Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian writer, dramatist, poet and symbol of Decadentism, spent the last 17 years of his life at Lake Garda, within the walls of his House-Museum.
The love this poet felt for the scenery of Lake Garda can be found in the brief verses he wrote on 4th September 17 during a flight over the lake: "All is blue, like a sudden intoxication, like a head which leans back to receive a deep kiss. The lake is unspeakably beautiful".
Here he took the opportunity to build his residence, the “Vittoriale”, paid for by the regime; in exchange he had to donate the entire property to the state after his death.
Hence the name ” Vittoriale degli Italiani“ or "shrine of Italian victories", a reminder that the residence actually belonged to all Italians, and hence the maxim inscribed at the entrance: "I have that which I have donated".
For visitors to the Lake Garda area, a stop at Gardone Riviera is a must, because the Vittoriale is a veritable museum containing relics, souvenirs, keepsakes and reminders of the inimitable lifestyle of the great poet, who spent his latter years writing, meditating and contemplating life itself and the inexorable decline of time.
