The Italian gaming culture cannot absolumente dispense with the Case da gioco presenti in our country. In this column we will go to soffermarci ideale sui casino italiani, repercorringone la storia ed evidendandone i main tratti. Today is the turn of the Casino di Campione, located on the border between Italy and Switzerland.
Casino di Campione: the story
Mysterious, fascinating and somewhat controversial: the story of the Casino di Campione, in fact, begins in 1917, at the height of the First World War, when in the Italian enclave on the Swiss territory of Canton Ticino, overlooking the waters of Lake Lugano, the new game room The building was designed by the architect Amerigo Marazzi, while the painter Girolamo Romeo took care of the interior decoration.
The period of opening was not accidental: it is said, in fact, that Italian espionage activities were hidden and coordinated inside the new building. Two years later, at the end of the war, the Casino was closed, only to be reopened only 14 years later, in 1933.
The re-opening, wanted by the Mussolini government, was aimed either at an economic recovery of the territory in a logistically very important place, given the obvious proximity to the very rich Switzerland, or by an alleged desire to resume the espionage activity of some years before.
However, the period was not the best: the first winds of war, concomitant with the Ethiopian campaign of 1935, had the effect of a new closure of the Casino, to avoid that the Lombard dissidents could have an easy route to escape to the region helvetica You will have to wait until 1946, at the end of the Second World War, to see the gaming hall definitively reopen.
From the 1940s, Campione would remain open for 70 years, becoming an Italian symbol of avant-garde and entertainment. I think it was the first game of 100 million lire in this casino.
The influx grew progressively, also due to the constant introduction of new games and tables, like the slot of the 70s.
If it came to this in the 2000s, when the Sala da Gioco saw a profound renovation thanks to a total reconstruction, entrusted to the architect Botta, at a cost of 120 million euros, which made it the largest Casino Champion in Europe.
The gigantic expense, however, arrived shortly before a global economic crisis that brought various sectors to their knees, including that of the game: in 2018, therefore, Campione was declared bankrupt. After long proceedings in the Court, in 2022 the Casino reopened in January and is still operational.
the building
The building that houses the Casino di Campione is undoubtedly a pachydermic work: the gaming room, in fact, is 9 floors high, with an internal surface of 55,000 square meters, and in each room there is a type of game. From the area dedicated to the slot to the one reserved for the table, to the piano dedicated to poker. There is no shortage of restaurants, bars and salons dedicated to shows, all with a suggestive view of the lake.
I giochi del Casino di Campione
Casino di Campione’s gaming offer consists of a large number of slot machines (more than 400), together with a vast series of board games, such as – among others – French Roulette; Fair Roulette, Trente et Forante, Blackjack; Punto Banco, Caribbean and Russian Poker.
And Casino services
As we have said, the Casino has at its disposal a large business room on the last floor, called “Sala delle Feste”, which in the past has been transformed into a gaming room for poker tournaments, but in the past it has hosted congresses and meetings aziendali, thanks to its breadth.
On the seventh floor you will find the Restaurant with lake view, and on the second floor the Snack Bar.
The address of Casino di Campione
The address of Casino di Campione is:
Piazzale Milano 2, 22061 Campione d’Italia (Como)
