Villa d'Este buys the Salesianum in Como, to become a hospitality campus

From a disused religious site to a place of training, attraction and growth for young talents wishing to work and specialise in the hospitality sector. The "Salesianum Don Bosco" property complex in Como, in the Monte Olimpino district (Via Conciliazione 98) has changed its face and is once again available for use, with the acquisition by Villa d'Este S.p.A. The expansion of the luxury hospitality group continues. At the end of April it had acquired the Ambrosini family's four-star Hotel Miralago in the centre of Cernobbio, and a few months earlier Harry's Bar, an iconic venue on the lake. The structure, consisting of buildings from different eras, partly under historical-artistic-monumental protection and surrounded by centuries-old woods, had been empty since 2010. The new hospitality campus will somehow bring its original function back to light, precisely because the building was founded in 1964 as a training and refresher centre for the Salesians, and then opened up over the years to the outside world, coming to host spirituality meetings for groups and individuals, prayer experiences, conventions and congresses.

The Villa d'Este project will start with a major renovation of the premises to create accommodation for the majority of the company's employees, where development and training activities in the hotel and restaurant business can be carried out, in order to offer its workers better conditions that meet the new demands of today's labour market. As well as attracting young people who want to grow in the hospitality sector, acquiring professional skills and team capabilities.

"Our human capital is the most valuable asset to be protected, and growing together the most important responsibility," explained Giuseppe Fontana, Chairman of the Board of Villa d'Este S.p.A. "Our intention is to renovate the buildings and take care of the park in order to set up accommodation and common areas for our staff in an extremely comfortable environment. In addition, we would like to set up spaces dedicated to the training of young people, where an ethical-professional path is followed in a protected environment of growth on a human scale,' Fontana continued. The facility should host conference rooms, training areas where an Academy and ad hoc courses for dining, cooking and housekeeping can be developed, as well as leisure and entertainment areas such as a cinema room, gymnasium, multimedia/TV room and library.