Gardone Riviera

Gardone Riviera
Country	Italy
region	Lombardy
province	Brescia  (BS)
Coordinates	45 ° 37 ′  N , 10 ° 34 ′  E Coordinates: 45 ° 37 ′ 0 ″  N , 10 ° 34 ′ 0 ″  E
surface	20 km²
Residents	2,658 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	133 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	25083
prefix	0365
ISTAT number	017074
Website	Gardone Riviera
Panorama of Gardone Riviera

Gardone Riviera is an Italian municipality on the west bank of Lake Garda with 2658 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) near Salò and has been a member of the association I borghi più belli d'Italia (The Most Beautiful Places in Italy) since 2017 .

Gardone consists of the districts Gardone Sotto , Gardone Sopra , Fasano Sotto and Fasano Sopra . The hills that surround the village create a mild microclimate in which Central European and Mediterranean vegetation such as citrus , cypress and agave alternate. There are numerous parks and gardens in the community.

location

Gardone is on the western side of Lake Garda. The eight municipalities Limone sul Garda , Tremosine , Tignale , Gargnano , Toscolano-Maderno , Magasa, Gardone and Salò form the Riviera dei Limoni .

history

From 1337 to 1797 Gardone Riviera belonged to the "Magnifica Patria" with the seat of government Salò.

Gardone Riviera became a health resort at the end of the 19th century. German doctors like Ludwig Rohden recommended the place, which was formerly called Hildebrandsburg , especially for longer stays because of the therapeutic properties of its climate. For this reason, the Austrian Ludwig Wimmer wanted to build the first larger hotel on the lake. When he became mayor of Gardones in 1881, he began successfully promoting the community. Within a few years it became a health resort. Numerous German composers and writers had their second homes in Gardone at this time, such as Paul Heyse , Ludwig Neuhoff (1859–1909 in Gardone) and Paul Königer .

In 1900 Gardone was connected to the Brescia – Salò – Gargnano tram line . The line was finally closed in 1934.

From 1921 to 1938 Gabriele d'Annunzio lived in Gardone in his extensive estate Vittoriale degli italiani , which also houses his monumental tomb.

From 1933 until her death in Gardone Alice Jacobi (born August 25, 1890 in Elberfeld - † September 19, 1938 in Gardone Riviera, where she was buried) lived in the Villa Maddalena, her school on Lake Garda , a school in exile for Jews Children from Germany, ran. Her brother, the theater director Karl Löwenberg , lived here with his family, at least for a while , and the Hamburg-born teacher Fritz C. Neumann and the Cologne dance teacher Susanne Levinger taught at the school . After the school closed, Levinger went to England for further training, but returned to Gardone in 1939. Until her arrest after the outbreak of World War II, she was the teacher of the grandson of the painter Angelo Landi (1879–1944) from Salò .

During the time of the Italian Social Republic , the large hotels and villas were the seat of command posts, embassies and hospitals. Among other things, the office of the “ highest SS and police leader ” in Italy, Karl Wolff , was located in the district of Fasano , who was one of the most influential men in the German occupation forces in Italy after the armistice of Cassibile .

Attractions

Il Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera

Il Vittoriale degli Italiani

The Vittoriale degli italiani (roughly translated: "Victory Monument of the Italians") was the property of the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio , which he lived in from 1921 to 1938. Today the complex is a spacious museum on an area of ​​nine hectares.

There is also a separate open-air theater on the premises. It was designed in 1930 but only opened on August 8, 1953 with a concert by La Scala in Milan . It can accommodate 1500 visitors. The rear rows of seats border directly on the wing of the house.

The multi-part house is kept entirely in white, ocher yellow and dark red. D'Annunzio did not completely rebuild this villa: he took it over in 1921 after it had previously belonged to the German art historian Henry Thode . The property was expropriated after the World War.

D'Annunzio had the complex gradually rebuilt and expanded by the architect Gian Carlo Maroni and finally left the property known as the “Vittoriale” to the Italian people in 1938, the year of his death.

With around 200,000 visitors a year, the Vittoriale is one of the best-visited museums in Italy.

The botanical garden

The 10,000 m² garden ( Giardino Botanico A. Hruska ) was laid out in 1910 by the naturalist and doctor Professor Arthur Hruska . By 1971 he had settled more than 2000 plant species here.

The artist André Heller acquired the property in 1988 and has a residence in the villa.

“It is a flora collection from parts of the world, Africa and South America, Asia, Europe and Australia interwoven. Edelweiss amidst orchid meadows, meter-high tree ferns next to pomegranate wonders. Streams and waterfalls, ponds with sacred koi carp, trout and reflections of dragonflies, hills made of dolomite rock next to cacti and ivy towers. Indian and Moroccan sculptures in harmony with installations by Roy Lichtenstein, Susanne Schmögner, Mimmo Paladino and Keith Haring. "

Villa Alba

The Villa Alba was built on behalf of the manufacturer Richard Langensiepen. It was intended to spend the summer months in Gardone. The monumental building was the purely private property of the family.

The Kingdom of Italy was allied with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary by a Triple Alliance . Italy pursued an expansionist policy and entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915 after its members had promised Italy substantial land gains in the London Treaty (1915) in the event of a victory. This made Germans and Austrians in Italy "hostile foreigners"; In 1915 the family had to flee and initially lived in Zurich. In the 1970s the community purchased the villa; today it is a convention center.

Web links

Commons : Gardone Riviera  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References & comments

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ↑ I borghi più belli d'Italia (official website), accessed on May 12, 2017 (Italian)
3. ↑ “Immediately after the outbreak of the war in Italy I was arrested, spent 1 month in the prison in Brescia and then interned in the concentration camp in Lanciano (Chieti) , and on February 2nd, 1942 transferred to the Pollenza ( Macerata ) concentration camp . In the second week of September 1943 I managed to escape from this camp and join the Allies. As far as my bad health allowed, I worked as an interpreter in space. Military administration. In April 1944 I married Dr. Giovanni Javicoli in whose hometown San Vieto Chietino I have been living ever since. ”Curriculum vitae of Susanne Levinger Javicoli from July 26, 1955, in: NS Documentation Center of the City of Cologne: inventory 164 - Susanne Javicoli . More on the life story of Susanne (Susi) Levinger (Lewinger): Gianni Orecchioni: I sassi e le ombre. Storie di internamento e di confino nell'Italia fascista: Lanciano 1940–1943 , Edizioni di storia e letteratura, Roma, 2006, ISBN 88-8498-290-1 , p. 76. The documentary “Susanne Lewinger, una vita nel novecento ”by Alberto Gagliardo. ( Susanne Lewinger, a life in the twentieth century ) For further internment dates see also: Susanne Lewinger in the database "Ebrei stranieri internati in Italia durante il periodo bellico"
4. ↑ Carlo Gentile : I crimini di guerra tedeschi in Italia (1943-1945). Einaudi, Turin 2015 ISBN 978-88-06-21721-1 p. 63
5. ↑ www.hellergarden.com