Located on the hills of the Brescia side of Lake Garda, the Vittoriale – The Shrine of Italian Victories – is something absolutely unique and astonishing: a compound of buildings, gardens, pathways, theatres and water streams. A kind of Wonderland where nothing was left to chance and symbolism can be spotted in every detail. Commissioned by the novelist and poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, it used to be a dwelling belonged to a German physician and was completed between 1921 and 1938. The Vittoriale features a baroque and over-the-edge style: an uphill pathway leads to the so-called Prioria, the poet’s house-museum, while if you go further you will find the Puglia military vessel (yes, an actual ship on the hill!) and the Mausoleum where D’Annunzio was buried. On the other hand, the second route goes towards the gardens, the Arengo and the lemon grove overlooking the lakes.
The Vittoriale holds many other surprising secrets: all you have to do is get lost in this enchanted place!
Today, the Vittoriale is managed by a foundation and it is open to the public: approximately 210.000 people visit it every year. Every part is of it is spectacular and it also hosts a classical style amphitheatre where many events and international shows are staged every year. As you enter the so-called Schifamondo, which should have been D’Annunzio new house, you feel like you are entering a transatlantic: the studio looks like a ship’s bridge, while inside the Auditorium you can admire the Ansaldo airplane (driven by the Poet himself over the city of Vienna) hanging from the dome. On the other side, near the Mausoleum you can visit the hangar housing the MAS 96 motor vessel, used by D’Annunzio himself during the “Buccari Jibe”, a daring military incursion in the Austro-Hungarian waters.
Last but not least, the lush gardens are crossed by two creeks called respectively Acquapazza (“Crazy Water”) and Acquasavia (“Wise Water) respectively, which come together in a violin-shaped pond. Going down towards the lake, you will reach the beautiful orchard.
Located on the hills of the Brescia side of Lake Garda, the Vittoriale – The Shrine of Italian Victories – is something absolutely unique and astonishing: a compound of buildings, gardens, pathways, theatres and water streams. A kind of Wonderland where nothing was left to chance and symbolism can be spotted in every detail. Commissioned by the novelist and poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, it used to be a dwelling belonged to a German physician and was completed between 1921 and 1938. The Vittoriale features a baroque and over-the-edge style: an uphill pathway leads to the so-called Prioria, the poet’s house-museum, while if you go further you will find the Puglia military vessel (yes, an actual ship on the hill!) and the Mausoleum where D’Annunzio was buried. On the other hand, the second route goes towards the gardens, the Arengo and the lemon grove overlooking the lakes.
The Vittoriale holds many other surprising secrets: all you have to do is get lost in this enchanted place!
Today, the Vittoriale is managed by a foundation and it is open to the public: approximately 210.000 people visit it every year. Every part is of it is spectacular and it also hosts a classical style amphitheatre where many events and international shows are staged every year. As you enter the so-called Schifamondo, which should have been D’Annunzio new house, you feel like you are entering a transatlantic: the studio looks like a ship’s bridge, while inside the Auditorium you can admire the Ansaldo airplane (driven by the Poet himself over the city of Vienna) hanging from the dome. On the other side, near the Mausoleum you can visit the hangar housing the MAS 96 motor vessel, used by D’Annunzio himself during the “Buccari Jibe”, a daring military incursion in the Austro-Hungarian waters.
Last but not least, the lush gardens are crossed by two creeks called respectively Acquapazza (“Crazy Water”) and Acquasavia (“Wise Water) respectively, which come together in a violin-shaped pond. Going down towards the lake, you will reach the beautiful orchard.
