{"id":1951888,"date":"2026-05-23T22:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1951888"},"modified":"2026-05-23T22:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:52:15","slug":"italy-is-pushing-ahead-with-plans-to-reopen-abandoned-ski-area-above-lake-como","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1951888","title":{"rendered":"Italy is Pushing Ahead With Plans to Reopen Abandoned Ski Area Above Lake Como"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_288555\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288555\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-288555 size-full lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAHgAQMAAAAPH06nAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAD1JREFUeNrtwQENAAAAwqD3T20ON6AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA4M8Al+AAAUvMG0oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4679-min.jpeg?resize=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4679-min.jpeg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4679-min.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4679-min.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4679-min.jpeg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"480\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-288555 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4679-min.jpeg?resize=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-288555\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The region was a popular weekend destination in the 1950s and 60s for families from Milan. | Picture: Facebook Group: Per Il Monte San Primo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\" style=\"margin: 8px auto;text-align: center;clear: both\">\n<!-- GAM 71161633\/SNWBR_snowbrains\/article_hrec_1 --><\/p>\n<div data-fuse=\"article_hrec_1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>A plan to bring skiing back to Monte San Primo \u2014 a mountain overlooking Italy\u2019s Lake Como that was once a popular winter destination for Milanese day-trippers \u2014 is moving closer to reality, according to reporting by local newspaper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.laprovinciadicomo.it\/stories\/premium\/erba\/baby-pista-da-sci-sul-san-primo-il-progetto-va-avantii-o_3866458_11\/\">La Provincia di Como<\/a> this week.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oltrelario.it\/en\/about\/\">project<\/a> has been in the works for several years and has attracted significant controversy.<\/strong> But as of May 2026, local authorities say the paperwork is progressing through the Lombardy regional government and construction could begin before the end of the year.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/snowbrains.com\/controversial-plan-to-resurrect-abandoned-ski-resort-near-lake-como-italy\/\"><em>Controversial Plan to Resurrect Abandoned Ski Resort Near Lake Como, Italy<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe project is moving forward,\u201d said Danilo Bianchi, president of the local Mountain Community and mayor of the nearby village of Magreglio, speaking to La Provincia di Como.<\/strong> \u201cAny criticism is certainly useful, but we do not move from the original intent, which also includes the construction of the baby ski slope. By the end of the year I expect the approval process to be completed and that we can be ready for the start of the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>This is not a full ski resort revival.<\/strong> The total budget is \u20ac2.16 million ($2.5 million) \u2014 a relatively modest sum for mountain infrastructure \u2014 split between the Lombardy Region and the local Mountain Community, which will also oversee construction. The plan involves removing the old, derelict ski lifts that have sat unused on the mountainside for years, building new parking areas, improving and securing hiking trails, and creating a water reservoir that will serve two purposes: supplying water for fighting forest fires and feeding a snowmaking system for a small beginner ski slope. That beginner slope \u2014 a single, short run for children and first-timers \u2014 is the only ski component in the plan.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_288551\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288551\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-288551 size-full lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAHgAQMAAAAPH06nAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAD1JREFUeNrtwQENAAAAwqD3T20ON6AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA4M8Al+AAAUvMG0oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"480\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-288551 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_4675-min.jpeg?resize=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-288551\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Activists have protested against the plans to bring back skiing. | Picture: Facebook Group: Per Il Monte San Primo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Monte San Primo is not being reimagined as a competitive ski destination.<\/strong> The vision is a year-round mountain tourism area above Bellagio, one of Italy\u2019s most visited lakeside towns, with hiking in summer and a modest ski offer in winter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Environmental groups have been pushing back against the project for years, and their opposition has not changed.<\/strong> A coalition of environmental organizations has been particularly vocal against the snowmaking component, arguing that spending public money on artificial snow infrastructure at 1,682 meters above sea level \u2014 an elevation where natural snowfall is already unreliable and getting less reliable every decade \u2014 makes no economic or environmental sense.