Page 65 - Mediterraneo e dintorni - nr 6

in Belmonte CalaBro an oriGinal “sCattered hosPitality” exPeriment

n Belmonte Calabro, a medieval village in the province of Cosenza, a group of young people, characterized by enthusiasm
Iand courage, decided to create a model of “Albergo Diffuso”: ECOBELMONTE was born, a model of sustainable tourism
development of an area at risk of depopulation. “It’s a very original experiment of a” hotel that is not built “, explains Giu-
seppe Suriano, a member of the “A Praca” association. “A hotel that is realized by reviving an ancient village with narrow
streets that become “corridors “ full of colors, smells, sounds, relational and community life typical of Southern Italy; using
small houses, once crowded by numerous families, adequately renovated respecting their original essentiality. A different
philosophy of hospitality that makes the tourist / traveler a temporary inhabitant of the village “. In the early years of 2000, a
group of young people chose to stay in Calabria, a land subject to great depopulation and dizzying aging. “We fought hard
to keep alive the hope of seeing the places of our childhood reborn one day - confides Giuseppe - and in 2006 we established
an association called” A Praca “, the dialectal name of the rock on which the village stands, at 262 meters above sea level
“. The houses that have been inhabited for over a century, renovated according to the principles of bio-architecture, have
become welcoming residences for the stay in the Albergo diffuso ECOBELMONTE. “We receive the most important feedback
from customers, from their enchanted looks, which year after year, more and more numerous, give life to the village. We
must also remember the acknowledgments we have received: ITER VITIS, which has included Belmonte Calabro among the
most interesting cultural paths recognized by the Council of Europe; then the National Bio-architecture Association, which
has started to use our hotel for its conferences. We would like the Calabrian territory to become the ideal place for the birth
and enhancement of the idea of Albergo Diffuso, with young people who throughout the Region are entrepreneurs of the
recovery and enhancement of an immense heritage. Throw your heart over the obstacle and become propositive subjects
of the territories with innovative and competitive companies. Young people are the only additional resource able to set in
motion “a virtuous revolution” ».

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