Grand Hotel Campo dei Fiori, building in Varese, Italy
The Grand Hotel Campo dei Fiori is a hotel built in Italian Liberty style between 1910 and 1912 on a hilltop above Varese. Architect Giuseppe Sommaruga designed the building with characteristic curved lines, rounded windows, and decorative details inspired by flowers and nature, originally containing over 200 rooms.
The hotel was founded in 1907 by local businessmen and attracted wealthy tourists for about 50 years before being used as a military hospital during World War II. After the war, visitor numbers declined, the funicular stopped in 1953, and the hotel closed around 1968.
The name "Campo dei Fiori" refers to the flower fields that once covered this mountain area. The hotel embodied the idea of luxury and leisure from the turn of the century, when wealthy families from Milan came here to escape the city.
The hotel can only be visited by reserved guided tour, offered on weekends through the end of July, with spots filling up quickly. You can reach the site easily from Varese by following signs toward Sacro Monte, or take a local bus close to the entrance.
The building was also used as a filming location for the horror film Suspiria, with parts of the movie set still remaining inside. These film remnants offer visitors an additional layer of discovery and show how the space was artistically transformed.
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