Many are no longer there. Others continue to live and constitute a point of reference for those who love the sea without inconveniences and with high quality services. Some are therefore only told: the memories of the big children are superimposed on reality. After all, who does not remember with nostalgia and sweetness the old bathing establishment where you spent the most beautiful summer days of your childhood?
The history of Italian seaside tourism begins in Versilia.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the first factories appeared on the northern Tuscan coast. Viareggio welcomes the first equipped beaches intended exclusively for nobles (Bagni Dori And Seaside resort the oldest). Over time also Rimini, with the creation of Sea Baths Wanted by the Baldini counts, Livorno, the Lido of Venice, Naples and Palermo contributed to the expansion of Italian seaside tourism, which then also reached Sardinia and the lower Adriatic.
The new generation establishments are larger and offer new services such as restaurants, bars, shops and dance halls. And they are also becoming more and more beautiful, with buildings with increasingly elegant and refined architectural lines.
But who are the “pioneers” who have overcome the challenge of time? Here are some.
Bagno Dori, Viareggio, Lucca (Tuscany)
With more than two centuries of history, the legendary Dori bathroom of Viareggio is one of the seaside institutions of the capital of Versilia. Inaugurated in 1823 (although some date its origins back five years), it still retains its former splendor today.
A natural appendage of the city beach, in a straight line with the city centre, the beach adjoins the historic pier, offering its guests a privileged view of the departures and arrivals of motorboats, sailboats and luxury yachts at the port. At the beginning of its history, there were huts made of rushes and sedges, later replaced by wooden buildings, stilts and maritime footbridges near the pier. The bathroom was at that time reserved exclusively for ladies and nuns.
Today, everyone can enjoy the fine sand of Bagno Dori, its many services, including the seaside restaurant and beach bar, its beach tennis courts, its beach volleyball, its beach soccer and its relaxation areas.
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Lido of Genoa (Liguria)
This dates back to September 16th. 1908 the inauguration of the historic Lido of Genoa, in the presence of the most illustrious figures of the city's bourgeoisie. Ladies and knights are welcomed in this place of extraordinary beauty. The Lido is immediately an elegant and refined environment where to spend days of stimulating social life: a semi-circular terrace with descent to the sea, roundabouts in the water, colorful canvas huts, a grotto and a theater are only part of the whole. many details of the famous Ligurian complex.
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The Lido of Genoa was born from the brilliant idea of Giuseppe Garibaldi Coltellettigodson of the hero of two worlds. A beach that, over the course of more than a century of history and success, has welcomed illustrious personalities such as Gabriele D'Annunzio and Sophia Loren, and which, between 1920 and 1939, between the two world wars, became an essential destination for personalities from the world of art, culture and politics.
In the Liberty building of the factory, we discuss economics and culture. Guido Gozzano and Giuseppe Ungaretti They held conferences there. After the difficult and dramatic years of the Second World War, the twenty years between 1953 and 1973 saw the rebirth of the Lido of Genoa, where evenings and shows were hosted, among others, by Mike Bongiorno and Pippo Baudo, and the best groups of the time such as Dik Dik, New Trolls and Equipe 84.
In the 1990s, renovation and refurbishment interventions redeveloped the Lido. Today, the complex has 900 cabins divided into four different sectors.
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Lido di Alghero (Sardinia)
In one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Sardinia and in one of the most beautiful and popular cities in Italy, stands the historic Lido di Alghero. For ninety years, the beach of this ancient bathing establishment has been making history on the splendid Coral Riviera.
Located in the heart of the Gulf of Alghero, the property offers a wide range of services to make its guests' holidays unique. From restaurants overlooking the bay to shops, from the bike rental service to all beach services, from boat rental to umbrellas and deckchairs, to rooms and apartments, Lido di Alghero is an excellence of the west coast of Sardinia that smells of history.
Former bathing establishment of Mondello, Palermo (Sicily)
Among the most beautiful architectural works in Art Nouveau style in Italy and Europe, the ancient bathing establishment of Mondello was built at the beginning of the 20th century, in the newly reclaimed area and connected to the city by a modern tram line.
The building, located on a platform supported by pylons submerged in waterconsisted of an elegant construction with volutes, sculptures, friezes and stained glass windows. Used during World War II as a headquarters first by the fascists, then by the German army, and then by the Allied forces, it underwent a careful restoration in the 1990s that restored the structure to its former glory.
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Also known to the Palermitans as “Charleston”, for the restaurant that enriched the complex in the late 1960s, the iconic seaside resort of Mondello, home to important social events before the Second World War, which saw among the participants great personalities of the time from the local aristocracy and beyond, continues to embellish, with its architectural lines and its charm, one of the most appreciated and appreciated areas of the Palermo coast.
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Bagni Alberoni, Lido of Venice (Veneto)
Among the oldest bathing establishments of the Venice Lido, the Bagni Alberoni are located in an oasis of sand equipped with all services, about half an hour by ferry from the lagoon capital. It was in the early 1930s that the name Alberoni established itself on the international scene.
Their first major seaside establishment was thanks to the investments of CIGA, the Italian company Grandi Alberghiwhich sees among its regulars the wealthy international bourgeoisie, regular guests of the company's grand hotels.
Still ecologically intact today, the beach of the Alberoni resort has remained the oasis of the past, so beautiful that it enchanted the director Luchino Visconti, who decided to shoot the exterior shots of his famous drama film on this beach. “Death in Venice.”
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Lido Azzurro, Catania (Sicily)
Among the oldest bathing establishments on the coast of Catania and among the richest in history in Sicily, the Lido Azzurro in Catania has its roots in 1935. The famous beach on the eastern coast of Sicily has been offering the inhabitants of Catania and visitors from all over the world its exclusive access to Playa beach for over 80 years. It was the small bungalows that characterized the beach at the beginning of the last century.
A unique place for generations of Catanians who grew up among the long lines of adults red and blue cabins where, in 1954, the central building was built, which today houses the reception and catering services. The traditional cabins, now sized and mounted on removable wooden structures, are now united, spread over 70 thousand square meters, with structures and large spaces for beach sports.
Bagno Elena, Posillipo, Naples (Campania)
Also once frequented by Totò, Eduardo De Filippo and Domenico Rea, the Elena Baths of Posillipo It was and still is one of the most picturesque corners of the Gulf of Naples.
The establishment is located on the volcanic beach of the bay bordered on one side by Palace of Guerciean old watchtower, and on the other by the 17th century palace Donna Annadesigned and built in 1642, and among the most beautiful buildings in the metropolis of Campania.
Since 1840, Bagno Elena has been giving colour and beauty to this corner of the coast, where during the day the beach and the sea are the great protagonists, while at sunset the bathroom spaces become magical places animated by events and entertainment, with a continuous history as a backdrop.
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