50 Abandoned Hotels That Are Frozen in Time

23. Hotel Campo Imperatore – Italy

Perched atop the barren plateau of Campo Imperatore in the Apennine Mountains, this remote hotel sits at nearly 7,000 feet above sea level and holds an eerie place in modern European history. Built in the 1930s, the hotel gained global notoriety in 1943 when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was imprisoned here following his ousting. It was also the site of the daring Gran Sasso raid, when German commandos rescued him in a covert mountaintop operation. While parts of the hotel remain operational during ski season, vast sections have been left to quietly decay under layers of snow and fog. The façade is cracked and faded, with rusted balconies overlooking a stark, wind-whipped landscape. Inside, peeling wallpaper and locked wings echo with the weight of its political past. Visitors come not only for the sweeping alpine views, but also to walk through corridors where history took a dark turn—where time and memory still hang heavy in the thin mountain air.