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Lombardy Region has so far declined to respond publicly to their criticism, according to a separate report in La Provincia from the same week.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The environmentalists\u2019 argument is straightforward: Monte San Primo is too low.<\/strong> The southern Alps are warming faster than the global average, and resorts at this altitude have been losing viable ski days for decades. Building new snowmaking infrastructure now, critics say, is doubling down on a model that the climate is already making obsolete.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Supporters of the project emphasize \u00a0that the plans for revival include a year-round plan and argue that the environmental impact of the snowmaking at Monte San Primo with the use of current state-of-the-art snowmaking facilities will have a smaller carbon footprint than Milanese families traveling further afield to teach their kids to ski. <\/strong>However, activists object to the construction of the year-round amenities such as a summer luge with carpet as well. They highlight that any construction on the mountain would disrupt the pristine mountain environment which had been reclaimed over the last four decades by nature. The construction of a larger parking lot alone would require the removal of a small forest in the area. They see an alternative in bringing plastic slopes or indoor slopes to urban areas, rather than disrupting pristine mountain environments.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_406659\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-406659\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-406659 size-full lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAFPAQMAAADnVe2cAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAADFJREFUeNrtwTEBAAAAwqD1T20Gf6AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADgMaf8AAZ7pIxwAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"335\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?resize=640%2C335&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?resize=300%2C157&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?resize=1200%2C628&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?resize=768%2C402&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?resize=1536%2C804&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"335\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-406659 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_3594.jpeg?resize=640%2C335&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"335\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-406659\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Before and after \u2014 critics bemoan the construction of play areas which they call unsightly and unnecessary, deemed for decay. | Picture: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mita.bolzoni?__cft__%5B0%5D=AZYoxFq-jV4j7lncHiXcoz3AZfJcFMG0pH3RbKHTgcZVVvwH_pIHkAposR4SC2CBXYh5h67ju9alLFfVD1j4VFbyoyDO6IMV8VSFeRUSXRVv4jNpV4JUpDUsIrNzUbUE41_gTq1o6JygIocQxOOt0EO4eRXIHGrVJ4jU1zg1ZuA_KYfGE-tSdlD8wEjDjdTpQ2QZ9sg9J656gSO__GI3VzlJjbUBL8a0SsCdDCUGH_xhNQ&amp;__tn__=-UC*F\">Mita Bolzoni<\/a> \/ Pixaby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\" style=\"margin: 8px auto;text-align: center;clear: both\">\n<!-- GAM 71161633\/SNWBR_snowbrains\/article_hrec_2 --><\/p>\n<div data-fuse=\"article_hrec_2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Monte San Primo rises to 1,682 meters (5,518 feet) above Bellagio \u2014 the famously picturesque village at the fork of Lake Como\u2019s two arms, about an hour from Milan.<\/strong> The mountain was a popular ski destination in the 1950s and 60s, when day-trippers from the city would make the trip for weekends on the slopes. As snowfall thinned and the infrastructure aged, the resort gradually fell out of use and the lifts were abandoned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The current plan is a deliberate scaling back of ambition.<\/strong> Rather than attempting to compete with higher-altitude resorts in the Alps, local authorities are betting on a mixed-use mountain destination \u2014 trails, nature, and a small ski component \u2014 that can attract visitors across the seasons.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Whether a \u20ac2.16 million ($2.5 million) investment in a beginner ski slope and a snowmaking reservoir justifies the environmental concerns is the question now sitting with regional authorities.<\/strong> Local leaders say they expect an answer by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The region was a popular weekend destination in the 1950s and 60s for families from Milan. | Picture: Facebook Group: Per Il Monte San Primo A plan to bring skiing back to Monte San Primo \u2014 a mountain overlooking Italy\u2019s Lake Como that was once a popular winter destination for Milanese day-trippers \u2014 is moving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,267],"class_list":["post-1951888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-snowbrains-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1951888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1951888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1951888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1951888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1951888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1951888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}