Gardone Riviera’s Villa Alba: History, Management, and Future Plans

“Villa Alba? We will resume the discussion soon,” assures the mayor of Gardone Riviera, Alessandro Bazzani, responding to a question from Alfredo Mantica, leader of the Polo and senator of Alleanza Nazionale. “The private owners have not completed all the works, so there are deficiencies. We will see to close the matter quickly.”

History and Origins of the Villa

A long history surrounds the monumental building constructed at the beginning of the century by the Langensiepen family, a wealthy German industrial family of metalworking factory owners (in Gardone and Gavardo) with 70,000 square meters of nurseries, enabling them to export Mediterranean plants, acclimatized on Garda, to Germany and Austria. The villa, two stories high, was supposed to be inspired by ancient Greece; so much so that the architect Shafer was sent to Athens to deepen his knowledge of the classical orders and modules.

Thus, the park, columns, caryatids, pediments, cornices, the winter garden covered by a skylight, and the marble group of the Grazie were designed; later, the group was moved. In 1916, the properties of the Germans were requisitioned, and the villa was used to house refugee families: they arrived from Limone, a location now bordering the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Later acquired by Saffa (the match factory used it as a colony for the children of employees), it was subsequently taken over by the Municipality, which hosted the Hotelier Professional Institute for many years. After alternating circumstances, in October ’88, it was decided to entrust its management to Bagaglino, the holiday company created by the Valsabbino Mario Bertelli, the same behind Centocase in Bedizzole and the villages in Sardinia, Chamonix, and Madonna di Campiglio. Duration of the agreement: 16 years. Therefore, until December 31, 2005.

Management and Future Interventions

Bertelli committed “to designate the complex for congress activities, primarily and predominantly, from September to June, and to organize cultural and artistic shows during the remaining period, establish a training school for young staff to initiate them into new forms of tourist entertainment, organize events through twinning with Porto Cervo, Venice, and Marbella, and prepare television and entertainment programs on behalf of networks,” additionally relocating the group’s headquarters here (from Milan). Instead of paying an annual rent of 45 million lire, the entrepreneur would carry out a series of works valued at 852 million euros.

In December ’96, since not all the works specified in the agreement had been completed, the Municipality commissioned surveyor Battista Gibellini to draft a report, then signed a protocol of understanding with Bagaglino to settle the matter. The company was to undertake constructing an elevator (to remove architectural barriers) and installing a generator. Cost: 88.5 million lire. However, the building commission later rejected the project, which was no longer submitted for approval.

Mantica expressed criticisms about the overall operation, which was supposed to contribute to the revival of tourism. “Instead, the benefit has only gone to the private owners,” commented the senator. Bazzani committed to finding a solution also regarding the expired guarantees (one worth 85 million, the other 400 million), stipulated by Bagaglino with “La Viscontea.”