Since its construction in the late 1930s, Torre Fara has become one of the main symbols of Chiavari and Liguria more generally.
Connoted by unique rationalist architecture, it is a monument of national importance. However, the building went through several phases until its final rebirth thanks to a major restoration project by Fara S.R.L.
Erected majestically on the beach in the Preli neighborhood, Torre Fara was initially conceived and desired by the National Fascist Party to house a summer colony for children. Built between 1934 and 1936 it was inaugurated in 1938 and named after General Gustavo Fara.
After its inauguration, Torre Fara hosted children from all parts of Italy for two years, fulfilling its original purpose. This was the heyday of the facility, which also featured an outdoor cinema and other state-of-the-art facilities. As early as 1940, however, with Italy’s entry into the war, there was a long series of changes of use for the structure: first it was a war hospital, then it was occupied by German troops, then it passed into the hands of Allied troops, until it was used as a refuge for exiles from Istria, for whom the waterfront adjacent to the Tower is now named.
In the 1960s the building briefly became a youth hostel, named “Lighthouse.” An interlude that was followed by decades of neglect and abandonment, with some attempts to use it for public purposes, either as a sports clubhouse or as a school. Thus began from the 2000s a long process that finally led to the acquisition by Fara S.r.l., which on October 1, 2015 began the impressive renovation work.
The restyling project by arch. Enrico Pinna of Genoa, arch. Sonja Serventi and geom. Alessio Gotelli of Chiavari and carried out by the firms Edilido srl and Artedil of Chiavari, under the supervision of Shipyard Technical Director Adriano Basso, allowed for a total recovery of the building. Thanks to the attention to material selection, sustainability, and new construction and renovation techniques Torre Fara is a national example of monumental rehabilitation of a historic building.