On the slopes of Mount Brianza, above the town of Olginate, stands what Count Mario Bagno called the “City of Toys.” In the 1960s, this was supposed to be the Las Vegas of Italy — a pleasure paradise with shopping malls, casinos, ballrooms, and luxury hotels built in random architectural styles. Chinese pagodas stood in the gardens, a Muslim minaret-shaped gallery marked the shopping center, and a fake medieval castle guarded the entrance. Signs at the gate announced: “In Consonno, it’s always a party.” By 2017, when I visited, the only party was silence. The town had been abandoned for 41 years after a landslide destroyed the only road. Graffiti covered every wall. The buildings crumbled under decades of neglect. Church and cemetery remained, the only things Bagno didn’t demolish.
Historical Context
Consonno is a frazione of the municipality of Olginate, in the province of Lecco, Lombardy. For most of its history, it was an agricultural town in the Brianza hills, with a population that never surpassed 300 inhabitants. The town has origins in the Middle Ages.
On 8 January 1962, Count Mario Bagno, an eccentric real estate entrepreneur, purchased the entire village for 22,500,000 lire. Bagno evicted the small population and completely demolished the town, leaving only the Church of San Maurizio, the rectory, and the cemetery standing.
Bagno’s vision was to transform Consonno into a resort town resembling an adult playground, attracting tourists from nearby Milan with shopping galleries, bars, casinos, and extravagant hotels. The pleasure paradise was outfitted with facilities themed after different types of architecture. The commercial gallery had the shape of a Muslim minaret, Chinese pagodas stood randomly in the gardens, and a fake medieval castle was placed at the entrance. Plans included a basketball court, a zoo, and a new autodrome.
Signs at the gate announced: “In Consonno, it’s always a party,” “Consonno is the smallest, but the most beautiful place on earth,” and “In Consonno, the sky is bluer”.
Decline and Abandonment
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the town briefly enjoyed success, attracting hoards of pleasure seekers. By 1972, the novelty had begun to wear off and crowds dwindled.
The fatal blow came in October 1976. Heavy rains, exacerbated by the undermining of the local hydrogeological equilibrium caused by the building, provoked a landslide that destroyed the only road into town. This meant neither visitors nor supplies could enter, and the project was abandoned.
In July 2007, a clandestine rave party was held there. The influx of more than a thousand marauding youth devastated what was left of Consonno. Over time, the remaining buildings were trashed and graffiti painted everywhere.
What We Found
During the 2017 visit, Consonno showed extensive long-term abandonment. The half-completed village of kitschy buildings was crumbling under decades of neglect. Graffiti covered every wall.
The Chinese pagodas in the gardens were overgrown with vegetation. The Muslim minaret-shaped commercial gallery stood derelict, its structure deteriorating. The fake medieval castle at the entrance remained but was weathered. Abandoned hotel rooms showed broken windows and stripped interiors, walls covered in graffiti.
The Church of San Maurizio and the cemetery still stood, the only structures preserved from the original medieval town. The road that had been destroyed by the 1976 landslide remained visible, a scar on the landscape.
Access was mostly restricted, though the abandoned town was reachable. The buildings were trashed, windows broken, and the site was overgrown in places.
Continuing towards the center of the city we bump into the Chinese pagodas and the dance floor. In the center the town there is a church and another building to the side with doors and windows barred. Behind it probably the only inhabitant lives with his garden and hens.
After Our Visit
The town remains officially abandoned as of the latest available information. Access is mostly restricted. The road destroyed by the 1976 landslide was rebuilt in 2010, but this did not lead to redevelopment.
The remaining buildings continue to be trashed and graffiti-covered. The site is overgrown and crumbling under decades of neglect. Consonno has become a destination for photographers and fans of abandoned places.
No official redevelopment or restoration has been documented. The town sits on Mount Brianza as a ghost town, a monument to Bagno’s unfinished dream.
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