Colonia Ettore Motta
THE ABANDONED HOLIDAY CAMP IN ITALY
The ‘Colonia Ettore Motta’ was used as a vacation home for the employees of an Italian energy giant. The home opened its doors in 1929, hosting entire generations of young people, until the beginning of the 70s, when it fell into disuse.
The summer camp was built in the 1920s by Giacinto Motta, director of the Montecatini Edison electricity company. The buildings accommodated up to 4 thousand children between 4 and 6 years old. This home is hidden up a steep hill along one of the famous Italian lakes. The owners, Mr. Giacinto Motta and his wife, named the home ‘Ettore Motta’. This was in honor of their son Ettore, who died in 1922 at the age of 18.
The complex is made up of nine buildings, with a volume of about 55 thousand cubic meters on an area of approximately 126 thousand square meters. The buildings were designed by architect S. Pagani.
During the Second World War it was a military hospital of the Regia Marina, the navy of the Kingdom of Italy. After the war, it was used as a summer camp again. But the site was eventually abandoned in 1973. I took these photos of ‘Colonia Ettore Motta’ in 2014 during my Italian road trip. You can see more abandoned Italian locations here.
