Umbria & Venice in Autumn, small group

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

With a maximum of just 12 guests, this itinerary avoids crowded hotspots and reduces the environmental impact associated with large group tourism, while allowing deeper, more meaningful interactions with places and people.

In Venice, we explore mainly by walking, and we travel by train between Venice and Florence. In Allerona, several of our days are entirely car-free, as we stay locally and explore on foot.

In Umbria, the products we serve at meals are 0km whenever possible, and we take our guests to restaurants we know are committed to serving sustainably grown/raised food, wine and other products from the local territory. With the meals we provide and those at restaurants, there are always vegetarian options and with enough notice, we can arrange for vegan offerings as well.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

We stay in locally owned lodgings (including our own) that have a demonstrated commitment to green practices, including no single-use plastics and low-waste, organic breakfasts.

In Venice, our boat trip in the northern islands highlights the unique lagoon ecosystem and the threats to it, especially from invasive species such as blue crab, and steps being taken to eradicate them and restore lagoon health.

Throughout the journey, travelers engage with authentic village life in Umbria, including nature walks, foraging, and agricultural traditions, fostering appreciation for seasonal rhythms and biodiversity. Our nature walk is led by an expert ethno-botanist who explains how humans, animals and the environment have interacted and interdepended over time.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

Our explorations in Venice and Umbria are led by and focused on local residents who are invested in the health and livelihood of their communities. We work directly with locally owned businesses to ensure that our tour dollars stay within the community. In Venice, that means staying at a hotel owned by a Venetian family, and visiting restaurants and shops that have longstanding ties to the community. The craftspeople we visit are committed to keeping their traditions alive. In Venice, especially, we discuss the effects of overtourism and help guests enjoy this most popular destination in a responsible way.

The end result, we hope, is a “virtuous circle” of people who have been drawn to each other through their shared commitment to their community, and are aligned in their desire to share Venice, Allerona and the other places we visit in a manner that’s sustainable and contributes to long-term, responsible economic growth.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

Our commitment to Allerona and more broadly, to other depopulating villages in Italy, is to develop a tourism model that creates, encourages new businesses and sustains existing ones.

One hundred percent of the people we employ or partner with are from Italy, and in Allerona, most of them are people born and raised in our village.

Our tours are open to friendly, fun-loving people from all races, nationalities and identities, including the LGBTQ+ community. Our tours are adaptable to people with slow mobility, and we have proudly hosted guests with special developmental needs.