La vita è bella

In the early 1950s, when the outskirts of Milan were still fields and farmhouses, Enrico Mattei imagined something extraordinary: a modern company town, built around ENI’s newly formed gas enterprise. That dream took shape in Metanopoli, the “city of methane,” conceived not merely as an industrial district but as a model community where work, nature, and social life could coexist. At its heart lay a vast green expanse — Parco SNAM, today known as Parco Mattei — that embodied Mattei’s humanistic vision of corporate welfare and community living.

The park was designed as more than a leisure area; it was an integral part of the urban and social fabric of Metanopoli. In those years, SNAM (Società Nazionale Metanodotti) built not only pipelines and offices but also homes, schools, churches, and recreational spaces for its employees and their families. Parco SNAM became a living symbol of this philosophy: a meticulously designed landscape where employees could unwind, children could play safely, and the company’s ideals of progress met the simple rhythm of everyday life.

By the 1960s, Parco SNAM had grown into one of the most complete corporate recreational complexes in Italy. Its sports facilities were a source of local pride: tennis and basketball courts, football pitches, and, most famously, a swimming pool complex that opened in the 1970s. The pools—outdoor and indoor—were surrounded by lawns and shaded paths, becoming a summer gathering point not only for employees but also for residents of the growing San Donato community. Here, generations learned to swim, competed in local meets, or simply escaped Milan’s humid heat.

The design of the park followed the rational, modernist principles that characterized Metanopoli’s architecture. Wide avenues lined with poplars and oaks connected the residential quarters to the park’s entrances, while small lakes and flower beds softened the geometric layout. In spring, the scent of linden and acacia trees filled the air. The central area near Via Ravenna, the “Negozi”, was the social hub, with the sports club, bar, and recreational buildings hosting dances, company gatherings, and family events.

During the economic boom, the park’s life mirrored that of ENI itself — energetic, optimistic, full of purpose. But as decades passed, corporate structures evolved, and the tight bond between company and community loosened. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, with privatizations and urban sprawl reshaping San Donato, Parco SNAM entered a period of neglect. The swimming pools closed, the sports center fell silent, and the once-guarded lawns became overgrown. Yet the memory of those decades — of children’s laughter, corporate picnics, and Saturday matches — remained vivid among long-time residents.

In recent years, a new chapter began. The municipality of San Donato Milanese, recognizing the park’s historic and environmental value, launched restoration efforts and reopened parts of the area as Parco Mattei, named in honor of its founder’s legacy. Paths were cleared, trees replanted, and a renewed sense of civic ownership emerged.

Today, Parco Mattei stands as both a heritage site and a living green lung, bridging the city’s industrial past and its sustainable future. Where once workers gathered under ENI’s banner, now families, cyclists, and photographers walk among the same trees, in a space that continues to embody Mattei’s belief: that progress must always keep room for people, and for nature.

I arrived in Metanopoli when I was seven, after my father was relocated there for work, and I lived in that small, self-contained world for more than ten years. I still remember Parco SNAM — the swimming pool where I spent endless hours training, and that quiet sense of belonging the place could somehow convey. A few days ago, I walked through it again, camera in hand — my Sony RX1RII — during a long morning stroll.