ABSTRACT
The colonie estive (singular: colonia estiva), or summer camps first appeared at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century as embryonic forms of health assistance to children in Great Britain and then in Switzerland; but, beginning in the 1930s and well into the second half of the 20th century, they became a ubiquitous Italian phenomenon. During Benito Mussolini's premiership (1922–1943), the colonia concept expanded as the fascist regime found in them the ideal setting to nurture the bodies and minds of the youngsters in the ideals of fascism. As a result, the regime sponsored or oversaw the establishment and construction of thousands of them across all of Italy, some of a minuscule size, others resembling small cities. This chapter examines the metamorphosis of the colonia concept during Fascist Italy, highlighting the regime's novel pedagogical framework for the type and role of architecture in responding to the challenges of fashioning spaces that could simultaneously educate, heal, facilitate play, foster friendship and conform to the regime's ideals. The chapter concludes by examining two colonie buildings exemplifying architecture as a pedagogical machine.
