Diffuse Hotel
A philosophy, a mission, a different place…
When some young people asked themselves: what can WE do for our region? The immediate response was: WE MUST VALUE IT! And the idea of popular hotel (a diffuse inn or in Italian albergo diffuso) seemed to be the perfect idea; indeed, in other proved experiences it has been particularly suited to enhance towns and villages with historic centres of artistic and architectural values that can be recovered by making the most of old abandoned and not used houses, promoting tourist accommodation without new developments.
To be able to appreciate this concept of holidays it is necessary to know what is meant by albergo diffuso (diffuse inn), a term that will be used with no translation since it is appropriate for purpose. An albergo diffuso is nothing else but an original model of hospitality to the tourist development of the region.
The proposal is a model designed to offer guests the experience of living in a historical centre relaying on all hotel services but lodging at independent houses that are only few meters far from each other.
The proximity of the albergo diffuso to the widespread community residents can bring more than just a living place, a true lifestyle, because tourists will fully and directly immersed in the local reality.
The albergo diffuso, is also the “way through” that allows the curious tourist to have a supporting point from which to discover new journeys, many times, almost “unexplored” aiming to the knowledge of art, culture and the wealth of the evocative natural landscapes, popular beliefs and religious influences with vestiges of a remote past.
The albergo diffuso of Belmonte Calabro wanted not only fully embrace this philosophy, but go beyond, in fact the work of recovery of the small houses (many of them uninhabited for decades and decades), was performed by expert craftsmen using traditional materials, respecting the original features of the interiors of Calabrian homes, bringing back to life the history and unchanging the charm of the place.
The albergo diffuso of Belmonte Calabro was born and has grown from the permanent activity of preservation and processing, of places and spaces; it is a model for the development of the region with no environmental impact. In fact, to give it life was not necessary to build anything thanks to the recovery and restructuring of what already existed, respecting and preserving the original spirit of the place and turning the small uninhabited houses at the historical centre into inns to offer comfortable accommodation, using a green criteria of building, bioconstruction and bioarchitecture. Therefore, it has the strong value that is attributed to the so-called “sustainable development”, which is progress that is taking into account the future generations, respecting the environment today, preserving and defending it for the sole benefit of those who will live tomorrow.