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  • View of the base of the Tower, Colonia Marina "Edoardo Agnelli" (Torre FIAT), Marina di Massa.zoom in altra finestra
  • View of the Tower, Colonia Marina "Edoardo Agnelli" (Torre FIAT), Marina di Massa.zoom in altra finestra

Colonia Marina "Edoardo Agnelli" (Torre FIAT) ["Edoardo Agnelli" Seaside Hostel (FIAT tower)]

Located at the northern end of Marina di Massa, the "Edoardo Agnelli" Seaside Hostel (the former Balilla Tower, later known as the Fiat Tower) was designed by Vittorio Bonadè Bottino, an engineer from Turin, in 1933 and was built to accommodate 800 children. It was and still is today used as a summer camp for the children of FIAT personnel.

The building complex is formed of three residences (the Tower, the Pinewoods, and the Terrace), a theatre, two buildings for the camp's personnel and the custodian's house. The name derives from the characteristic cylindrical shape of the main building.

This is undoubtedly the best example of the "tower" type of seaside camp. Fifty-two meters high with seventeen floors, the white profile of the tower is a landmark on the northern coast of Tuscany. The interior develops in a helical structure, around a central stairwell, forming an unbroken dormitory 420 meters long and 8 meters wide. The allusive reference to the propellers of an airplane is obvious. At the same time, the design serves as an evocative advertising image for the Turin-based industry.

The building, perfectly conserved, retains most of its original finishing elements and materials. The marine environment is evoked by the predominant colours used in the building complex (white, blue and green).

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Texts by Graziano Magrini

English translation by Catherine Frost

Last update 02/feb/2008