Il Vittoriale degli Italiani | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Elements of Italian Fascist Architecture |
Town or city | Gardone Riviera |
Country | Italy |
Construction started | 1921 |
Completed | 1938 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Giancarlo Maroni |
The Vittoriale degli italiani (English translation: The shrine of victories of the Italians) is a hillside estate in the town of Gardone Riviera overlooking Lake Garda in province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is where the Italian poet and novelist Gabriele D'Annunzio lived from 1922 until his death in 1938. The estate consists of the residence of D'Annunzio called the Prioria (priory), an amphitheatre, the protected cruiser Puglia set into a hillside, a boathouse containing the MAS vessel used by D'Annunzio in 1918 and a circular mausoleum. Its grounds are now part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani.
References to the Vittoriale range from a "monumental citadel" to a "fascist lunapark",[1] the site inevitably inheriting the controversy surrounding its creator.