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  • View of the central body facing the sea, Ex Colonia Marina Vittorio Emanuele II, Calambrone, Pisa.zoom in altra finestra
  • Side facing Viale del Tirreno, ex Colonia Marina Vittorio Emanuele II, Calambrone, Pisa.zoom in altra finestra

Ex Colonia Marina Vittorio Emanuele II [Former "Victor Emanuel II" Seaside Hostel]

The complex, built at the initiative of the Anti-tuberculosis Provincial Consortium of Pisa as a permanent heliotherapy centre, was constructed between 1934 and 1938 to the project of the engineer Gino Steffanon.

The hostel has a singular planimetry of symbolic nature. From above, in fact, it can be seen to evoke the image of a child with arms outstretched toward the sky, an allusion to the logo of the campaign against tuberculosis conducted at the time.

The central avant-corps on Viale del Tirreno presents a monumental image deriving from its marble facing, from the "pincers" stairway at the entrance and the pillars that rise for the entire height of the building. The front of the side facing the sea is more complex due to the presence of the central block, containing a gymnasium, and the two flights of stairs parallel to the facade as well as the two lateral towers containing spiral stairways that lead to the solarium.

At present the seaside hostel, which is in poor conditions of maintenance, is urgently awaiting restoration and a suitable destination of use.

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Texts by Graziano Magrini

English translation by Catherine Frost

Last update 14/gen/2008