It’s certainly one of the bigger ghost towns – and being Italian, it even has a working bar.
These pictures give you a fascinating insight into the so-called Città dei Balocchi – “City of Toys” – which was once a playground for well-heeled residents and tourists from Milan, an 80-minute drive south.
In its heyday, the tourist hotspot in the foothills of the Alps attracted visitors with bizarre architecture and attractions such as shopping galleries, casinos, restaurants, a grand hotel and a ballroom. It even had a fake castle. But now the eccentric carcass of this eccentric folly lies crumbling on the slope, and the surrounding forests are slowly swallowing it up.
The so-called Città dei Balocchi – “City of Toys” – was once a playground for well-heeled residents and tourists from Milan, 80 minutes south by car
In its heyday, City of Toys attracted visitors with bizarre architecture and attractions such as shopping malls, casinos, restaurants, a grand hotel and a ballroom. It even had a fake castle
The eccentric carcass of this eccentric folly lies crumbling on the slope. At the top, a Chinese pagoda is slowly sinking
The “city” was the idea of the eccentric entrepreneur Count Mario Bagno. He was involved in building many Italian roads and airports, but decided in the 1960s to capitalize on the economic boom and found an Italian Las Vegas.
His method of building it was pretty brutal.
The quiet, rural town of Consonno was chosen as the best place. Bagno bought it for 22.5 million lire (around 600,000,000 lire or £ 280,000 in today’s money), forced the 60 or so residents to move and demolished every building except the church and the cemetery and the rectory.
Some villagers had left forever when construction began in 1965, but others stayed and worked in the new resort for supposed starvation wages.
Bagno chose to use bulldozers and dynamite to level the slope it was to be built on, causing landslides that delayed opening.
However, the first stage was completed in 1968 and the guests were welcomed.
But the website Sometimes Interesting notes that, in addition to the remote location that was a problem, the “constant, slow expansion made the city look more like a construction site than a resort,” with the chirping of birds “constantly interrupted by the sounds of hammering and banging Sawing “.
Count Bagno was also considered undecided, his plans were constantly being hacked up and changed.
The “city” was the idea of the eccentric entrepreneur Count Mario Bagno. He was involved in building many Italian roads and airports, but decided in the 1960s to capitalize on the economic boom and found an Italian Las Vegas
The quiet, rural town of Consonno used to be on the site. Bagno bought it for 22.5 million lire (around £ 10,000), forced the 60 or so residents to move and demolished every building except the church and the cemetery and rectory
Bagno chose to use bulldozers and dynamite to level the slope it was to be built on, causing landslides that delayed opening. However, the first stage was completed in 1968 and the guests were welcomed
Despite the setbacks and criticism from neighboring provinces for its unusual appearance, the half-finished city of toys was successful for several years.
Guests relaxed amid Arabic arches and a minaret tower, ornate fountains, and Chinese pagodas.
The medieval castle at the entrance with exemplary soldiers would certainly have been fun.
A rusted vehicle rotting in the toy city. The resort experienced a boom in the late 1960s and early 1970s
However, the resort’s success was short-lived.
Tennis courts, a car racing track, a soccer field, a small zoo, a bowling alley, an amusement park, an Egyptian sphinx and more were planned – but in October 1976 another landslide destroyed the main access road and cut it off. Supply line.
The blockade was eventually lifted, but the economic damage was done.
Nature has recaptured one of the buildings on the site. Tennis courts, a car racing track, a soccer field, a small zoo, a bowling alley, an amusement park, an Egyptian sphinx and more were planned
It is possible to visit the former toy town – and there is a seasonal bar there run by the Amici di Consonno association
Count Bagno decided that it was too far away to make a fortune from tourism and that there was more money to build a retirement home there.
In the 1980s, he planned to modernize and remodel the former Grand Hotel for older residents, but he died in October 1995 and development never materialized.
Count Bagno’s estate decided in June 2007 to close the place.
In the 1980s, Bagno planned to modernize and remodel the former Grand Hotel for older residents, but he died in October 1995 and development never materialized
Count Bagno’s estate decided in June 2007 to close the toy town. That same month, an illegal rave took place in the abandoned resort where hundreds of night owls wreaked havoc and graffiti covered surfaces
Quirky: The City of Toys showed architectural influences from around the world
The Amici di Consonno association is dedicated to the best possible care of the buildings
That same month, an illegal rave took place in the abandoned resort where hundreds of night owls wreaked havoc and graffiti covered surfaces.
Then a group of locals – and fans of the city – founded the association Amici di Consonno, which is dedicated to the best possible care of the buildings.
It certainly can’t do much without substantial financial resources, but in 2012 it succeeded in opening a seasonal bar called Bar De La Spinada with club members on the site of one of the old cafeterias.
In 2014 the Bagno estate attempted to sell the site for 12 million euros (£ 10.7 million) but there were no buyers. The toy city remains a playground for committed fans of abandoned buildings for the time being.
