Italy seeks to beat overtourism with outside tourism

(CNN) – Are you planning a post-vaccination vacation this year? Chances are you’ll be spending a lot of time outdoors.

With travel destinations slowly reopening to tourism and travelers hesitant to book flights, nature-exploring trips will boom after the pandemic.

And in Italy – the first country to be razed to the ground by the pandemic and one of Europe’s hardest hit travel destinations – the situation is no different.

Italians mostly spent months in their homes during different stages of the pandemic. Now they itch to go outside.

But not just the Italians. Italy travelers are looking for outdoor vacations, sports and activities, according to Italy’s national tourism agency ENIT – even the demand for camping has risen sharply.

“Last year, the effects of the pandemic in mountain areas were less severe,” says Marketing Director Maria Elena Rossi.

But for 2021, she says, people will be all about nature, outdoor relaxation, and outdoor activities.

Pierluigi Serlenga, who wrote a report on travel trends after the pandemic for the management consultancy Bain & Company Digital travel summitThere is a real search for “more tailor-made and more flexible open-air individual experiences,” he says.

And he says Italy is not only facing up to the challenge, but can also help prevent a return of overtourism.

“That is very positive,” he says. “The willingness to diversify and expand the range beyond the traditional is clearly clear [city] Destinations.”

The great (fragrant) nature

The restoration of the Villa Arconati was a labor of love for 25 years.

Dario Fusaro / Archives of the Great Italian Gardens

In this brave new outdoor world, Italy’s gardens are experiencing a resurgence.

In addition to Renaissance art, which attracts visitors from all over the world, Italy has centuries-old gardens and green spaces.

The world’s first botanical garden was laid out in Padua in 1545. Still open to visitors today, it has retained its original floor plan: a circular central plot of land symbolizing the world, surrounded by a ring of water.

And that’s just the beginning, says Judith Wade, who as the founder of 40 years spent promoting Italy’s botanical heritage Great Italian gardens (Great Italian Gardens), a private network of nearly 150 of Italy’s most beautiful gardens scattered all the way down this famous boot.

Before the pandemic, 8 million people visited the Gardens Network – and although the numbers have been in decline over the last year for obvious reasons, she says that after it reopened in July 2020, the numbers immediately increased 35% year over year.

Wade is hoping for a spectacularly successful 2021 – and says Italy’s gardens have the potential to transform tourism for the better.

Her network helps owners of private gardens advertise their properties – creating income and jobs for the local community in places that might otherwise go undetected.

Connections to Leonardo

When the current owners bought it, it was completely shabby.

Dario Fusaro / Archives of the Great Italian Gardens

Take, for example, Villa Arconati outside of Milan.

It dates back to the early 17th century and was in a completely dilapidated state when it came into their hands 25 years ago from current owners Cesare and Isabel Rancilio.

The property is of tremendous cultural and historical importance – it was once home to some of the original Leonardo da Vinci codices, say the owners, and today the largest Roman statue in northern Italy claimed by Rancilios takes pride of place.

The restoration work was enormous. Even today, the frescoes on the walls of the villa are extensively restored and partially exposed – after being painted over.

The extensive gardens were trimmed and the many fountains and theaters were brought back to life.

Today the villa and its garden are home to the Augusto Rancilio Foundation, created in memory of Cesare’s brother. The locals have taken on his new direction, says cultural curator Sonia Coraim, who grew up in Bollante, the village next door.

“As a child, it was always a dream of mine to visit Villa Arconati,” she says.

“My father always brought me here and I stared at the gates and imagined what was behind them.”

Over 100 local volunteers help out on the property.

That sweet island life

The Rocca di Angera is one of the Borromeo properties on Lake Maggiore.

Courtesy / Terre Borromeo

One of Judith Wade’s first customers was the Borromeo family, who have owned the three breathtakingly beautiful Borromean Islands in the middle of Lake Maggiore since the 15th century. Tourists have flocked to the islands since the times of the Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Borromeo summer consists of six different locations: magnificent palaces, magnificent botanical gardens, a zoo and an outdoor amusement park.

“The pressure is great because we are constantly trying to raise the standards – and you have to wait all the time, otherwise there will be a catastrophe sooner or later,” says Prince Vitaliano Borromeo.

For the prince, a flood of outdoor-loving tourists would be a blessing. The number of visitors fell from 880,000 in 2019 to just 350,000 in 2020.

He hopes for half a million in 2021 – not least because the estate is dependent on entrance fees to employ more than 150 people. And he plans to expand the outdoor adventure park in the hills above the lake to cater for families with a new outdoor vibe.

The future is in the open

Prince Vitaliano Borromeo owns the three islands on Lake Maggiore.

Dario Fusaro / Courtesy Terre Borromeo

While the prince struggles to preserve and enhance his family’s legacy, a Swedish couple in Tuscany does something similar.

What started as a passion project quickly turned into a full-time job for Henric Gronberg. In 2014, he and his wife (who preferred not to be named) bought the historic Medieval Villa Reale di Marlia near Lucca.

Today’s villa, which once belonged to Napoleon’s sister, dates from the late Renaissance. It is surrounded by extensive gardens, with more follies and mansions on the grounds. The property was completely rebuilt and opened to the public for the first time in its history in 2015.

So far, the renovation work has cost more than the reported purchase price of 10 million euros. But despite the enormous investments, Gronberg is convinced that the future is bright.

Last year they had 24,000 visitors – but he reckons with the new focus on outdoor tourism that it will rise to 200,000 in a few years.

“I am convinced that this type of garden and property will grow in popularity in the long term,” he says.

“It’s not just the beauty – people want to breathe fresh air, and you have fresh air when you have thousands of plants and microclimate in the gardens.

“If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t do that.”

If Italy manages to distribute its visitors from the art city’s honeypots, this center of overtourism could look very different. Only time will tell if the pandemic has changed the country’s tourism industry for the better.