If the 80s were roaring for Mota, the 90s were no less...
If we were to associate an image with the 90s, we would have plenty to choose from: Schillaci's haunted eyes, the cover of Nirvana's "Nevermind," Laura Palmer's face in Twin Peaks, and men with portable radios pressed to their ears, following every minute of football while strolling with their girlfriends. Well, in Livigno, in addition to the image of men with radios, there's another that perfectly captures the 90s, the time when Mota took another leap forward in quality: men walking through the center with the famous 10kg sugar package on their shoulders.
The 90s
The 90s mark a period in which Livigno experiences a new surge and asserts itself more and more, thanks to the duty-free zone, as a center for commercial tourism where people stock up on alcohol and, indeed, sugar; a favored destination, especially among people from Lombardia region.
But it's not just commercial tourism; a more conscious and refined form of tourism begins to emerge in Livigno. This allows for a comfortable stay with services and activities that enhance the vacation experience. "Everyone wanted duvets on their beds," recalls Flavio, suggesting that entering Mota, every customer began to have expectations of a certain level that needed to be met and, if possible, exceeded.
So, for example, Flavio has the insight to pursue his passion for wine by launching a sommelier course, establishing himself among the first wine professionals in Livigno. Flavio's great merit was to have a long-term vision that brought wine back into the spotlight in the field of catering and hospitality as a product of excellence. In those years, the concept of quality over quantity in wine wasn't taken for granted, and Flavio had the great intuition to make it one of the pillars of Mota's future.
The choice to introduce wine pairings with dishes goes hand in hand with an increasing focus on the gastronomic proposal, successfully riding the wave of the tourist menu (3 first courses, 3 main courses, and 3 desserts) offered at competitive prices. This increasingly allows Mota to emerge as a reference point for dining in Livigno.
The 00s
With the arrival of the new millennium, everything changes: society picks up the pace, and every day brings something new into our lives. The hospitality industry is no exception, and it is necessary to keep up with the times, update, and improve proposals. For Mota and Livigno, this means addressing a problem: the summer season of only 2 months, unlike the 4-month winter season, was not fully utilized.
The solution was to work towards making Livigno a reference point for sports, with the construction and modernization of existing accommodation structures to support a new form of tourism catering to both professional and amateur athletes. They would discover Livigno as a little paradise for high-altitude training, with the advantage of having comfort, services, high-level restaurants, and cutting-edge facilities at hand. The first steps toward what Livigno is today for athletes were taken in the early 2000s, with the highlight being the MTB World Championships in 2005: two weeks of races that brought a full house of tourists, equal to that of a winter season. The subsequent opening of the Mottolino Bike Park and the increasing presence of professional athletes choosing Livigno for their training retreats drive an increase in summer tourism, extending the season and boosting numbers.
At this point, Mota undergoes another change, this time truly epochal: in 2008, the old structure of the glorious Mota hotel is demolished, giving rise to the Mota Hotel, which upgrades from 2 to 4 stars. It lays the foundation for what is now, 50 years after Claudia's wild idea (even if you don't believe in coincidences, know that Patty Pravo recorded "Pazza Idea" in 1973, the year of Mota's inauguration), a landmark in hospitality in Livigno.
