Hotel House, Rationalist palace in Porto Recanati, Italy
Hotel House rises 17 floors above Porto Recanati and contains 480 residential units that shelter a significant portion of the town population. The concrete structure follows clean geometric lines and dominates the entire coastline of the small Adriatic town with its massive presence.
The construction took shape in 1968 during a phase of intense tourism development along the Adriatic coast and was originally meant to accommodate vacationers. The economic crisis of the 1970s transformed the project into permanent housing, which became occupied primarily by immigrant families.
The building carries the name of a hotel that was never realized and now shelters families from more than 40 countries living in close quarters. Multilingual signs and shops selling international goods fill the interior, which functions like a vertical small town.
The building is visible from outside and shapes the harbor view, but the residential areas inside remain private and are not accessible to visitors. Those who want to experience the sight of the complex can do so best from the beach or the waterfront promenade.
The building concentrates one fifth of Porto Recanati's entire population under a single roof and is recognized as the municipality with the highest foreign resident rate in Marche. The renovation work in 2023 focused on urgent repairs to sewage and plumbing systems that directly affect daily life for residents.
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