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Venice with its St. Marcus Square and the Grand Canal? Florence and the Uffizi? Or maybe the Eternal City of Rome? Culturally interested travellers to Italy have a difficult time deciding on a destination. Visitors of amusement and theme parks, on the other hand, have an easier choice: there are not even 20 facilities in Italy, even when all the luna parks and miniature gardens are counted. The reason for this is certainly not any lack of Italian interest in amusement facilities. "The Italians love theme parks," confirms Aldo Vigevani, Commercial Director of the "Gardaland," which, with over three million visitors a year, is by far the most successful Italian amusement park. "But a proper park is a costly undertaking," continues Vigevani, getting to the point of the problem.

Exotic Worlds, Well-Known Films

In 1975 already, "Gardaland" opened on the east bank of the Garda Lake. By regularly introducing new attractions, the park has established an international rank for itself since the mid-1980s, with more than 40 rides and shows on its 25 hectares. Apart from thrill rides like a looping coaster, an inverted coaster or the Screaming Squirrel "Sequoia Adventure" that was just installed last year, there are also elaborately themed attractions. The latter have significantly contributed to Gardaland's popularity.

Just three kilometres away from Gardaland is the "Canevaworld Resort," which has rapidly developed over the past decade. Waterpark and studio tour, themed restaurant and dinner show-a bit of Disney, a bit of Universal, Orlando sends its greetings. The Caribbean-themed "Aqua Paradise Park" that attracts around 350,000 guests a year, the "Rock Star Café," the dinner show "Medieval Times," and the "Movieland Studios" are all remarkable.

What's so surprising about Gardaland and Canevaworld Resort is precisely what's so typical for Italy: many parks are located so close to one another and actually boost each other's public appeal. Nine of Italy's larger amusement parks are split up into four regions. In addition to the two facilities on Garda Lake, there are three on the Adriatic Coast between Ravenna und Rimini, and two each in Rome and Naples. The other parks are spread across the rest of the country.

Big and Small Emotions on the Adria

An old fort, a stranded pirate ship and skull flags-the "Mirabilandia" not far from the Adriatic Coast near Ravenna welcomes visitors to the "Baia dei Pirati," a small pirates' city. Opened in 1992 and taken over five years later by new management under the wing of Gottlieb Löffelhardt, the founder of  "Phantasialand," the 50-hectare large park attracts over 1.7 million people a year, has become Italy's second-ranking facility right after Gardaland, and is now viewed by many Italians as a real alternative to the market leader.

Around 30 kilometres further south down the coast in Rimini, two more parks can be found in this region. "Fiabilandia" is a world for kids from 3-12 years of age, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Last year 250,000 people visited the 15-hectare large facility that has 15 smaller attractions.

"Italia in Miniatura," Rimini's second park just a few kilometres away, is the most innovative and most frequented of the three Italian miniature parks. Opened in 1970, half a million people journey to the park each year to wander around the Italian "boot" and marvel at European architecture modelled on a 1:25 and 1:50 scale. The 500-metre open-air long boat ride through the Venetian canals is totally unique.

The other two Italian miniature facilities are the small "Sardegna in Miniatura," which opened in Sardinia in 1999, and "Fantasy World - Minitalia," which has been in operation since 1966.

Things Look Different in the South

Compared to northern Italy, the facilities in central and southern Italy can rather be characterised as luna parks; visitors will seldom find any special themes here. The reason for this lies in the high costs. The north of the country is more heavily populated, wealthier, and more developed in regard to tourism, and business people are thus more willing to invest in recreational facilities here, whereas they shy away from the financial risk of leisure investments in the south, explains Roberto Canovi from the Italian website "Parksmania.it."

The only real theme park in the south of Italy is the 20-hectare large "Felifonte" that opened in 2003 on the southern coast of Apulia and was funded in part by state subventions. Theme of the park and its roughly dozen attractions are the "Felici" and their historical sunken culture that has been rediscovered and excavated. According to Roberto Canovi, 1.5 million visitors were originally expected and instead, only 80,000 came! He sees the cause for this failure in the abstract concept of the theme, as well as the region's low population and lack of tourists.

In contrast, both of the amusement parks in Naples seem more successful: "Magic World," which is located somewhat off the beaten track, attracts 500,000 visitors each year, and estimates for "Edenlandia" in the city's centre lie at a similar level. Located south of Bari, "Zoosafari Fasano" also attracted 550,000 guests last year with its safari park and rides. A range of permanently installed funfair attractions can also be found at the 70,000-sqm large "Luneur" in Rome and at the smaller facility "Parco Lido" on the seaside in Ostia. ...

You can read the complete article in the print edition of EAP - issue 3/2006.