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A Swiss real estate group from Ticino wants to renovate the historically magnificent building of the Belle Époque in accordance with the monument.
After six unsuccessful attempts, the seventh investor has now succeeded: The Grand Hotel Locarno in the municipality of Muralto, which has been closed since 2005, is to be renovated. The Artisa real estate group, which is controlled by Stefano Artioli and his son Alain Artioli, wants to renovate the hotel, which opened in 1876, in accordance with the monument. The Grand Hotel could thus remain a testament to the tourist boom in Locarno, but also to the beginnings of the film festival.
Ticino becomes a popular travel destination
The Grand Hotel has an eventful history behind it. It is completed in 1874, almost simultaneously with the construction of the Gotthard railway tunnel and the opening of Locarno station.
Construction of the Gotthard tunnel and the Locarno train station
With the railway connection, Locarno and Ticino become popular travel destinations. Especially in the winter months, many German-speaking Swiss travel to the southern canton. The hotel, built according to the plans of the architect Francesco Galli, was considered the epitome of the rise in tourism at the time.
Peace Conference and Glamour
In 1925 an international peace conference took place in the Grand Hotel. Representatives of the victors and losers of the First World War lodged in the Grand Hotel and signed the Locarno treaties in the city’s courtroom. The then luxurious ambience and the spacious park in front of the Grand Hotel became a meeting place for filmmakers when the Locarno International Film Festival was founded here in 1946.
A look back at the Locarno Film Festival
The film festival takes place in the open air in the hotel park until 1970, before moving to the Piazza Grande in 1971. But even after that, the hotel remains a meeting place for directors, film fans and actors. World-famous film stars like Marlene Dietrich in 1960 appear again and again. Since she wasn’t contractually allowed to say anything, it remained a silent performance.
Well-preserved original substance
When it was closed in 2005, not much was left of the former splendor of the magnificent building. Most recently, it was probably the only two-star grand hotel in Switzerland, jokes Marco Solari, President of the Locarno Film Festival. “The end was a heavy blow for the film festival,” because it grew with the Grand Hotel and was the linchpin of it, says Solari.
Investor Stefano Artioli says it was a stroke of luck for the hotel that the last owners couldn’t bring themselves to carry out the much-needed renovation. It is probably one of the few grand hotels in Switzerland that has been preserved in its original form.
The huge Murano glass chandelier, which made it into the Guinness Book of Records, still hangs over several floors. Door frames, stucco work and paintings under the subsequently applied plaster are also original. Artioli wants to preserve and professionally restore this originality. The Ticino nature and heritage protection association has filed an appeal against the building plans. They want to make the new owner responsible for the restoration of the listed substance.