There are more than 18,000 agriturismi in Italy, half of which have sprung up recently – particularly in Tuscany and Alto Adige.
The idea of coupling farming and tourism originated as a response to the decline of small-scale farming since the 1950s. In 1985, in an attempt to halt the trend, a law was passed that enabled farmers to supplement their income with tourism.
In a nation that feared it was losing touch with the land, the agriturismo would reunite city dwellers with the countryside, while also providing an income to safeguard traditional practices that were in danger of being lost. Organic farming practices and initiatives to preserve indigenous breeds of livestock and plants would proliferate – and farmers would have an outlet to sell their produce, such as their cheese and salami, that they wouldn’t otherwise have had access to.