Bed & Breakfast in Italy

Bed & Breakfast and Holiday Homes

A fascinating region “Friuli Venezia Giulia” land of many treasures in the heart of Europe is waiting to be explored by you.

Alternative Tourism is the model that “B&B in Italy” offers tourists.
Accommodation with families and sharing breakfast with them.
What better way is there to let people discover the spirit of the territory its history and tradition.

A comfortable house, preferably in a panoramic position or set in the green countryside, two bedrooms and a welcoming family environment is all that is needed to offer accommodation in a Bed & Breakfast.
This form of hospitality is very popular in other countries and is considered as a complimentary solution to hotels and boarding-houses. In Italy, accommodation in B&B’s became quite popular from the Jubilee year 2000. Due to this most interesting experience in hospitality, in a very short time Friuli Venezia Giulia became a referring point for all the other regions.

“B&B in Italy – Ospitalità nelle case in Friuli Venezia Giulia” is located in Cividale del Friuli, in Stretta Jacopo Stellini, 15. It was the first B&B Association born in this region and one of the first in Italy.
Established in 1995 with the goal of promoting tourism in Cividale and the Natisone Valleys, the scope of the Association later extended rapidly to all the region. Up to date it counts 130 members which offer hospitality in well furnished, comfortable homes located throughout the whole territory.

“We started from the notion that the territory of Friuli possesses unique and distinct characteristics to develop this kind of tourism”, the president explains.

“ We have a fascinating unspoilt nature where the distance between the cities of art, the seaside and the mountain locations is brief. Moreover, throughout the year there are many events not to miss like the food and wine festivals which are certainly a strong attraction especially for Austrian and German tourists”.

Traditional accommodation in hotels and boarding-houses provide an insufficient number of beds, especially if tourist resorts are excluded. We thought of seizing the opportunity to exploit vacant farmhouses, big spacious homes with garden and villas built in particularly interesting locations, of involving the women at home who play an important role in this case and creating a small network.

What are the positive features of B&B ?

The possibility of rounding off the family income and the opportunity to make new acquaintances which often turn into real friendships are the main advantages of this type of hospitality for tourists.
It is a different way to visit a city, to get to know about its history, the life style and the local traditions without spending a fortune.
A typical B&B guest does not exist as this form of accommodation is popular amongst people of all ages, singles or couples and in particular families who enjoy passing their holiday in a comfortable, relaxing environment possibly with a spacious garden which is ideal for children and without having to respect timetables often required by hotels.

“We are dealing with a guest who probably would not consider hotel accommodation. For this reason B&B is not to be considered as an activity in competition with them. Furthermore, B&B’s become precious during particular events when accommodation in traditional structures is all booked out.”

The Regional Bill 17/99 amended later by Bill 002/2000 regulates the Bed & Breakfast activity. This gave the families of Friuli the possibility to open up their homes to tourists as done now in many other Italian regions.

This year “B&B in Italy” has published their fourth catalogue thanks to the financial contribution granted by the Regional Councillorship for the Promotion of Tourism “Guests of unique people”

From the beginning it has been the Association’s policy to organise projects like courses in hospitality, various languages and informatics for the benefit of the new members and to create a future network.
In honour of the founder and former President Silvia Raccaro who prematurely passed away in October 2000, it is the precise intention of the Association to continue this policy initiated by her with great enthusiasm and determination.