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Southern Italy still today remains
a land virtually untouched by mass tourism with
many of its delightful locations still to be discovered
by holidaymakers. Italians in the second half
of the 20th century, particularly from the 1960s
on, developed a passion for seaside and mountain
resorts and never thought to venture inland for
holidays. The result has been that magical retreats
like Calitri have been largely ignored. While
mountain and thermal tourism has started to develop
in recent years, rural tourism in Italy still
has to be very much put on the map. There are
some areas, for example Chianti in Tuscany (nicknamed
Chiantishire by Italians) and parts of Umbria,
where foreign ownership and patronage have made
certain locations extremely fashionable. Non-Italian
buyers kick started the process by selecting prime
real estate in towns and villages which today
have become very sought-after locations.
Unsatisfactory plane, train and road connections
are another reason why rural tourism in the South
escaped the mainstream holiday-maker for many
years. This is no longer the case; investors and
vacationers are starting to look at Southern Italy
with different eyes as a result of recent and
noticeable improvements in all three (particularly
in low-cost airlines that have turned what were
once remote areas into easily accessible ones,
even from abroad.)
The ``Antico Borgo Calitri'' escaped the industrialization
and urbanization common to many other attractive
holiday locations in Italy and Europe also because
its enlightened local city council actively sought
to promote its economy by fostering intelligent
tourism and by protecting the town's environment
and its cultural and artistic heritage. In fact,
the mayor and the local city council are aiming
to restore and rekindle life into the medieval
hamlet and energize its economy, while at the
same time preserve the town's architectural, gastronomical
and cultural traditions. The houses and apartments
being sold will remain true to the hamlet's old
world style and rely as much as possible on original
materials and architecture, yet at the same time
are relatively inexpensive and extremely attractive
for their price. Above all, foreign homebuyers
and tourists are welcomed by locals and by the
town council for their contributions to the economy
and to the preservation of the village.
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