Gardone’s D’Annunzio Heritage Drives Cultural and Tourism Promotion

Gardone has had many illustri Founding Fathers—personalities who reciprocated the hospitality offered to them with ideas, initiatives, and the “creation” of what still today is the territory of Gardone: a garden city.

And the residents of Gardone wisely understood, from the era of Wimmer onward, that they could benefit from a constructive confrontation with those attracted here by the beauty of the place and the mild climate. But while Gardone was already, in the Belle Époque, an internationally renowned tourist destination, it was certainly in the post-war period—after the times and trends had changed—that one figure marked a decisive impact on the promotion of the locale’s image: Gabriele d’Annunzio.

The role of d’Annunzio and the promotion of Gardone

Thanks precisely to d’Annunzio, Gardone has become an increasingly popular tourist and cultural hub. The Vittoriale, with its two hundred thousand visitors annually and the several thousand spectators at the summer theater, undoubtedly represents the main tourism industry for the Gardonesi.

Hence the reason for a “dannunzian” definition of Gardone—an influence not only in terms of artistic, architectural, historical, and cultural heritage but also in terms of the development of the local economy, all stemming from d’Annunzio’s legacy.

In this sense, it would be appropriate for Gardone to further live and benefit from this “dannunzian heritage,” in a continuous osmosis between the Vittoriale itself and the territory that encompasses it.

Promotional initiatives from September 16 to 23

With this goal in mind, the municipal administration is promoting, from September 16 to 23, a series of initiatives aimed, on one hand, at recovering the historic memory of the relationship between d’Annunzio and the local community, and on the other, at “bringing” the Vittoriale into the territory—an operation involving, besides the Vittoriale itself, the provincial administration, private operators in the tourism sector, and individual Gardone citizens.

There will be exhibitions, vintage car parades, d’Annunzio-themed menus, window displays on d’Annunzio topics, screenings of period films, concerts, and readings of d’Annunzio’s excerpts focused especially on Garda, the residents of Gardone, women of the Gardone period, and more.

This is an experimental project spanning one week. It has the potential to become an annual event.

However, throughout the year, the Vittoriale could continue to offer Gardone new opportunities to distinguish itself and attract visitors through its unique and specific identity as a “dannunzian town.”

This is a topic worthy of shared reflection!