Grandi Alberghi Nervi

Grandi Alberghi Nervi

THE ERA OF THE GRAND HOTELS Between the end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century, Nervi and Capolungo lived their best season from a tourist point of view. These were the years when the grand hotels were built and guests flocked from all over Europe for the mild climate and enchanting landscape. In 1863, the Marquis Gaetano Gropallo, tired of hosting his London friends for free, had the first hotel in Nervi built, the 'PENSIONE INGLESE' in Parco Gropallo, which became 'GRAND HOTEL' in 1880. Construction of the 'GRANDE ALBERGO EDEN' began in 1880 and the hotel opened in 1885. Subsequently, one after another, the 'HOTEL VICTORIA' (1885), the 'PENSIONE BONERA', the 'SCHICKERT'S PARK' (1896), the 'PENSION RUSSE' (1898), the 'HOTEL DE LA VILLE', the 'HOTEL SAVOIA', born as Pensione Sanitas (1898) and then 'Savoia Beeler (1902)', the 'HOTEL BEAU RIVAGE', the 'STRAND HOTEL' (Hotel Miramare), the 'HOTEL PAGODA', the 'HOTEL SCHWEIZERHOF', 'HOTEL BELLEVUE', the 'PENSIONE BURGI', the HOTEL NERVI, the 'Pensione ESPERIA' and many others opened. See separate hotel list (in preparation) Historical photos (in preparation) In the early twentieth century, the three grand hotels of Nervi (EDEN, SAVOIA and VICTORIA) offered central steam heating, electric light, lifts, covered and open terraces, direct access to the sea, tennis courts and daily concerts. The clientele consisted mainly of Germans, Russians and Eastern Europeans, generally upper-middle-class and aristocratic people, while in the more modest hotels the guests were usually sick people seeking a chance for recovery in Nervi's climate (among them many Russian exiles). The Pro Nervi orchestra played every day at 3 pm in the music kiosk on the seaside promenade. With Italy's entry into the war in 1915, the largest hotels (Grand Hotel, Savoia, Vittoria) were converted into military hospitals with operating theatres and wards. Unfortunately, with the First World War, many hotels closed permanently due to the dispersal of the clientele and the profound changes undergone by the European political and social scene. Recovery was difficult. Many establishments changed hands. The clientele was no longer the wealthy one of the past and was partially replaced by Italians. With the advent of fascism, the staff had to be of Italian nationality. The new regulations introduced by the fascist regime imposed on farmers the mandatory delivery of their produce to the Central Dairy, and one of the local livelihood activities ceased. Even the grand hotels now remained open all year round, contrary to the past when the season ran from Christmas to Pentecost. There were now greater tourist attractions such as the Gropallo and Serra Parks, acquired by the Municipality of Genoa after the incorporation of the old Municipality of Nervi, and some public beaches (the Bagni Scogliera are the result of the expropriation of the private beach of the Hotel Pagoda). Mass tourism took over. During the Second World War, Nervi remained a relatively 'happy' island as it was never bombed despite being close to Genoa. Food was scarce and the coast was no longer freely accessible. The Promenade was closed with barbed wire and partly mined. Many wealthy Genoese and Swiss citizens moved to the hotels of Nervi to enjoy greater safety while still being able to work in the city by tram. In 1943, the best hotels were requisitioned by the occupiers (the navy at the Vittoria and the army at the Eden), with the exception of the Savoia Beeler, which, while continuing to function as a hotel, hosted several German officers including Field Marshal Kesserling and subsequently General Meinhold, who would sign the act of surrender to the Genoese partisans. After the conflict ended, the most important hotel in Nervi, the Eden, closed permanently and for a long time housed southern refugees, risking being used as a sanatorium for polio patients before finally being renovated as a residence. The Vittoria also underwent the same transformation, and only the Savoia Beeler continued its activity until 1982, becoming the reference hotel for foreigners and participants in the International Ballet Festival in the Parks of Nervi. The era of the grand hotels of Nervi can therefore be considered closed after about a century of life. (under revision)

Hotel Nervi, where Oscar Wilde's wife Mary stayed in 1897