ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia

Overgrown with weeds and shrouded in silence, the ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia stands as a forgotten relic. This former frontier police barracks whispers tales of a past life. The ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia sits nestled in the verdant heart of Draga Sant’Elia. This seemingly forgotten structure once pulsed with the activity of border patrol officers. Built in the 1950s, the ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia boasts a substantial 700 square meters of interior space. A 750 square meter garden wraps around three sides, now overtaken by nature’s relentless advance. The building itself is comprised of two adjoining structures. During its days as an active barracks, the main building housed offices, a mess hall, storage rooms, a heating plant, and other facilities on the ground floor. The upper floor contained five bedrooms, bathrooms, and an attic. The ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia was decommissioned in the 1990s. It briefly served as a colony. It has since fallen into complete disuse. Attempts were made to sell the property, with the last attempt in 2014, but no buyer emerged. The silence surrounding the ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia is broken only by the rustle of leaves and the distant hum of the city. A faded basketball hoop remains in the courtyard, a ghostly reminder of past recreation. The doors and windows are sealed tight, guarding the emptiness within. A sheltered outdoor area displays a recent drawing, evidence of a time when local associations used the space. Behind a wall of brambles and weeds, remnants of a playground emerge. A slide and some dilapidated play equipment lie in ruins near a small storage shed, a testament to vandalism and neglect. The main building’s windows are barred, a stark symbol of the building’s abandoned state. The interior, glimpsed through a window, is bare. The ex Casello di Draga Sant’Elia stands as a lonely sentinel in the landscape. Its future remains uncertain. What will become of this isolated, yet structurally sound building?