Massimo Bonavita, the former senator from Cesena, Italy, ended his last battle against injustice in July 2016. And while he moved to a different dimension, his passion for life, his spirited presence, and his profound affection for his native Romagna continued to make a difference. Indeed, sharing the Romagna which Massimo loved with his American friends is the idea from which Esperienza was conceived by his spouse, Anna.
Esperienza was founded as a nonprofit organization in 2017, and the ultimate goal was nothing less than to preserve the Italian way of life, and the culture that sustains it. Our immediate aim was to recover and celebrate the heart-to-heart connection between travelers and hosts by bringing people together in the heart of Italy. In a truly revolutionary move, Esperienza was designed from the very beginning to be the alternative to mass tourism. It was never meant to be a “mordi e fuggi” (hit and run) travel operator, but rather a radically new, mutually-enriching and regenerative experience.
At the time, the over-tourism crisis was already consuming not just Venice and Florence, but also nearby Bologna. Simultaneously, with the exodus of locals from Italy’s treasured historic city centers due to Airbnb and similar platforms, many rural villages had been losing their population and infrastructure for decades, and some were at the risk of becoming virtual ghost towns.
Esperienza introduced an economic engine to alleviate the depopulation problem for a few of these fading Italian villages. The idea was to redirect a miniscule fraction of the millions of American tourists to some exceptionally beautiful and culturally rich villages in Romagna for genuine immersion experiences. Doing so would create deeper connections with the culture and the townspeople, while re-energizing the local economy.
Massimo’s influence was instrumental in this endeavor. His massive network of like-minded people who were actively searching for a better, more fulfilling way of living in Romagna became the foundation of our network of collaborators. Further inspiration from many talented and generous Romagnoli allowed the network to grow continuously. To name just a few: Esperienza would not have happened if not for expressiveness of Tonino Guerra’s wife, Lora; the professionalism and perseverance of Susy Patrito and Laila Tentoni from Casa Artusi; the generosity of Pennabilli’s longtime doctor and poet, Luigi Cappella; the bounty offered by Verucchio’s farmers and restaurateurs, Mariapia and Fabio Massetti; the creativity of painter Carlo Cola; the vast knowledge of Faenza and Ravenna shared by artist Vitaliana Pantini; the extraordinary dedication and business acumen of Alena Bondarchuk, Nicoletta Tozzi and Simonetta Zoffoli and the countless supporters from Massimo’s own Cesena.
Esperienza inspires people to discover rural Italy while supporting its revitalization. We have hosted immersive programs in language, cuisine and cammino hiking, introducing hundreds of travelers to the joys of rural Italy—most of all its people—while offering economic support and appreciation for its way of life. We’ve also made contributions to a variety of organizations in Romagna, including support during the COVID-19 pandemic and the flood of 2023, as well as donating a beautiful violin to a young student in Cesena.
“These contributions, and the relationships they represent, demonstrate the reason we started Esperienza,” says Esperienza founder Anna Bonavita. “We hope to continue to encourage enduring connections between our guests and our Italian partners and friends. Thus, the legacy of Massimo Bonavita is kept alive and continues to make a difference as we remain committed to our mission, to celebrate and preserve Italian culture by bringing people together in the heart of Italy.“