Vittoriale of the Italians

Having abandoned Fiume, in1921 Gabriele D'Annunzio landed on the shores of Lake Garda in search of a home 'to rest his weary limbs' and after a laborious search he purchased Villa Cargnacco, a rustic property that belonged to the well-known German art scholar Henry Thode, related to the Listz family, whose Steinway piano and numerous books in the library boasting over 33,000 volumes are still preserved.

The wild beauty of the park and the boundless panorama captivated the Vate and so the villa became part of that sumptuous self-celebratory project known as 'il Vittoriale degli italiani', realised with the help of his friend architect Giancarlo Maroni and later donated to the Italian State in 1931.

Today, the House-Museum of the Vittoriale is the most visited in the world and is a must-see stop on every tour of Lake Garda. It preserves the warrior poet's memorabilia, the plane he flew over Vienna in, the cars he was passionate about, the Mas he used to reach Fiume, the Nave Puglia, a First World War cruiser set into the garden hill.

The open-air Amphitheatre at the Vittoriale, strongly desired by D'Annunzio to host theatrical and musical events, was built between 1931 and 1938 by Giancarlo Maroni and inaugurated posthumously after D'Annunzio's death in 1938. During the summer season, the Amphitheatre hosts a magnificent Music Festival entitled Tener-a-Mente (a name written in his own hand by the Vate himself) in which internationally renowned artists participate and, being located in the most scenic area of the garden, has been called 'Italy's Most Beautiful Stage'.

The architectural complex of the Vittoriale is one of the most visited in Italy by international students, scholars and intellectuals who daily visit its archives, as well as by artists or simple onlookers eager to learn more about the famous poet from Abruzzo, his heroic deeds or as a "lover of Beauty".