The Skyline of the Italian Rural Villages: a Business Plan Resource in the Widespread Hospitality? A Survey of Montemurro Village

The target of this study consists in analyzing the landscape and the physical profile of a rural village as a pair of valuable resources to plan a firm in the widespread hospitality (WH). The study is performed in a small town set in the territory of the municipality of Montemurro - Val d’Agri - in the Basilicata region, in the south of Italy. This study adopts the resource-based view (R-BV) of the firm and operationalizes the concept of “skyline of the village” as key resources for the development of the WH firms in rural resorts. Through the realization of two qualitative and quantitative coordinated researches and the use of georeferenced data software and the implementation of the skyline concept, we locate the structures with the minimum requirements for being classified as Albergo Diffuso (literally translated in:“scattered hotel”). Finally, the R-BV role appears in the establishment of an interdisciplinary forum of discussion.