For many of us, beauty and Italy are synonymous. And at Esperienza, our founding vision was to connect with and sustain all the aspects of the beauty of Italy in a way that enlivens and uplifts, uniting travelers and hosts. This is our Why.
But beyond that, we believe that the genuine experience of another culture can change your state of mind.
Esperienza was not born overnight. Rather, it is the result of years of searching for an honest and enriching alternative way of traveling to Italy… conceived with the noble goal of bringing new energy to beautiful, culturally rich villages in Romagna that were suffering from population loss. Our mission aimed to bring economic vitality to these treasured yet fragile places. We hoped that, like the butterfly effect, a small shift—, drawing even a fraction of the visitors away from Italy’s well-known and over-trodden destinations—might ripple outward into something bigger.
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 former spouse, Anna.
On a recent summer evening in the charming town of Forlimpopoli, Esperienza founder Anna Bonavita was presented with the Marietta Ad Honorem award by the distinguished Casa Artusi Foundation, on behalf of Esperienza. The award recognizes Esperienza’s promotion of small Italian villages among Americans, through our immersion tours dedicated to the appreciation of Italian cuisine and its rural roots.
The floodwaters have receded, after historic flooding in Romagna in May 2023. But the work will continue for months, and years to come.
Thanks to the contributions of our generous followers, Esperienza has been able to send financial support to a variety of organizations and individuals impacted by the damage, as they work to rebuild and restore their community. We offer here a summary of the ways in which our funds will help.
My name is Elena Campacci. I am a woman and mother and daughter; a woman farmer, basket maker and educator. I believe in dreams and in the Earth. I believe in human relationships. I believe that daily actions done with the heart – respecting and listening to all that is alive – can really change the world, first within us and then around us.
If this land will soon raise its head from the mud, it will be due to the many volunteers who are working tirelessly to rebuild what has been lost. According to estimates by the Region of Emilia-Romagna, there are at least 3,000 individuals who have stepped forward, to which are added 2,000 volunteers from the Civil Protection and various associations. But these are only those who have “registered” as volunteers, through municipalities and groups.
Today, as I write, Romagna is on its knees. After two years of extreme drought the month of May has brought almost 2 feet of rain (500 mm) two big flash floods. The towns of Faenza, Cesena, Forlì, some parts of Ravenna are under water, as well as smaller municipalities and even the arcades of the Via Saffi in central Bologna. The devastation is massive: electricity blackouts, telephone lines out of order, trains haywire, all leading to the anguish fueled by the isolation of entire areas.
