“Rome by the Sea:” The Holiday Camp at Ostia Lido, between Albergo dei Poveri and Urban Hub

Abstract

The foundation of Ostia Lido, which took place between 1909 and 1915 on the initiative of Paolo Orlando with the collaboration of the Associazione Artistica fra i Cultori di Architettura headed by Gustavo Giovannoni, represented a central episode not only in the expansion of the Third Rome towards the sea, but also of the Italian colonial culture. The construction of the Marine Hospice by Marcello Piacentini provided the first piece of the new settlement, addressed towards a language suspended between classicism and vernacular which was further developed by Vincenzo Fasolo in the nearby monumental Vittorio Emanuele III seaside holiday camp. Through the reading of the documents and the buildings’ locations, this article retraces the main design and construction processes of the two buildings, intimately linked to each other. It also traces the phases of abandonment and degradation, occupation and partial reuse that marked them in the postwar period, providing a picture of their current conditions and the opportunities that an systematic redevelopment could offer, inspired by the historical model of the “Albergo dei Poveri” and other spontaneous bottom-up activities.