Lido San Domenico: two Lugano tenders spark debate

The Lido San Domenico is much more than a bathing facility. For almost ten years, the buvette was run by a long-established duo. The Municipality of Lugano has published two separate tenders, which close in a few days. The first concerns the new management of the buvette. The second also covers renovation of the spaces, through a public-private partnership with an external investor.

Nina Pusterla, head of the Socialist Party group on the city council, fears losing “un luogo libero, accessibile a tutti, di aggregazione” (a free place of gathering, open to everyone). In the form it has taken for about ten years, the Lido also allowed various musical, artistic and cultural initiatives. Pusterla has filed an interpellation with the Municipality, of which she is the first signatory. Members of other parties have also signed it.

Two years ago, a mobilisation had already persuaded the city to extend the concession of the current operator. This is the second time the future of the Lido has drawn public support; the first was in 2024. A new petition has gathered 4,000 signatures.

Why two tenders?

Deputy Mayor Roberto Badaracco says the Municipality has left itself “piena libertà di scelta” (full freedom of choice). It will see how many applicants bid only for the management and how many would also invest. The tender for investors, he explains, responds to the city's economic situation: if an investor lends a hand, the city would save that money. Based on the results, the Municipality will choose which of the two tenders to favour. The other will be cancelled.

Nina Pusterla's main request is to review both tenders. It is not clear, she explains, why they were separated. In particular, the more important one, which lasts ten years and seeks private involvement to plan the renovation of the Lido, was handed to an outside party. “Per quale ragione la città non ha scelto di investire dei soldi propri?” (Why did the city not choose to invest its own money?)

She also fears that operators will arrive driven by commercial logic and by the economic spillover that follows. Badaracco replies that part of the population loves the place for the programme it offers, and that this should be protected. The Municipality, he adds, should not weigh only “questioni economiche, di profitto” (economic and profit-related matters).

The issue goes beyond the Lido. The L'Ove space in Lugano is also set to close. There is a clear demand for spaces, but existing ones are disappearing. Badaracco says the topic has been discussed for many years and that finding spaces is not easy. Reaching agreement within the Municipality, including among political parties, is harder still, he adds. Among the solutions under consideration are the new section of the former slaughterhouse and the former tailoring school.

A discussion on the future of places where independent culture can express itself was also held at the Lido. Artists, ordinary citizens and politicians asked the city to revise the plans that foresee a change of management. Musician Leo Pusterla, speaking to the Quotidiano, said the operators had broadened their programming and created a place where audiences and artists came together: “Questo era il fertilizzante primo per la creazione anche di nuovi progetti” (This was the primary fertiliser for creating new projects too).

Olmo Cerri of the Idra association points out that there are many promises and ideas, but that no one has yet taken “la responsabilità, concretamente, di mettere a disposizione degli spazi” (the concrete responsibility of making spaces available). In the coming months, it will become clear whether the population's needs will weigh on the Municipality's decisions.