Borgo Egnazia it is not a “historical fake”, but a tribute to Puglia. Headlights turned off on the historic one G7 hosted at Fasano, Aldo Melpignanoowner and managing director of Borgo Egnazia, draws up the balance sheet.
Melpignano, Borgo Egnazia was the structure at the center of the world for three days: what sensations did you experience in those hours?
«During the days of the event, my wife and I felt very strong emotions both for the historicity of the summit we were welcoming and for the joy of sharing this moment with the people who work with us. After many months of preparation we were all there, looking each other in the eye and feeling proud of the work done. Furthermore, Pope Francis’ participation in the Summit represented a moment of profound emotion for us and for our people, which we will hardly forget.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had words of praise for how your welcome and hospitality was structured. How do you achieve this level of perfection?
«I would never allow myself to talk about perfection: perfection does not belong to us, errors and inaccuracies are part of the game and indeed they can become a stimulus to grow and improve. Of course, we are very happy to know that our work has been appreciated. Welcoming the G7 is the result of work that we have been carrying out for over fifteen years with commitment, effort and enthusiasm. Many of our people have been with us since the beginning of the project and therefore a sharing of vision and values has now been created which gives life to what is defined as “our hospitality model”. It is a complex model, but it is based on a very simple concept of hospitality: to make guests feel good we must feel good, make our people feel good, and believe in what we are doing.”
From your point of view, why did the choice fall on Borgo Egnazia? Did the challenge scare you at first?
«Puglia was chosen – as stated by President Meloni – by virtue of its symbolic meaning as a “gateway” between East and West. But when it comes to important events like this or others in the past such as, for example, the Dolce & Gabbana fashion shows, the destination is chosen only if there are adequate facilities. Borgo Egnazia is the only structure in Puglia capable of offering at the same time high standards of service, safety, privacy, a wide availability of spaces, as well as the possibility of modeling the structure according to needs. Borgo Egnazia would not exist without Puglia, and we owe a lot to this region. Precisely for this reason we are proud to know that our structure is giving so much to Puglia, offering the possibility of hosting global events, such as the G7 and hopefully many others in the future. Certainly at the beginning the idea of hosting a summit of this type scared us, but we like new challenges and always embrace them with great enthusiasm.”
You have always declared that you want to defend the Italian style of hospitality: do you know that your model is being copied abroad?
«We are proud to be an inspiration, if indeed we are. Our mission is to affirm the value of “Made in Italy” also in the world of hospitality. These are not clichés: Italy has a unique way of welcoming, and we are working to ensure that this intangible heritage acquires value and is also recognized abroad. This model distinguishes us from the typical schemes of large hotel chains which, although excellent, are unable to offer the intimacy and familiarity of private hospitality. With Egnazia, my hotel management company, we are trying to carry on this work: we propose to manage structures with great potential, enhancing the peculiarities of the individual hotel, trying to read its essence and giving it the soul that is suits. I also have another project in mind, but it’s still too early to talk about it, I can only say that I dream of bringing together the best Italian hotels in a “house of brands”.
What is your concept of tourism offering? And what are the difficulties that an entrepreneur like you still has to face in this area?
«We like to make our guests experience moments that go beyond the simple travel experience. We have a profound desire to “enrich” the lives of all those who come into contact with us. This involves not only guests, but also our collaborators and suppliers. As regards the difficulties, I can say that the G7 has demonstrated that some, often out of pure prejudice or simple wisdom, believe they know and can judge the work of others with great carelessness. We have received very superficial criticisms and judgments and we are sorry for this, especially when they came from our territory, which is the land we love and for which we spend ourselves every day. Borgo Egnazia – unlike what has been said – is an open place.”
So isn’t it the resort that invites guests to stay locked in the hotel?
«Far from it! Although it is aimed at a high end of the market, it is a dynamic crossroads of local people, collaborators and travellers, where moments of connection and sharing are created. We actively encourage guests to immerse themselves in the surrounding area, to interact with the local community outside the hotel walls, promoting significant revenue. At the same time, the experiences within the structure are open to all local people, as are all our restaurants – with prices which, let me say – are not even that far from the current standards of Puglia. Perhaps we ourselves need to make a further effort to be able to better understand at a local level the meaning and value of what we do. We are open to new ideas and new reflections, inevitable after an event that has brought us so much visibility on a global level.”
At this point help us explain it to those who haven’t understood: what is Borgo Egnazia really?
«I have heard that Borgo Egnazia is a “non-place” or a “fake place” due to its recent construction. My question is: what gives truth to a place? The theme of historicity seems to me to be timeless, we never gave the impression that it was a historical structure. As regards the architectural choices, we decided to take inspiration from the architecture of the villages and farms, convinced that this road, in the medium and long term, would have a lesser impact on the territory. Any other architectural option, for a project of that size, would have risked being inadequate in the years to come. We never wanted to create a “historical fake”, we wanted to create something that integrated with the context. Borgo Egnazia was inspired by the territory, paying homage to Puglia and re-proposing many elements of its tradition in a contemporary key. Today we happen to notice how the way in which we have interpreted Puglia, thanks above all to the creative flair of Pino Brescia, has become a source of inspiration for the renovations of many farms and for interior design. This makes us particularly proud of our intuitions.”
Returning to the topic of truthfulness…
«Anyone who spends time in Borgo can easily realize that it is a real place, with real and genuine people who take care of guests with enthusiasm and passion. I am proud of each of our collaborators, because they are the ones who give a soul to those walls. The secret of Borgo Egnazia is the people.”
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