Centro Vacanza della Gioventù Italiana
THE ABANDONED CHILDREN’S CAMP IN ITALY
‘Centro Vacanza della Gioventù Italiana’ is an abandoned children’s camp in the North of Italy, somewhere between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps. It was built in 1935 and abandoned in the late 1990s.
Angelo Morelli De Rossi, Ettore D’Orlandi, and Sergio Petz built the Italian youth center in 1935 near the Alps, providing it with a breathtaking view over the small mountain village. The GIL, or ‘Gioventù Italiana del Littorio’, owned the youth camp for over twenty years. This organization, established in 1937, was a youth movement of the National Fascist Party in Italy. It aimed at controlling and influencing the minds of young children, with the goal of shaping them into future fascists. Children were brainwashed through activities such as Fascist Saturdays and summer camps.
Admission to the colonies was restricted to children from needy families and orphans. The old Summer Camp served various purposes over time, functioning as a hospital, a scientific high school, and eventually a municipal depot.
Over the years, the local government has tried to find some entrepreneurs willing to invest in the building, bringing it back to life, for example in the form of a hotel. But all was in vain, the old Colony is rotting away, being the victim of weather, local youth and fires.
These photos of the abandoned ‘Centro Vacanza della Gioventù Italiana’ or ‘Colonia Alpina GIL’ were taken in May 2018. If you like this report, you can also check Ospizio Sacra Famiglia and Colonia Rosa d’Italia.
