In recent years, the term glamping has become firmly established in the vocabulary of contemporary tourism. But what does glamping really mean? Is it simply luxury camping, or is there a deeper cultural, design and even philosophical dimension behind it? An original Italian perspective is offered by a scientific paper published in April 2026 in the international journal Architecture (MDPI), entitled The Role of Glamping in Reinforcing Local Identity – A Landscape Design Approach Hypothesis. The authors are Luca Trabattoni, Associate Professor at the Opole University of Technology in Poland, and independent researcher Margherita Capotorto.
The two researchers are also the founders of Camping Design and Architecture, a design and research practice that has delivered more than one hundred projects in the outdoor hospitality sector in collaboration with Crippaconcept, based in Torre d’Isola, near Pavia (Italy). Drawing on both academic research and professional experience, they offer a thought-provoking reflection on the future of temporary living in nature and the role glamping may play within it.
“After many years of research and design work in the open-air sector, we had the opportunity to reflect on how glamping could be defined from a design perspective. Our objective was to integrate landscape and sustainability into the construction of the guest experience,” explain Trabattoni and Capotorto.
In their view, glamping becomes a design tool capable not only of accommodating visitors but also of strengthening the identity of the places in which it is located. The quality of the experience therefore depends not merely on comfort, but on the way accommodation interacts with topography, vegetation, views and local cultural characteristics.
Where the research begins
The starting point is a simple observation: despite its rapid growth, glamping still does not exist as a distinct design category. It has no dedicated regulatory definition of its own – it falls within the same NACE classification as camping – no codified architectural model, and scientific literature has so far examined it largely through the lenses of marketing and tourism economics.
Trabattoni and Capotorto instead ask a different question: can glamping be designed as a landscape practice rather than as a tourism product? To answer this, they adopt a methodology known as research by design, using two real projects as investigative tools through which to test the design strategies proposed in their theoretical framework.
The first project is located in Orco Feglino, in the inland area of Liguria, within the Province of Savona. An existing restaurant is to be transformed into a glamping destination. The site occupies approximately three hectares of sloping terrain, with a height difference of 24 metres and a mix of woodland and open clearings.
The design approach focuses on settlement density and native vegetation to create a system of what the authors describe as “oriented micro-landscapes”. Each accommodation unit enjoys its own panoramic outlook, is screened by vegetation and is positioned at least 15 metres from neighbouring units. In this case, the project amplifies and reinforces the presence of the woodland.
The second project is located in Lonato del Garda, on the southern edge of Lake Garda, within a terraced agricultural landscape characterised by vineyards and olive groves. Here, the client requested a glamping area within an existing agri-camping operation using maxi-caravans.
The constraints were considerably more demanding, as the existing terraces dictated highly specific positioning requirements. Nevertheless, the design response is equally sophisticated. The units are aligned along the terraces and oriented towards the wider landscape, while shared spaces are transformed into productive gardens and agricultural plots that actively engage guests with the site. In this case, the project enhances and celebrates the vineyards, olive groves and terraced agricultural character of the landscape.
The conclusion is clear: glamping can reinforce local identity rather than standardise it. Every territory possesses its own language, and glamping should learn how to speak it.
Three principles for designing glamping
The article identifies and investigates three key principles that should guide glamping design.
1. Landscape comes before architecture: the true luxury is the relationship with nature
One of the paper’s most powerful ideas is that accommodation should not dominate the site but emerge from it. Landscape should not serve as a backdrop; it should become the central protagonist of the project. According to the authors, glamping succeeds when it enhances existing topography, vegetation, views and site structure rather than replacing them with an artificial environment. Put simply, the aim is not to build in the landscape but to build with the landscape.
For outdoor hospitality operators, this means moving beyond the individual accommodation unit and beginning to design the overall experience of the place itself. It is a particularly timely reflection at a moment when travellers increasingly seek memories and meaningful experiences rather than simply services.
