About Glocalli

With the onset of a global pandemic in 2020 mine and everyone else’s world was turned upside down. As an American living in Italy, I felt suddenly even more disconnected from my family and friends here and there. This crisis has pushed us to shift the norms of social interaction but also revealed how inherently vital it is. People need people, and physical distancing doesn’t always mean social distancing.

Italy’s tourism sector was especially impacted by the travel restrictions. I love experiencing this beautiful country and I was torn when I realized that my family and friends wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit for the foreseen future. I met with San Donato fattoria owners Federica and Umberto Fenzi to discuss a conceptual virtual experience project and get their feedback. The absence of in-person visitors and tourists has had a serious impact on small agritourism farms and wineries. I saw the need for people like Federica and Umberto to connect with tourists despite physical movement restrictions, my family and friend’s back home longing to travel, and my own personal desire to share and connect socially. From this, we began developing the idea of Glocalli. Online experiences connecting people with small producers.

Glocalli’s unique product + experience structure extends beyond COVID. Today’s world is very transient. Relocating is much simpler and appealing when you can stay in touch with family and friend’s back home via video calls, chats and social media.

We created Glocalli to allow people to connect, experience and make memories even when physical travel isn’t an option.