Engineer and Hotelier

On 26 November 1883 Mario Bertolini was born in Sanremo.
Son of Maurizio and Marianna Perino, he belonged to the ancient dynasty of the Bertolini hoteliers: his grandfather Lorenzo had acquired hotel experience in Piedmont and had a Grand Hotel Royal built in Courmayeur in the mid-nineteenth century, frequented by the Italian upper middle class, including the Queen of Italy Margherita di Savoia.

With great foresight Lorenzo Bertolini bought the valuable land above the Corso Imperatrice promenade in Sanremo and in 1872, in order to meet his high-ranking clientele, he had the Royal Hotel of Sanremo built, which was designed by the architect Alessandro Cantù and then enlarged and renovated in 1880 by Pio Soli and subsequently completed in 1906 by Carlo Castaldi.
Mario Bertolini, with a spirit inclined towards art, enrolled at Turin Polytechnic and graduated in industrial and mechanical engineering in 1909.

He travelled extensively in England and France where he worked in an aeroplane factory, then returned to Italy to work in reinforced concrete construction. He then worked in a railway construction plant but soon decided to continue his father's work in the management of the large family hotel located in our city and in 1921 he assumed the role of president.

Under his leadership the hotel experienced its period of greatest splendour, becoming one of the main reference points of the hotel industry in western Liguria, attracting a refined and selected clientele.
After the serious damage suffered during the Second World War, Bertolini promoted the complete renovation of the building.

In February 1947 the new splendid Fiori Restaurant in Murano was inaugurated, decorated with glass buds personally designed by Mario Bertolini and made by an artisan from the Venetian island.

In June 1948 the enchanting seawater swimming pool was also completed. It was one of the first hotel swimming pools in Europe and is still renowned for the magnificent scenery in which it is set, like a gem set among flowers, palms and subtropical plants. The project is signed by Giò Ponti and Mario Bertolini.

For his merits in the field of hotel and tourism he was awarded the title of citizen meritorious by the Municipality of Sanremo on the occasion of the patronal festivities of 13 October 1963.

He died in Sanremo on 28 November 1971.

(text by Marco Mauro)