This essay outlines the history of holiday camps in Italy, by focusing on one of their most representative territories, such as the Romagna coast. It illustrates the origins and the growth of these settlements especially dedicated to children, from the second half of the XIX century until the Seventies, showing: 1. the relationship between these “cities of childhood” and the tourist resorts, 2. the characters of these special buildings, and 3. the different programs and promoters during the whole period of their diffusion. Nowadays the “colonie di vacanza” in the Romagna coast are over 240 buildings. They are largely unused: the original services offered by the “colonie” are no longer in demand and they stand as silent testimonies of medical and pedagogic activities and social customs that gave origin to and developed "a different tourism", a different way of using the coastline throughout the seasons, thus becoming a characteristic feature in the same way as the rites, places and architecture typical of seaside tourist areas. “Ospizi marini” and “colonie di vacanza” represent a vast heritage, and they are an “open ground” for architectural research, at least in two directions: 1. first of all the “architectures savantes” dotted along the coastline, such as the extraordinary “colonie” of the Thirties or the buildings built by architects after the second world war, have not yet been studied enough. Historical-architectural research is therefore a necessary instrument to define the limits and possibilities of transformation projects; 2. secondly, it is necessary to think about a new urban role of the “città delle colonie” located along the coastline and already recognised by the planning tools as places to be safeguarded: today the “città delle colonie” represent the only “pause” in the continuous built-up area on the coast and at the same time the only spaces for possible overall urban transformation projects in view of their ownership and state of abandonment.
Italian Seaside Hospices and "Colonie di Vacanza": the Romagna coast / Orioli V.. - STAMPA. - (2007), pp. 26-35.
Italian Seaside Hospices and "Colonie di Vacanza": the Romagna coast
ORIOLI, VALENTINA
2007
Abstract
This essay outlines the history of holiday camps in Italy, by focusing on one of their most representative territories, such as the Romagna coast. It illustrates the origins and the growth of these settlements especially dedicated to children, from the second half of the XIX century until the Seventies, showing: 1. the relationship between these “cities of childhood” and the tourist resorts, 2. the characters of these special buildings, and 3. the different programs and promoters during the whole period of their diffusion. Nowadays the “colonie di vacanza” in the Romagna coast are over 240 buildings. They are largely unused: the original services offered by the “colonie” are no longer in demand and they stand as silent testimonies of medical and pedagogic activities and social customs that gave origin to and developed "a different tourism", a different way of using the coastline throughout the seasons, thus becoming a characteristic feature in the same way as the rites, places and architecture typical of seaside tourist areas. “Ospizi marini” and “colonie di vacanza” represent a vast heritage, and they are an “open ground” for architectural research, at least in two directions: 1. first of all the “architectures savantes” dotted along the coastline, such as the extraordinary “colonie” of the Thirties or the buildings built by architects after the second world war, have not yet been studied enough. Historical-architectural research is therefore a necessary instrument to define the limits and possibilities of transformation projects; 2. secondly, it is necessary to think about a new urban role of the “città delle colonie” located along the coastline and already recognised by the planning tools as places to be safeguarded: today the “città delle colonie” represent the only “pause” in the continuous built-up area on the coast and at the same time the only spaces for possible overall urban transformation projects in view of their ownership and state of abandonment.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
