History, cataloguing and valorization of Colonie Marine in Emilia Romagna as a public modern heritage

Colonie marine are holiday camps for children, which have represented a social and architectural phenomenon and have characterized the coasts of the Italian Region of Emilia Romagna for more than a century, since the second half of the nineteenth century. The Fascist Regime strongly encouraged the development of these structures, in order to forge the physical and moral training of new generations, and also many Italian industrialists started to build them to strengthen the sense of belonging to the company and to form a new sound and efficient manpower. They became the opportunity to experiment different design solutions, in some cases the functionalist and hygienist rigor of the Rationalism, in other cases the use of allegories with references to a Neo-Futurism. Often hidden by hotels which have crowded the coast, they have a great strategic value because of their historical artistic importance and green areas. The execution of the cataloguing of this huge real estate, located along the coast and constituted by more than an hundred buildings, frequently in state of ruin, raises issues related to the safeguard and a sustainable use of this asset. They represent a significant public built heritage, which requires to be correctly valorized through the adoption of new business models.