Kihlgren was Milanese, of Swedish-Italian background, and the third son of a wealthy family of cement entrepreneurs. His background is important because much of his later philosophy rebelled against conventional property development and the indiscriminate use of concrete. He set out to prove that preserving a place exactly for what it is can be an economically viable and sustainable form of development.

He had a restless and adventurous personality. It was while travelling through Abruzzo on a motorcycle in the late 1990s that he encountered the dilapidated, medieval village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio. This remote, mountain village became his great experiment.

He began acquiring abandoned properties and restoring them meticulously. His ambition was to preserve the village’s architecture, materials and atmosphere while creating an economically viable reason for people to return. He had a vision for making money from conservation rather than from destroying the landscape, and giving back life and jobs to the local community. His restorations were painstaking, focussing on maintaining local architecture, using traditional materials and crafts such as weaving, and championing ancient recipes and regional produce. The notion of restoring all the existing properties in one village became known as an “Albergo Diffuso” or “Scattered Hotel” and the model has been copied many times across Italy. The Albergo Sextantio was opened in 2005.

The village hotel began attracting international visitors, creating employment and giving economic value to buildings that otherwise might have continued to decay. We first stayed in the wonderful Sextantio hotel in 2013, on the very first departure of our Wilds of Abruzzo tour, and we have visited almost every year since. This hotel is truly a masterpiece and we have formed a very special relationship with the village and the staff over the years. It is an utterly magical experience for all who stay.

Kihlgren’s second experiment took him to the extraordinary Sassi di Matera, the ancient cave dwellings of the city of Matera carved out of the limestone cliffs. Here he developed a second hotel. Rather than disguising the caves behind conventional hotel architecture, he preserved their raw character. Stone surfaces were restored, while modern plumbing, electricity and heating were carefully incorporated. He modernised the function of the caves whilst faithfully preserving their identity. Guests on our Southern Italy tour have slept in these cave dwellings since our first tour in 2015, and it is an unforgettable hotel.

In his later life he took on challenges in Africa. He was closely involved with the building of a paediatric hospital in Congo. He helped to develop tourism projects whose profits could help finance healthcare for the local population, and worked on a health-insurance scheme. He was working right up until his untimely death at the age of only 60.

The interesting contradiction at the heart of Daniele Kihlgren’s life is that he came from a family associated with the cement industry, yet became one of the strongest advocates for avoiding unnecessary new construction.

Other similar projects have started to appear all over Italy. We stay in another on our Southern Italy tour in Rotonda, and on our Northern Tuscany and Ravenna and Northern Lombardy tours we stay in other “Alberghi Diffusi”. There is now a National Association for these projects and you can find out more about this from their website.

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The Albergo Diffuso is a relatively recent concept in Italy based around the idea of restoring old houses and buildings for the purposes of tourism. The phrase translates literally as “scattered hotel”.

This hospitality model was developed by tourism marketing professor Giancarlo Dall’Ara, with funds which were allocated after the earthquake in the Friuli region in 1976. The model offers guests a real-life experience of staying in the historical centre of a town or village, sleeping in renovated houses or rooms within 200 metres from the “heart” of Albergo Diffuso. There are the usual hotel services such as reception, catering, and common spaces for the guests but they too are spread out amongst different buildings within the location.

These “scattered hotels” are naturally found in small historical towns, countryside hamlets and mountain villages where the populations are often decreasing owing to the lack of opportunities for younger generations. The benefits of restoring these buildings are obvious, as life is breathed back into the community and economy and the impact on the environment is low. For guests, they have the experience of living amongst the real residents of the community, rather than alongside other tourists, and these hotels and residences offer a unique and unforgettable glimpse of life in a bygone era. The restorations are generally handled sensitively, with a real emphasis on using local materials and traditional methods.  

As more and more of these villages opened their doors, a National Association was formed for Alberghi Diffusi which now has its own website. Many of our hiking tours in Italy stay in these remarkable hotels and more often than not they are a highlight for our guests. They appeal to us for their authenticity, their sustainability, their position far from the beaten tourist tracks and for their approach to food which is almost always locally sourced and prepared using time-honoured recipes.

Wilds of Abruzzo – Our hike here in Abruzzo starts with three nights in the Albergo Sextantio in the Gran Sasso National Park. This was one of the first such hotels to open, having been developed by the heir to a cement fortune, Daniele Kihlgren.  His vision for preserving the character and charm of Santo Stefano by gradually buying and renovating the derelict buildings of the village became a guiding light for other projects which followed. The attention to detail here fascinating.  Bedspreads for example are woven on the loom by residents of the village who learned the necessary traditional skills.

Southern Italy – our walking tour in Basilicata has us staying in two of these amazing structures.  The first is the Borgo Ospitale  spread across the small village of Rotonda high in the Pollino National Park and the second is Le Grotte della Civita, sister hotel to the Sextantio in Abruzzo where the bedrooms are converted from Matera’s original cave dwellings. In 2019 Matera will be a European Capital of Culture.

Northern Tuscany and Ravenna – Here our walking holiday takes us to the Locanda Senio where the hotel rooms are scattered through the tiny village of Palazzuolo sul Senio in the beautiful Mugello valley of Northern Tuscany.

If you would find it inspiring to stay in one of these very special hotels then take a look at our tour dates for next year and get in touch soon to book your spot. 

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