Podere Conti is located within a landscape that has remained productive and inhabited over centuries. Stewardship here is not a programme or a trend, but a long-term responsibility shaped by geography, scale and continuity of use.
This responsibility is carried forward through private, family stewardship with an intergenerational horizon, ensuring continuity of care and decision-making beyond any single moment in time.
The estate lies within the Emilian–Tuscan Apennines UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserve, a recognition of living landscapes where human activity and environmental systems have evolved together. This context informs how Podere Conti is managed — not as a protected monument, but as a working estate where agriculture, hospitality and land care coexist.
Sustainability at Podere Conti is approached through everyday decisions rather than declarations.
Land, buildings and resources are managed with restraint and long-term thinking. Interventions are measured, durable and designed to preserve the balance of the landscape rather than maximise short-term output. This principle applies across agriculture, hospitality and restoration.
Fields, pasture, olive groves and woodland are managed to support biodiversity and ecological continuity.
Forestry activity is limited and selective, focused on maintenance and regeneration rather than extraction. Pruned or damaged wood is reused on the estate for heating and practical needs.
Water is treated as a finite resource. Mountain springs and rainwater collection support agricultural use and landscape maintenance, reducing pressure on local systems.
Historic farm buildings have been restored using traditional materials and techniques, maintaining their original form and scale. Priority has been given to recovery and adaptive reuse rather than new construction.
Hospitality is intentionally contained. Podere Conti operates as a hotel-led rural estate, organised as an albergo diffuso, with a limited number of rooms and carefully controlled events. Capacity is defined by what the land and buildings can sustain, allowing consistent standards throughout the year.
Podere Conti participates in recognised frameworks such as the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CETS), which provide structure and accountability.
These frameworks support — but do not replace — daily responsibility. Sustainability is treated as an ongoing process of care and adjustment rather than a fixed outcome.
The estate forms part of a wider network of farms, villages and woodland shaped by long-standing human presence. Stewardship at Podere Conti is understood as a shared obligation, grounded in continuity, cooperation and respect for scale.
