On the western shore of Lake Garda, Gardone Riviera maintains much of the elegance that drew the rich, royal and famous in the late 19th century. A visit to botanical gardens and Il Vittoriale degli Italiani, the most eccentric residence on the lakes, is followed by a ferry trip to the historic resort of Salò.
DISTANCE: Gardone Riviera to Salò by ferry: 4km (2.5 miles)
TIME: A half day
START: Gardone Riviera
END: Salò
POINTS TO NOTE: If you are not driving, there are regular ferries to Gardone Riviera from Sirmione, Desenzano del Garda or Peschiera del Garda. If a trip to Isola del Garda appeals, check out the times of boats from Salò and book a guided tour in advance. If the tour is in the morning, start at Salò and visit Gardone Riviera in the afternoon as it is a nice place to wind down with an evening drink.
It was the mild climate that attracted the Austrian emperor and other members of the European elite to build palatial villas here in the 1880s, as Gardone Riviera became the most fashionable resort on the lake. It retains luxury hotels, some fine villas, a promenade lined with oleanders, palms and orange trees, and a beach for lake swimming. The guest list at the belle époque Grand Hotel 1 [map], which stands prominently on the waterfront, includes Somerset Maugham, Vladimir Nabokov and Winston Churchill.
Villa in Gardone Riviera
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Just off the lakeside promenade, the Giardino André Heller 2 [map] (www.hellergarden.com; charge) is an oasis of flora created in 1912 by Arturo Hruska, a passionate botanist and dentist to the last czar of Russia. It is a peaceful spot with pretty rockeries, English and Japanese gardens, and an Alpine garden with ravines chiselled out of the rocks.
Take a left turn after the botanical gardens and climb up to Gardone Sopra, the oldest part of town. This is the site of a much-visited, somewhat bizarre villa, secluded by cypresses and oleanders. Il Vittoriale degli Italiani 3 [map] (www.vittoriale.it; charge) is a testament to the megalomania of Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938). A soldier, poet, Fascist, aviator, aesthete and womaniser, he occupies an odd place in Italian hearts, somewhere between reverence and bafflement. ‘Destiny calls me towards Lake Garda,’ he declared, although it was actually Mussolini who presented him with the villa in 1925.
Mausoleum of Gabriele D’Annunzio
Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications
The dictator and the poet
Disillusioned with the paltry gains won by Italy in the post-World War I peace – the Dalmatian town of Fiume (Rijeka; now part of Croatia) on the Adriatic had been promised to Italy but was presented to Yugoslavia instead – D’Annunzio and his private army occupied Fiume. Forced to withdraw in 1921, D’Annunzio retired to Lake Garda.
Decadent decor
Named in celebration of Italy’s victory over Austria in 1918, and remodelled by D’Annunzio, the 18th-century Il Vittoriale is one of Italy’s most flamboyant pre-war estates. The house, known as the Prioria, has two reception rooms, one cold and formal for disliked guests (including Mussolini), the other a warmer chamber where his favourites were welcomed. D’Annunzio’s delusions of grandeur led him to create a low entrance to his study, so guests had to stoop, presumably to bow. D’Annunzio abhorred daylight, so the windows were made of stained glass or painted over. When the penumbra became too much to bear, D’Annunzio would retreat to the coffin in the Sala di Lebbroso.
Off the headland south of Salò is the Isola del Garda (Garda Island). For centuries this was a monastery island, and the first religious community was said to have been founded on the island by St Francis of Assisi. Since the dissolution of the monastery by Napoleon, the island has been in private hands. The present owners are the Cavazza family. When Count Cavazza died, he left the island to Lady Charlotte Chetwynd Talbot and her seven children. It is open to two-hour-long guided tours (advance bookings via website required; www.isoladelgarda.com; charge). Boats leave from several harbours in the lower lake, including Salò.
The Museo della Guerra (War Museum) documents D’Annunzio’s military enterprises, displaying uniforms, medals for bravery, banners and numerous photographs.
Relics of the Fiume Fiasco
The splendour of the grounds contrasts with the ugliness of the creations that inhabit them: a magnolia grove houses a war memorial, while the Puglia ship that featured in the Fiume fiasco is bizarrely beached among the cypresses. In a hangar are a biplane that flew over Vienna in the war, vehicles that took part in the Fiume debacle, and the Italian flag. The mausoleum, where Fiume casualties are buried, features D’Annunzio’s kitsch, self-aggrandising tomb, and, displayed in an eerie museum, his death mask.
Hruska Botanical Garden
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Gardone Riviera
1 [map] Agli Angeli
Via Dosso 7, Gardone Riviera, www.agliangelilocanda.it
Trattoria near Il Vittoriale, with a lovely terrace for summer dining. Typical dishes are hand-made pasta, locally-sourced meat, and lake fish and the menu changes month to month. €€€
2 [map] Osteria dell’Orologio
Via Butturini 26, Salò, www.osteriadellorologiosalo.eatbu.com
There’s a Slow Food emphasis here with traditional dishes based on locally-sourced ingredients – such as seasonal soups, pasta with local Bagoss cheese, slow-cooked suckling pork, and fish sourced from the lake. Excellent wine list. €€
3 [map] Osteria di Mezzo
Via di Mezzo 10, Salò; www.osteriadimezzo.it
One of Salò’s best restaurants, set in vaulted cellars in the centre. Traditional dishes with a contemporary twist, with all ingredients rigorously sourced from small-scale local producers. They make their own bread, pasta and desserts. €€€
Yachts at Salò
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Emmental cheese at the market
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
Lunch options
For lunch the Agli Angeli, see 1 [map], is a good family-run restaurant, handy for Il Vittoriale; or, if cash is no consideration, head for the Villa Fiordaliso . After lunch, drive or take the ferry to Salò.
Set on a beautiful deep bay with a long lakeside promenade, Salò is an appealing combination of bustling local town and elegant resort. It was founded in Roman times, then in 1337 became the capital of the Magnifica Patria, a community of 42 towns. During a less fortunate episode of its history, Salò was the seat of Mussolini’s puppet republic in 1943 – his last desperate attempt to reorganise Fascism in Italy. A town of fleeting moods rather than awesome sights, it wears its history lightly. After an earthquake in 1901 the resort was rebuilt in airy Art Nouveau style and is still graced by elegant villa-hotel restaurants. One of the loveliest is the Villa Isabella, now the Hotel Laurin (Viale Landi 9) one-time headquarters of the Italian Foreign Ministry, presided over by Mussolini.
Stroll along the Lungolago Zanardelli 4 [map] (the lakeside promenade). The waterfront near the centre has some fine arcaded buildings, including the Palazzo della Magnifica Patria, the 17th-century town hall.
The most prominent landmark of Salò is the lofty campanile of the late Gothic Duomo 5 [map] (www.parrocchiadisalo.it; free) on the waterfront towards the eastern end of the Lungolago Zanardelli. The church has an elaborate Gothic altarpiece and a number of Renaissance paintings.
For lunch or dinner in Salò, try the Osteria dell’Orologio, see 2 [map], or Osteria di Mezzo, see 3 [map].
Cobbled shopping street
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications