Thursday, June 23, 2011

The old Hotel "Paradiso" in the Martell Valley












This hotel was built in 1936 at the bottom of the Val Martello valley at an altitude of 2,160 metres in front of Mount Cevedale. It was a facility designed to take customers belonging to different social classes with a careful hierarchy of communal and private services which gave rise to much criticism and debate at the time. The body of the building was partly linear and partly curved in shape, rising to three storeys with the main rooms located in the convex curve of the front. One distinctive feature of the interiors was the use of colour (Ponti developed his study of this in that period), which identified spatial fields and suggested visual lines and directions. In the years after the war the hotel was purchased by a Venetian shipowner Benati, who added two floors and partially enlarged it. It operated for a few years and has been closed down since 1955. Today it is in a serious state of disrepair, although the structure is still standing.
Font: Franco Angeli Editions.

More informations about the Architect Giò Ponti:

10 comments:

Dina said...

What an unusual place. So interesting.

Anonymous said...

Interesting structure... nicely captured! I really enjoy this burnt sienna color...

Jack said...

It is certainly unusual. Closed in 1955? That is 56 years ago! And still standing? Amazing.

Mark said...

What an interesting place. Good be the basis for a great YHA.

Leeds daily photo said...

I am with Madge, love the colour. I think Mark has a point too it would perhaps make a great YHA hostel. Be sad for it to be lost.

yarra valley tourism said...

That hotel is a real treasure. It's like a work of art. I wonder, how many rooms are there?
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yarra valley tourism

Klemens said...

Was this the Hotel Paradiso run by Friedrich Schwend in the last days of WWII?

Paulio said...

Yes. It was purchased and run by him, allegedly used as a safe route

Unknown said...

WHO is the owner today ?

Unknown said...

Most unexpectedly, I came upon this beautiful ruin last year, and was surprised and, given is state of decay, saddened to discover it was designed by the famed architect, Gio Ponti. Thanks for your beautiful photo essay and informative post. I did not realize it was originally three stories. I wonder how that impacted it's proportions and if Ponti handled the added construction?

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