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:
What an unusual place. So interesting.
Interesting structure... nicely captured! I really enjoy this burnt sienna color...
It is certainly unusual. Closed in 1955? That is 56 years ago! And still standing? Amazing.
What an interesting place. Good be the basis for a great YHA.
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.
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
Was this the Hotel Paradiso run by Friedrich Schwend in the last days of WWII?
Yes. It was purchased and run by him, allegedly used as a safe route
WHO is the owner today ?
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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