The falling stars in Paradiso: what will become of the Eden Hotel?

«Still alive.» So far that’s all we’ve been able to find out about the project to renovate the Eden Hotel in Paradiso, which has been closed for more than four years. The tight-lipped update comes from a spokesman for the company that owns the building: an investment fund based in Liechtenstein. So the vision of a new Eden has certainly not vanished, even if the place today gives the opposite feeling. At the entrance to what was once a five-star hotel hangs a sheet of paper with a telephone contact, but the number, as the usual mechanical voice says, is no longer in service. «Check and try again later.» Sure.

Looking through the dusty glass of the lobby, the only evidence of the elegance of days gone by is the large wooden counter above which tourists left their check-in documents and received their room keys in return. The rest smells of abandonment. In the block on the opposite side of the street was a large, bright relaxation area with a terrace overlooking the Ceresio. The views, at least that one, continue to leave one breathless. Two drawings are also posted on the facades of the building, two sketches of how Eden could have become if the authorities had approved the first project for its rebuilding.

It was in 2014. The construction application submitted by the owners envisaged demolishing the old buildings and replacing them with new volumes characterized by large glass surfaces, distributed between the two sides of the street and connected by an aerial walkway. The structure would have offered a hundred rooms, a wellness center, rooms for conferences and meetings, two bars, a square and a lake promenade open to the public. All this with an investment of about one hundred and sixty million. The promoters had immediately encountered difficulties. First with the municipality of Paradiso that, while supporting the project, had asked to reduce the size of one of the blocks overlooking the Ceresio and those of all the balconies. Then, to lengthen the time, a study was carried out, again at municipal level, on how to improve the pedestrian path along the lake, which inevitably crossed the perimeter of the new Eden. As if that wasn’t enough, a group of citizens had launched a collection of signatures against the work, deemed not in harmony with the surrounding landscape. To the same conclusion, to the misfortune of the owners, the Canton had finally arrived, expressing a negative notice to the release of the license. Hell, anything but Eden. However, the private individuals had not lost heart and in June 2019 had announced a new application for construction. Formally, as far as we know, that is where we have remained.

As explained to us by the owners at the time, what would have changed was not the basic concept nor the volume of the building, but its visual impact on the environment. By focusing on a mixture of classical and modern elements, the aesthetic effect would have been different. As mentioned, however, this information is now three years old. We know that in the meantime there have been several contacts between the parties - even with the competent cantonal offices, to avoid a second rejection - but nothing more. When we contacted the municipality responsible for private construction in Paradiso, Luciano Di Simone, he did not make any statement, and we could not even reach the mayor Ettore Vismara. Why this silence? Probably, mindful of the controversies and past difficulties, both the promoters and the municipal authorities want to continue the discourse with lights off. The new Eden is waiting. The old one enjoys the view a little longer.