art and culture In ancient times Lignano was just a small port village where fishers from Marano had settled down to exploit the existing pinewoods and where various stud farms were founded. Only in the early 20th century did Lignano discover the industry which would change its fate for the better: tourism. After the first settlements aiming at the recovery of this area, the first hotels were erected here and the State began to build a street to link this new seaside resort to the Friuli lowlands. The golden age of Lignano began in the 50s, especially thanks to private entrepreneurial initiatives boosting the building industry and the town planning, thus confirming the real vocation of the town as a seaside resort. Along the streets of Lignano we can observe buildings and villas designed during the 60s and 70s by the best architects, not only from Friuli. In Lignano Pineta, a resort designed between 1953 and 1956 by Marcello D'Olivo, there is a real town planning gem: the famous "snail" of Pineta. D'Olivo describes his work with these words: "Of course it is impossible to build all houses on the shore; according to this principle and in the complete respect of nature, the idea of a spiral structure has been developed: while walking along the spiral, the bending radius varies and one always faces the parkland. All houses must be at at least 20 metres distance from the street in order to merge with the vegetation; a backbone will contain all the general services of the centre". Lignano Pineta is thus a good example of modern town planning and a walk through its streets to observe the original villas in the middle of the parkland is still cause of astonishment. In Lignano Pineta there are two parks of high artistic and cultural value, the Park Hemingway and the Park of the Sea. In 1953 the society Lignano Pineta gave Ernest Hemingway a beautiful area as a present, so that he could build here his summer residence; he accepted, but never came back to Lignano again... or better, only his name came back and was given to a public park opened in 1984. The 4 hectares park is covered with over 4000 forest trees, a rich spontaneous underwood where you can find small wild orchids. The park is equipped with a jogging path and a playground for children. The Park of the Sea lies next to the shore in the beautiful Lignano Pineta. Along the various paths crossing the park we can admire sculptures of famous artists such as Ceschia and Benetton as well as other sculptures of national and international artists who gave them as a present to the city after having taken part in the yearly Sculpture Symposium, thus expressing their love towards this unique area. A visit of the park with the works on show gives us the chance to combine the cultural aspect with the joy of walking in the middle of nature in the wonderful pinewood. The admission to both parks is free. In the middle of the pines along the street linking Sabbiadoro and Pineta there is now the small votive Church of Holy Mary, which previously stood in Bevazzana on the river Tagliamento. The Church of Christ the Redeemer in Pineta is modern, was designed by Aldo Bernardis and consecrated in 1974. As far as modern architecture is concerned, the only Art-Nouveau building is Villa Gattolin, on the promenade in Sabbiadoro. The parish church of Sabbiadoro (designed by Cesare Miani, 1935) with its slender, double-arched portico in the façade (the new church designed by Luciano Ria, 1963-70, has been erected in the apse area) drew inspiration from 20th-century Rationalism. Pietro Zanini, pupil of Raimondo D'Aronco, has designed the Grand Hotel (1939) and the Heliotherapeutic Colony, which at the time of its construction (1938) was considered a masterpiece as it complied with the architectural principles of the period. Marcello D'Olivo has not only designed Pineta, but also the Service Centre, Villa Spezzotti and Villa Mainardis in Pineta; other architects work here, such as Gianni Avon (the Residence Palace, the Casa Albergo, the Skyscraper Ariston etc.) and Aldo Bernardis (Villa Sordi, which lies in the middle of the parkland and which belonged to the famous Italian actor bearing the same name, as well as Terrazza a Mare in Sabbiadoro, the town hall, the autonomous tourist office, the Church and the Kursaal in Pineta).