San Pellegrino Terme-the pearl of the Brembana Valley-is a renowned town nestled along the course of the Brembo River, world-famous for its water, the famous San Pellegrino. Art Nouveau buildings, the historic spa with its thermal baths, the world-famous Grand Hotel and the San Pellegrino water plant make this town a fascinating destination.
San Pellegrino spa: art nouveau architecture and modern design
The Baths, built in 1840, transformed a small town in the valley into a renowned resort for the wealthy international bourgeoisie. The facility was further expanded in the late 19th century, with buildings constructed in the Art Nouveau style, the artistic movement that favors curved, arabesque lines. Within a few years this movement conquered San Pellegrino, populating it with some of the world’s most eclectic examples of this style, including the majestic Municipal Casino, the Grand Hotel and the water bottling factory. Most of these works can now be visited; some have recently been restored and reopened to the public. The Baths, for example, are now part of an elegant wellness center that combines Art Nouveau architecture and refined modern design.
History
San Pellegrino Terme blossomed at the turn of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, fully incorporating the dictates of the Belle Époque, namely widespread optimism and a renewed desire for fun and lightness.
For about two decades it became the hub of Bergamo’s social life and beyond, certainly helped by the presence of the thermal baths, the Casino and the Grand Hotel, refined haunts of the wealthy industrial bourgeoisie looking to have a good time.
The infrastructure also benefited from these positive conditions: in addition to the railroad linking the town with Bergamo, a funicular was built in 1909 to overcome the 300-meter difference in altitude that separated it from the Vetta resort.
It was World War I that brought an initial decrease in the flow of vacationers, which continued in the years after World War II and led to the closure of the Grand Hotel.
The water industry, on the other hand, knows no decline, and San Pellegrino continues to invest heavily in it through bottling, creating a label that is exported and famous throughout the world.
Today you can dive into the past and relive the same splendor of the early twentieth century in the new spa, recently restored and implemented according to a project that also includes the recovery of the opulent Casino, where you can stay.