THE SHRINE OF ITALIAN VICTORIES – VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI – RISE IN GARDONE RIVIERA – LAKE GARDA, ITALY. VIDEO VLOG TRAVEL GUIDE OF ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO DO ON A DAY TRIP ON LAKE GARDA, ITALY!
WE ARE ON LAKE GARDA, IN GARDONE RIVIERA, THE PLACE WHERE TOURISM BEGAN ON LAKE GARDA WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRAND HOTEL GARDONE RIVIERA, THE FIRST HOTEL BUILT ON THE LAKE. RIGHT HERE WE ARE GOING TO DISCOVER A JEWEL OF THE ITALIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE, IL VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI , THE “SHRINE OF ITALIAN VICTORIES”, THE DWELLING CREATED BY GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO, WHERE HE LIVED FROM 1921 TO 1938.
IN 1914 THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT CONFISCATED THE PROPERTY FROM HENRY THODE, AN EMINENT GERMAN ART SCHOLAR, AS WAR DAMAGE COMPENSATION, AND IN 1921 GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO BOUGHT IT TO CREATE THE ICON OF HIS “INIMITABLE LIFE”, A HOUSE AND A MUSEUM TO BE REMEMBERED!
THE VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI IS MADE OF SEVERAL LOCATIONS: THE PRIORY, THE MAIN BUILDING, THE “D’ANNUNZIO THE HERO” MUSEUM, OPENED IN 2000, THAT CELEBRATES THE HEROISM AND THE ENDEAVOURS OF THE POET AND THE ITALIAN PEOPLE DURING WORLD WAR I, THE “SECRET D’ANNUNZIO” MUSEUM, WITH UNKNOWN REMAINS BELONGED TO THE POET AND DISCOVERED IN THE PRIORY, BUT ALSO THE GREEK AMPHITHEATRE OVERLOOKING LAKE GARDA, THE CAR MUSEUM.
GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO CREATED A DWELLING RICH IN DETAILS.
OF THE OBJECTS LEFT BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER HE KEPT ONLY THE BOOKS, BECAUSE THEY ARE ART, AND HE NEVER GOT RID OF ART! 33.000 BOOKS ARE KEPT IN THE PRIORY! COUPLED WITH MYSTERIOUS SLOGANS WRITTEN ON THE LINTELS OR OVER THE FIREPLACES, IN A CONTINUOUS GAME OF SYMBOLIC REFERENCES.
THE SOFT LIGHTS AND THE HEAVY CURTAINS CONTRIBUTE TO CREATE A SOLEMN ATMOSPHERE WHERE THE POET, WHO BECAME PHOTOPHOBIC AFTER AN ACCIDENT, COULD EASILY WORK AND LIVE.
THE PORTRAIT OF DANTE ALIGHIERI AND THE COPY OF THE PITTI TONDO BY MICHELANGELO ARE THROUGHOUT IN THE VITTORIALE, BECAUSE HE CONSIDERED HIMSELF THEIR HEIR.
IN THE RELICS ROOM YOU CAN SEE AN ALTAR WITH A STEERING WHEEL. AN ENGLISH FRIEND OF GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO DIED DURING A SPEEDBOAT RACE, HE BROKE HIS CHEST AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL. D’ANNUNZIO PUT THE STEERING WHEEL HERE TO HONOR HIS FRIEND AND TO HONOR ALL THE RISKY CHALLENGES AND THE RELIGION OF RISK, THE ONLY ONE HE HAD FAITH IN.
GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE LEPER’S ROOM MEDITATING, OR TO REMEMBER THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER AND THE DEATH OF ELEONORA DUSE, ACTRESS, LOVER AND THE POET’S MUSE. HE DIED AT THE DESK, HIS BODY WAS PUT HERE FOR ONE NIGHT, AND THEN PUT IN ANOTHER ROOM WHERE ANYONE COULD HONOR HIM.
THE HAND OVER THE DOOR WELCOMES YOU IN THE ROOM WHERE D’ANNUNZIO READ THE LETTERS FROM THE CREDITORS. HE HAD A LOT OF DEBTS BUT COULDN’T PAY FOR THEM, SO HE PRETENDED TO BE ONE-HARMED, AND NEVER ANSWERED THE LETTERS.
THE POET’S STUDY IS NAMED “WORKSHOP”, SINCE HE DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS A “WORKMAN OF THE WORD”. THE DOOR WAS BUILT LITTLE TO FORCE THE GUESTS TO BEND DOWN BEFORE THE PLACE WHERE ART IS CREATED.
WHILE THE DINING ROOM, CALLED CHELI’S ROOM, IS NAMED AFTER THE TORTOISE THAT LIVED IN THE GARDENS OF THE VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI FOR 5 YEARS, BEFORE IT DIED OF AN INDIGESTION. D’ANNUNZIO PUT THE TORTOISE HERE TO REMIND HIS GUESTS NOT TO BINGE OR THEY COULD END UP LIKE HIS TORTOISE! IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING, YES! THE TORTOISE SHELL IS TRUE!
ON THE TOP OF THE VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI THERE IS THE MAUSOLEUM, A FUNERAL MONUMENT BUILT BY THE ARCHITECT GIAN CARLO MARONI AFTER THE DEATH OF GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO. THE MONUMENT REPRESENTS THE VICTORIES OF THE HUMBLE, THE SAPPERS AND THE HEROES. IN THE CENTER THERE IS THE GRAVE OF D’ANNUNZIO, AROUND IT TEN OF THE HEROES AND LEGIONARIES OF FIUME WHO WERE DEAR TO THE POET.
THE PUGLIA MILITARY SHIP IS LOCATED IN THE PARK. IT’S MAYBE THE MOST EVOCATIVE RELIC OF THE VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI. THE SHIP WAS GIVEN TO GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO BY THE ITALIAN NAVY IN 1923. INSIDE THERE’S THE MUSEUM THAT COLLECTS SOME PRECIOUS VINTAGE MODELS OF MILITARY SHIPS FROM THE COLLECTION OF AMEDEO DI SAVOIA, DUKE OF AOSTA. THE BOW POINTS TOWARDS THE ADRIATIC SEA AND DALMATIA, TO REMEMBER THE OCCUPATION OF THE CITY OF FIUME.