Casa Costa is born.

It’s not that we don’t know how to use social media – but maybe it doesn’t mirror our aspirations and thoughts? It’s a constant debate, and even I sit on the fence when it comes to this matter. Should we post, like, and share more for our guests at the La Perla, Ladinia, and Posta Marcucci? Instagram works really well for the L’Murin and its energetic, lively buzz. But does that same spark, the speed of online communication mirror our thoughts? We talk about taking it slowly, savouring the joy of walking under the rain in the forest, admiring larches which, during this period, are like an all-you-can eat deli for the local black grouse. Then again, their eyes are too big for their stomach. Sometimes they eat so much that they lose their voice. They sing off key, dance in sluggish patterns – any female in a 50 mile radius is sure to pointedly ignore their courting ritual until they get over their food hangover. And yet, we surely can empathise – what a terrible choice it must be to choose between food and love!

Seriously, though. How can our words convey the true meaning of our thoughts if we dive into social media? We’re not politicians, who use them for their own propaganda and hidden agenda. Words there are fleeting, and truth is a matter of opinions and interpretation. Are chirped words, which barely take a moment of thought, abused and misused online?

That’s not our cup of tea.

We defend language and promote its correct use, which implies an appropriate register and correct choice of words.Words, after all, are important. When people write about “invasions” to describe migratory flows, isn’t that a haphazard use of language? Armies invade – everyone knows that.

So. At the risk of being labelled dinosaurs – although the flipside of the coin could mean we’re avantgarde, bolder, more prone to colour outside the lines – we want our La Perla diary to change. Its pages, filled with musings, will encompass the La Perla Hotel as well as our other hotels or, as we like to call them, case. Our homes. Maybe our international guests won’t get it and ask if we’ve lost the plot by not going with the flow and following everyone else. Will they even read us? We hope so – but, if not, we actually like putting our thoughts on paper. And at the end of the day, not everything we do has to be profitable. Although we do admit our websites could be easier to navigate – while people go on holiday to relax and stumble upon hidden gems they find while getting lost in their new world, they also want to be able to access information easily when need be. We’ve tried to combine our worldview with the experience our guests expect. And that combination gave us Casa Costa! One place where you’ll find our three Case and our Foundation together with plenty of thoughts, photos, and videos.

Martin Heidegger once wrote, “Only if we are capable of dwelling, only then can we build.” Over the years we’ve proved we’re capable of dwelling which, in our case, means welcoming guests within our homes. As the German philosopher reiterated, to dwell is to be set at peace. Now as in the past, our goal continues to be taking care of people. We strive to create that welcoming ambience wherever we dwell and communicate in an effective manner without being too overbearing.

Mum and Dad kicked everything off in 1956. Then we branched out with the Foundation, the Ladinia, and Tuscany. We grew but without ever losing sight of what mattered: our own, special way of interpreting hospitality. And that very same impulse is at the core of Casa Costa – it represents a Casa, a home, we want to use to express ideas, thoughts which carry a deeper meaning, open to all our guests. From the Dolomites to Val d’Orcia.

Casa Costa’s aim is to become a PERMANENT HOSPITALITY CENTRE, representing the values embodied by all our staff and the women who are part of the Casa. Because women, in our world, are everything – and our Management has more women than men. And that’s not by any means a coincidence.

Casa Costa starts as a website with a video. A petit summer trilogy, our visual manifesto of what we see as hospitality. It’s the marriage of two slogans we’ve always believed in. “Against the degeneration of modern life”, as interpreted by the ineffable Ernesto Calindri for an Italian Cynar advert shot in the 50s which is still legendary to this very day; and another, just as unforgettable slogan we’ve always used, created by the dearly missed Alexander Langer: “Live slower, more thoughtfully, and with kindness.”

FuTurismo is the joint result of a lot of hard work which embodies the above. A book whose pages are a heartfelt appeal to stand up against the monoculture tourism has become. It wants to be a pathfinder for the quintessence of hospitality. What is the quintessence of hospitality? I can tell you what it certainly isn’t: consumption, doubling overnight stays, and gluttonous expansion of one’s premises. It isn’t a vague concept which rips away our identity, pushes us off balance, away from the grounded stance we need – one foot in the past, the other in the future. Hospitality, to us, is about giving an outstanding welcome. It’s based on strong values such as solidarity, the Common Good, environmental sustainability, and togetherness as part of the same community – humanity.

Is this the right path? We’ll wait and see what our readers think.

So, thank you for reading.