Gardone Riviera Honors D’Annunzio with Cultural Events and Casino Revival

Gardone Riviera celebrates its “magnificent inhabitant.” On Friday, the second “Settimana D’annunziana” opened, an initiative that Comune, Vittoriale, and Province are reintroducing to offer residents and visitors new insights for experiencing and enjoying the unique and extraordinary heritage of the Vate, literally bringing it onto the territory. Announced along the lakeside are the colors and balsamic scents of the “Giardino d’autunno,” a botanical installation that brings the atmospheres of the green spaces of the D’annunzian hilltop citadel to the lakeshore, as well as the shop windows of the town, decorated with objects and photographs of the poet. Tonight, Sunday 16, the celebrations moved to the Torre San Marco, the building designed by the German architect Shäfer that D’Annunzio transformed from a “Todesco” into a “Veneziano” through Maroni. At 6 p.m., the premises of the tower overlooking the dock where the poet moored the Mas of the Buccari Baff, will host an event curated by Maria Teresa Cipani: the recital of actor Vanni Corbellini and writer Dacia Maraini entitled “È di scena il Vittoriale” (by invitation; for information call 0365.296522 or 338.6899693). The evening will be divided into two distinct parts. First, Maria Teresa Cipani and Dacia Maraini will introduce the D’annunzian theme, highlighting the spiritual relationship between the poet and the great actress Eleonora Duse, with a reading of their correspondence curated by Corbellini. After a musical interlude, there will be a preview of the volume edited by Valerio Terraroli, Il Vittoriale estremo rifugio della grazia. The author will discuss the poetic aspect of the D’annunzian citadel and the relationship between the Vate and the artists of Vittoriale. At the end of the events in the tower-dock, just a few meters away, in another symbolic building of Gardone Riviera, Villa Alba, at 9 p.m. the Comune, in collaboration with Assocroupier, will inaugurate the “beneficial casino” in favor of the Red Cross. For four evenings, until Wednesday 19 (from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.), visitors can play with slot machines, roulette, blackjack, and poker tables. Real money will be wagered, but prizes will be items. This way, the Comune of Gardone Riviera, which hosted a casino from 1910 to 1915, then again from 1919 to 1924, and finally from October 27, 1945, to July 1946, is strongly reaffirming its bid to become a casino venue. Hopefully, as long hoped for in Gardone, Italy will finally clarify its gambling laws (the current four gaming halls in Venezia, Campione, San Remo, and Saint Vincent operate in derogation from existing legislation thanks to authorizations issued over different times and for different reasons). So far, none of the proposed laws introduced in Parliament in recent years to regulate a widespread and now legal activity across Europe have succeeded. However, with the new government, a new opening seems possible. Advocates of gambling tables have found support from subsecretary of the Interior, the Trapani-born Antonio D’Alì (Forza Italia), supporter of the Taormina casino and previously rapporteur for a draft law that, though failed, envisaged opening a casino in every region. The Settimana D’annunziana will continue offering attractions until next Sunday. On Tuesday 18, at 2 p.m., the Gardone-Vienna Car Rally will start, organized by the Mille Miglia Club to reenact D’Annunzio’s famous Vienna venture, the new winged knight. On Saturday 21 and Sunday 22, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., tastings of the “Flavors of the Riviera” will be offered along the lakeshore. Finally, on Sunday 23, from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., again on the lakeshore, students from the “Caterina de’ Medici” Hotel Institute will present dishes prepared according to the recipes of the Vate.