Up on the steep hillside of the Maritime Alps near the Italian Riviera, halfway between Genoa and Nice, lies the ancient medieval village of Colletta di Castelbianco. It’s just a bunch of old stone houses with red-tiled roofs and baby blue windows bordered in white. But hidden behind these mediaeval façades lie a high tech secret—every home has fiber broadband Internet connection and satellite TV, and the village has a sophisticated business center with teleconferencing, fax, and audio-visual equipment.

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