suffer from migration, which leads to the slow extinction of the places that are magical for us. The vacancy has long been a part of those who stayed behind. But a place where there is yawning emptiness is no longer worth living for anyone.

Liguria is authentic – and not just «instagramable»

In Italy’s third smallest province, the situation is different. Borgomaro is 15 kilometers from the port city of Imperia. The stretch of coast between Imperia and Ventimiglia is called Riviera dei Fiori, Flower Riviera. The many small coastal communities are important tourist destinations – just like the coastal villages of the Cinque Terre are known worldwide for their colorful houses and terraced vineyards on the steep slopes. The Cinque Terre are overrun with tourists, but Borgomaro is not.

In times when most people are looking for that special something, it is often all about the “most instagramable” sight or the most “likes” on the Instagram Internet portal. But not all. Others would much rather do what travel is about: to get in touch with the world of locals. You suspect that there is a lifestyle of their own in the small, ancient villages. It’s about authenticity.

The alleys are the hotel corridors, the village square is the lobby

Albergo Diffuso – in English “scattered hotel” – is the name of the concept that Borgomaro and around 80 other villages in Italy has transformed. It’s a smart and charming way of making tourism sustainable: the whole village belongs to the hotel.

Existing but unused buildings are used like an inn spread out horizontally throughout the village – the alleys and squares of the village are the hotel corridors. In this way, the separation between the village community and tourists is lifted.

The initiator Giancarlo Dall’Ara calls this “holidays for tourists who don’t want to be”. It was created for the first time for Carnia, the mountainous area in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy. The aim was to use houses that were destroyed and rebuilt after the great earthquake in 1976 for tourism purposes. This was supposed to stop the emigration, because most of the residents had meanwhile moved to surrounding cities.

Today’s professor Giancarlo Dall’Ara, as a tourism advisor and hotel manager, had the idea of ​​establishing the interaction between tourists and locals in everyday life instead of separating them as usual.

Today it would be called adventure tourism: the whole village becomes accommodation, the guests become part of village life. Dall’Ara once said in an interview that he imagines an Albergo Diffuso as a novel that tells the story of a culture. Guests would be temporarily drawn into the story so they could better understand the way of life.

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Great opportunity for small villages

Born in Imperia, studied in England, lived in Australia, worked in marketing and communication in Milan, the moment had come in 2008 when all the pieces of the puzzle came together for Elena Scalambrin: she realized that Dall’Ara’s concept was the solution for the Their grandparents’ village.

As a child, she spent her holidays in the mountain village of Borgomaro. This is where her mother was born and raised. Elena’s grandfather was long dead, and her grandmother’s house was empty from 2005 to 2012 and, with the roof destroyed, was in poor condition. Together with her family, she founded her Albergo Diffuso, the Relais del Maro. Nothing was newly built, only the existing renovated.

The main point of contact is the main building Casa Madre from the early 19th century, which once housed a butcher’s shop. The 14 rooms of Elena Scalambrins Albergo Diffuso can be found in three locations: in Casa Madre and in two nearby historic houses, Casa nel Borgo and Casa del Fienile.

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The latter is the building with the oldest history: hemp was processed into ropes here as early as the 14th century. Two rooms in this house reflect the core of the village more than any other room: typical vaulted ceilings and lovely furnishings.

You can buy directly from the manufacturers

The successes for the village can be seen in the Borgomarian network: it is growing. Guests can do private or group yoga with Aimée in the village’s new healing garden, buy from local producers, for example Bruna’s delicious bread in the Panetteria Gandolfo, olive oil from one of the traditional oil mills and goat cheese from the Corsio di Arroscia and Mendatica factories.

Recently, two young people decided to open an osteria in the village. For my part, I had the unforgettable pleasure of meeting the senior hotel owner in the hotel kitchen to bake cakes – a unique form of hospitality. There are such fascinating moments in every Albergo Diffuso. In the small villages away from the tourist crowds, for a few days you can live like 50 or 60 years ago. A trip back in time? It’s very easy here.