The authors explicitly connect this approach to two major twentieth-century thinkers. The first is Ernesto Nathan Rogers and his concept of homo additus naturae, which sees human beings not as masters of nature but as part of it. Building therefore becomes an act of dialogue with the surrounding environment rather than an imposition upon it. The second is Martin Heidegger and his influential essay Building Dwelling Thinking, in which dwelling is understood not as domination but as stewardship. Humanity’s essential task is to care for the world.
From these foundations emerges a vision of glamping that differs radically from the commercial interpretation often associated with the sector. The luxury of glamping is not a king-size bed inside a tent; it is privileged and intimate access to an authentic landscape. The real product is not the accommodation itself but the relationship it creates with the surrounding territory.
This leads to perhaps the most original insight of the research. In traditional camping, the external landscape – the sea, mountains or lakeside setting – is the reason guests choose a destination, while the internal landscape of the campsite plays a secondary role. In glamping, this hierarchy is reversed. The external landscape is brought inside: into every accommodation unit, every view and every experience. It becomes the true generator of the project.
2. Density matters more than size
The second principle concerns settlement density. The distance between accommodation units, the organistico of communal areas and the balance between sociability and privacy are all considered fundamental in creating a glamping experience that genuinely delivers immersion in nature. The minimum distance proposed by the authors is 15 metres between units.
This is not an arbitrary aesthetic rule. It is derived from acoustic principles. At a distance of 15 metres, the human voice remains perceptible as background presence but is no longer intelligible. Beyond that threshold, each guest effectively inhabits their own soundscape and nature regains prominence. This distance becomes the generating radius for the entire settlement system. Around each accommodation unit, a circle with a 15-metre radius is established. Within that circle, vegetation is designed, views are oriented and structures are concealed.
Glamping therefore ceases to be a collection of luxury tents and becomes a system of small, autonomous and carefully directed landscapes.
3. Glamping must be reversible
A third fundamental principle is reversibility. Lightweight, removable and low-impact structures are important not only for environmental reasons but also because they enable a temporary form of habitation that does not irreversibly consume land. This vision aligns closely with the future direction of sustainable tourism. Reversibility is not merely a technical characteristic; it becomes an ethical principle that allows destinations to evolve while preserving the long-term integrity of the landscape.
What the sector can learn from this research
Italy currently has 295 glamping operations offering approximately 10,000 bed spaces. Of these, only 95 are dedicated glamping businesses, accounting for around 1,510 bed spaces nationwide. The most active regions are Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto. The sector’s direct market value grew from approximately €13 million in 2018 to around €22 million in 2023. Meanwhile, the wider outdoor hospitality industry surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2023, recording more than 68 million overnight stays.
These figures remain relatively modest but point to strong growth. More importantly, they should not obscure glamping’s symbolic and experimental significance, which extends far beyond its current market share. The segment has the potential to become a laboratory for innovation and best practice across the entire outdoor hospitality industry.
The lessons offered by Trabattoni and Capotorto are particularly relevant for anyone planning a new development. Competitive advantage does not come from creating the most impressive accommodation unit on the market. It comes from the relationship that accommodation establishes with its surroundings. A lake view is not a backdrop. It is the product.
Designing it in the truest sense of the word means deciding where every unit should be positioned, which vegetation should be planted, which views should be prioritised and how to ensure that every guest feels immersed in nature and removed from the outside world, even when another accommodation unit may be only 50 metres away. This is not romanticism. It is design.
And this research demonstrates that it can be approached systematically, replicated consistently and adapted to the unique identity of some of Italy’s most remarkable landscapes. The article concludes by leaving readers with an important question that extends beyond architecture itself.
In an increasingly fast-paced, digital and standardised world, perhaps the rarest form of luxury is not having more. Perhaps it is being able, even for just a few days, to feel genuinely connected to a place. When designed intelligently, this is where glamping ceases to be a trend and becomes a form of culture.
The full paper is available free of charge through MDPI and can be accessed via DOI (Digital Object Identifier): 10.3390/architecture6020067.
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