Via Cadorna and the Municipal Lido

The Sulzano Municipal Lido: overlooking Lake Sebino and a public space between the lake and the ferry

Located a short distance from the historic centre and the ferry terminal serving Peschiera Maraglio and Montisola, Sulzano’s Municipal Lido offers a view over the waters of Lake Iseo and, together with Spiagge Vertine and Spiaggia Torrente Mesagolo, provides a public space from which to enjoy the lakeside scenery in what has been one of Lake Iseo’s most popular destinations since the late 19th century.

Sulzano between the late 19th century and tourism: “The Hundred Cities of Italy” and the town’s transformation

Indeed, from the late 19th century onwards, Sulzano has been remembered as a holiday resort, listed in 1898 in the magazine “Le cento città d’Italia” as a tourist destination, whilst in 1896 Bernardo Sina, describing the new villas built along the lakeshore, was keen to point out how the town, once an ‘obscure village’, had undergone a veritable transformation during what proved to be a period of particularly intense building activity. Sulzano was, in fact, at the forefront of the era of great change on Lake Iseo, which, from a secluded lake dotted with ancient villages, became a holiday resort and a tourist destination for the rising industrial middle class.

Free time and Liberty: lakeside villas and architectural masterpieces

It was during this historic period, coinciding with the emergence of the concept of ‘leisure’ within a productive society, that numerous lakeside villas sprang up along the shore, built in accordance with the principles of the new Art Nouveau style. The expertise of engineers and architects was drawn upon for the construction of these new leisure venues: among the most illustrious figures to have worked in Sulzano was Antonio Tagliaferri (Brescia, 9 February 1835 – Brescia, 20 May 1909), the most eminent architect from Brescia of that period.

The villas between 1884 and 1926: Villa Nulli-Carini and decorations by Giorgio Ziliani

Between 1884 and 1926, a series of small villas were built in Sulzano, shaping the townscape: among the first was Villa Nulli-Carini, known at the time as ‘Villa Laura’, commissioned by Decio Nulli and immediately cited as an exemplary example of architecture in the tourist guides of the period. The interior decoration of the villa was entrusted by Domenico Carini, the property’s third owner, to the painter Giorgio Ziliani, who worked on it in 1925 and had previously designed a number of stage sets for the Teatro Grande in Brescia.

Infrastructure and holiday resorts: the railway and the coastal road

The construction of the railway and the coastal provincial road gave a major boost to the holiday industry, thanks to Giuseppe Zanardelli; these were completed in 1906 to link the town with Brescia and the Camonica Valley.