Today was the weekly Sunday off from work on the Hive which is quite good because nearing then end of the week you could tell everyone was quite knackered, and working at the heights we are now everyone needs a fresh head. Ive been trying to make the most of the day off over the past few weeks and this week I thought it would be a good idea to visit Consonno. Consonno now is basically an abandoned town which was once an adult Las Vegas style playground with bars and casinos which is now abandoned and fallen into ruin. A much more detailed description than i can do justice can be found here
Count Bagno’s City of Toys
After a bit of googling and asking one of the local’s Massimo at work i discovered it was relatively easy to get to, so early Sunday me and Jon set off. This involved getting to Garibaldi station and getting a train to Calolziocorte (try pronouncing that out loud) which took 50mins or so. From here we followed google maps toward Belvedere with is the start of the windy road which takes you up to Consono.
Its pretty steep most of the way once you leave town so if your going to do this by foot be prepared to get a bit warm. You can drive right up to the top between the times of 10:00 & 12:30 on a Sunday but if your still there after the gates are closed your car is stuck. By foot however there are no constraints.
Eventually the road begins to flatten out and quit an onimous building comes into view, I’m not actually sure what this is but it looks like it was started but never finished. I was tempted to go on the upper levels but after going in and looking at the staircase with was a ramp of broken ceramic bricks i gave it a miss.
Under the building straddling the road you come to the first sign, rusty and barely readable it says.
Consonno e il paese piu piccolo ma piu bello del mondo
Translated: Consonno is the smallest but the most beautiful country in the world
Carrying on you pass a more modern sign and the dilapidated buildings of Consono come into view. We passed a few people walking down the hill whilst we were walking up but when we got here there was such an erie silence, no traffic and all the sound was deadened by the hills and trees.
We carried on up the hill and did eventually see some people in the distance so we weren’t to only people here. Through the overgrowth and trees opposite the main building bit there was what looked like a water feature of an old lagoon. It was really strange as there were a load of frogs, you could see them all over but the sound their were making was bizarre. 100s of them making a rumbling sound in unison.
I found this video on youtube which shows Consonno how it used to be:
Consonno the smallest but the most beautiful
Theres allot of really neat graffiti around the place, here I found one of Frank Sidebottom dressed as a rabbit on LSD, just how I imagined he would be.
Further on through a doorway you come to a kind of courtyard where there are more buildings, once of them which has half collapsed, such a great image, frozen in time. Its difficult to tell how old some of these buildings are and how long they’ve been like this for.
I like this, a green giraffe saying fuck, what more can you ask for!
We eventually made our way onto the mid terrace of the main building, everything is rusty and weathered with a load of graffiti inside too.
This is really nice piece, a load of detail too, theres some text saying Hartecore collective. I found their Facebook page here with lots of really nice work.
Right on the roof you get a good view of the valley, its a stunning area and I bet on a brighter day during summertime there will be quite a few people visit Consonno.
Its cool under the dome, and quite surprising how much of it is all still in tact, the place is a mix of hollow brick, solid brick, rebar and concrete, again brilliant views framed by the pillars of the dome.
Back down behind the building and around the corner there was a van with post apocalyptic written on the side, i uses that pretty much sums up the feel of the place.
After a good wander round and a a bit of packed lunch we headed back down the hill, each time there was a gap in the trees you couldn’t help but appreciate the views. From the station tot he bottom of the hill it took about 30mins and then up the hill it took roughly an hour. I don’t think it took quite so long to come back down as you’d imagine.
Last but not least, having a reputation for seeing faces in things, this week at work, James brought me this piece of rubber!
