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Consonno

March 23, 2015

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Consonno

March 23, 2015

Consonno is an abandoned village in Northern Italy, about a half hour drive from my parents' house.  Not far from Lecco, it belongs to the town of Olginate.  I've been there on a post-Christmas day, when the sky was clear and the air was frosty and humid.

 

 

 

 

 

Consonno used to be a village like many others, until 'eccentric entrepreneur' Earl Mario Bagno took advantage of the particularly favourable economic situation in Italy and bought the whole village in the early Sixties.  Bagno's idea was that of turning Consonno into a place for tourists, a sort of gigantic amusement park, like a tiny Italian version of Las Vegas - but when he started making his ideas come true it was clear that this was the end of the whole village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He did not follow a structured plan and kept changing his mind - thus building something he fancied on one day, only to destroy it the day after.  He lowered the surrounding hills with the aid of explosives in order to improve the views over the surrounding mountains, including Monte Resegone, and doing so he irreparably altered the area's hydro-ecological dynamics.  

 

During its peak period, between the end of the Sixties and the beginning of the Seventies, Consonno was dominated by an eclectic mix of styles: there was a medieval-esque entrance building, a minaret, sphynxes, Chinese pagodas, a Grand Hotel, and an Arabian-style shopping mall.  Dancing nights with famous TV guests were frequent.  But after a few years the whole area lost its novelty and slowly fell into decay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole site has then been destroyed during the latest rave parties, while the writers have conquered each and everyone of its walls.  All glass is broken and everything is crumbling, making some areas unsafe. The current value of the site seems to be 12 million euros and, while many have expressed their interest in purchasing it, there are currently no solid offers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More information on Consonno (in Italian) can be found on www.consonno.it.

 

 

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