The mausoleum of Costanzo Ciano in Livorno, Italy
It is not easy to find it: it has been forgotten, sent to the unconscious side of the city full of surprises that is Livorno.
The ruin of the mausoleum of Costanzo Ciano, father of Galeazzo, is still there on the hill. It overlooks the sea and the city from a privileged position, but no one sees it, and apparently nobody knows where it is. There are no road signs and to get there there is a dirt path, dug by the intrepid cars of couples and nostalgics.
Never finished, now almost completely collapsed, this building has the atmosphere of a horror movie. The trees grew tall in its interior, supporting it as an ancient temple of Angkor Wat.
Once, on the open space overlooking the sea, was the tympanum of the facade. Now it has collapsed to the ground and is broken: some of its parts have been stolen, others remain as doormats at the entrance. All around there are open marble sarcophagi filled with muddy water, brambles, car carcasses and a small asbestos dump.
The sadness of this place and all that it represents, allows to travel through time from many points of view, even personal.
No barrier prevents the visitor from entering this world of livid light, risking being sucked into a disjointed floor hole, or struck by the collapse of anything, be it vegetable or mineral. Very few, however, dare enter and go all the way: this place is scary and begs to be immediately forgotten. Perhaps that is why Livorno is ashamed and does not want to talk about it, preferring to show everyone only the Terrazza Mascagni.

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