Gardone Riviera - Culture
On the shores of the lake you can find a seventeenth century villa, Villa Paradiso, which was turned into a hotel in the early 1900s, as well as the Casino which remained in business until 1946. Villa Alba, a majestic neo-Hellenistic style mansion, was built between 1905 and 1910 and nearby you can also find San Marco tower, named by Gabriele d'Annunzio. Close to the tower you can find Villa Fiordaliso, famous for having been the home of Mussolini’s lover. If you head towards the upper part of Gardone you will find the Botanical Gardens, created in 1912 by Bohemian Arthur Hruska. The park is divided into several sectors: Japanese, Indo-Chinese, Dolomitic and others that include many varieties of species. What has really made Gardone famous is the Vittoriale degli Italiani, which was the residence of Gabriele d'Annunzio from 1921 to 1938 . It is made up of various buildings, the Parlaggio, the open-air theatre, the Prioria, or priory, the building in which the poet lived and the Schiafamondo which now houses the museum dedicated to the poet. In the upper part of the town you can also find the parish church which is dedicated to San Nicola.
