Young Woman Accidentally Booked An Airbnb That Turned Out To Be Her Father’s Childhood Home In Italy

Young Woman Accidentally Booked An Airbnb That Turned Out To Be Her Father’s Childhood Home In Italy

From Italy comes a remarkable coincidence generations in the making—told with a little help from Airbnb.

Between 1850 and 1950, around 3.5 million Italians immigrated to Argentina, with the 19th century seeing mainly Northerners arriving, and the 20th century seeing mostly Southerners.

It contains the second-largest Italian diaspora on Earth by number, and the largest by concentration—with some states in Argentina today containing a population that’s 30% or more of Italian heritage, and it’s reflected in the culture and surnames seen today.

From that historic berth, Flor, a young Argentine traveler, made a reverse course this summer and arrived in Castel San Lorenzo, in the Italian region of Campania.

Her aim was to explore the place her father grew up—to see the countryside he left behind when he traveled to the New World.

Booking an Airbnb in the medieval village’s historic center, Flor must have arrived with great anticipation, but nothing could have prepared her for the surprise to come.

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At her booking, she met the owners Margherita and Enza, a mother-daughter pair of “Superhosts” with an almost perfect 5 out of 5 in every category for their property.

Flor arrived with some early family photos, and found to her astonishment that she had booked the very home her father was born in; where he grew up, played, ate, and eventually left. In fact, the hosts even confirmed that their family had purchased the house from Flor’s grandparents.

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Margherita and Enza helped Flor access local records and piece together her family history as best she could before bidding farewell to her history and her hosts to continue what will certainly become an unforgettable trip.