The facility was conceived, during the Fascist era, as a place where young Balilla from the province of Ragusa could spend their holidays in a seaside town. It was 1937 when news of the facility's construction arrived from Rome. It was the Duce himself, Benito Mussolini, who arrived in Pozzallo on August 14th of that year to cut the ribbon for the facility, greeted by a crowd of cheering youths and children, along with Pozzallo's political leaders and countless citizens.
With the arrival of the Republic, the facility took the name "Colonia marina" (marine colony) named after Luigi Sturzo, and for many decades, the site was open to accommodate hundreds of young people. Furthermore, the facility also served, for a brief period between the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, as a reception hall for weddings and confirmations. Decline and subsequent closure came in the 1980s, until 1989, when the Sicilian Region funded its restoration in anticipation of other uses.
In reality, after the structure's redevelopment, the former colony was abandoned to its fate, at the mercy of the animals and birds that made it their home. Other projects, over the course of recent years, have been proposed without success. A "Maritime Museum" funded by the Sicilian Region and a privately funded building to house disabled children have never seen the light of day. The site is currently abandoned.