{"id":5102,"date":"2013-05-20T14:28:57","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T14:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=5102"},"modified":"2016-04-06T19:54:43","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T19:54:43","slug":"til-vittoriale-lake-garda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/til-vittoriale-lake-garda\/","title":{"rendered":"Il Vittoriale – Lake Garda"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have visited a few surreal places in my time, Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia<\/a> for example, or the even stranger still Casa Batll\u00f3<\/a>…\u00a0\u00a0 But when it comes to other-worldly former residences,\u00a0 I think Il Vittoriale <\/a>might take the biscuit…<\/p>\n

Il Vittoriale is the former residence of the ultra-nationalist (and slightly eccentric) Italian writer, poet, and military figure –\u00a0 Gabriele D’Annunzio<\/a>.\u00a0 This vast estate with its impressive lake views comes complete with amphitheatre, war museum (the Museo Della Guera), his former residence (The Priory), a huge circular Mausoleum (complete with white guard dog sculptures), and a great big battleship (a present from the Navy- the Light Cruiser Puglia) that takes pride of place in the middle of the landscape.\u00a0 There’s also a building containing another of D’Annunzio’s boats, a cafe, and an auditorium with a light aircraft hanging from the ceiling…<\/p>\n

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I imagine a visit to this place would be surreal in any event –\u00a0 how many places have you visited with Giant blue horses in the grounds, or bombs used as garden ornaments?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And as for the boat!?…\u00a0 But, it seems that on this particular morning I was suffering a rather untoward allergic reaction to a hay fever tablet, which let’s just say “added” to the bizarreness of this visit.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As he helpfully informed me afterwards, Mr R reckons it could have been because said tablet had been in the bottom of his wash bag for around four years, but it certainly made the entire experience even more “other-worldly” for me in in a mild labyrinthitis kind of way…<\/p>\n

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We started off in the amphitheatre, home to the Giant Blue horse, and site of many concerts, operas and ballets…\u00a0\u00a0 We sat there for some time appreciating the lake views, whilst the Small People put on an impromptu performance or two to their own private audience of appreciative Father and Mother, who by this time was having mild hallucinations…<\/p>\n

The Light Cruiser Puglia was also a favourite area to explore, and would have made a spectacular party venue in its heyday I should imagine… Just off from this are the tiered gardens complete with water feature, and a slightly odd folly featuring enormous bomb shells.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately for us we visited on what must have been “National Student Il Vittoriale Visiting Day” and the queue for The Priory was lengthy at best.\u00a0 Tours take 25 minutes, and take place every ten minutes in Italian (no photography!). \u00a0 As it meant we would have had to wait for well over an hour to take our turn, we opted to visit the auditorium instead, which was a shame as I wanted to see the two special waiting rooms (one for people he liked, and the other for people he didn’t), and the coffin he used to lie and think in. \u00a0\u00a0 Instead,\u00a0 I sat and enjoyed a small film about the place and its history, whilst the aeroplane D’Annunzio flew to drop propaganda leaflets on Vienna during World War I dangled overhead.\u00a0 Adjacent to this is the War Museum, containing many relics of D’Annunzio’s military life, from dusty uniforms to flags and medals…<\/p>\n

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Although I don’t actually remember taking half of the photographs I now have in my possession, I am grateful that they confirm that the various bizarre things I remember about it do actually exist…\u00a0 Apparently Il Vittoriale is one of the most visited Museums in Italy, and it’s certainly different!\u00a0\u00a0 I would recommend buying a ticket to cover the entire park which costs around 16 Euros.\u00a0\u00a0 I would also recommend doing a little research on Gabriele D’Annunzio before visiting perhaps?\u00a0 To know a little bit about this interesting man will certainly add to your visit.\u00a0 I would not however recommend taking any out of date medication beforehand…<\/p>\n

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