Tiny retro Italian town with just 5,000 locals built as a ‘utopia’ that feels like going back in time
A TINY town in Italy was once built as a ‘utopia’ – but has been left untouched ever since.
Tresigallo is found between Bologna and Venice, with many of the buildings built in the 1930s.
The town structure was entirely built from scratch by the Minister of Agriculture at the time Edmondo Rossoni, who kept it a secret from then-leader Mussolini.
The town was built as a futuristic endeavour, nicknamed the City of the 20th Century or Metaphysical City which saw the local population jump from 500 to 9,000 people.
The majority of the buildings were built between 1927 and 1934, across two axes – the horizontal being for spirituality with the church and youth centre, while the vertical was for everyday life including the main civic centre.
Now it is a symbol of Rationalism Architecture from many of the buildings remaining intact.
The most famous is the pastel-blue Sogni, which means dreams in Italian, which was once a bathhouse and is now an exhibition centre.
There is also the House of Culture, the S.A.I.M.M, a former engineering factory now home to local artisans, and Bar Roma, which is now abandoned.
Teatro 900 is now a music school, while there are also churches, sports fields, schools and a large plaza Piazza della Repubblica.
And it’s not just the buildings that made it a modern city at the time.
Motorways connected Tresigallo to both the coast and Ferrara, the nearest city, with it previously being marshland that made it hard to get to.
Running water was also installed, with the bathhouse having the first house showers and toilets for the village.
There was even a sanitarium to help people recover from tuberculous.
The expansion of the city was halted following World War II, with Rossoni fleeing to Canada.
Now, it is less than 5,000 who live there, with it remaining a hidden gem for tourists exploring Italy.
But Tresigallo has been compared to a Hollywood film set, with the empty streets surrounding the retro buildings, as well as looking like something from a Wes Anderson film.
One website states: “Today, Tresigallo is architecture in its purest state: a town, seemingly empty where rationalist forms and old signs reign like a Hollywood movie set left to itself.
“Little known, but an outstanding example.”
Brands such as Ducati have already used the destination for photoshoots too.
To get to Tresigallo, flights to Bologna from the UK take around two hours, with the town another hour’s drive.
It’s not the only town that is like going back in time.
The “living museum” of Beamish in County Durham is meant to feel like travelling back to the 1920s.
Downham is a small English village that is said to be frozen in time.
And here’s a tiny UK village that’s like a ‘1940s film set’ with retro shops.