Gargnano Villa Feltrinelli Opens as Luxury Hotel, Honoring History
Long-anticipated, yesterday marked the first gathering of Gargnano residents with Villa Feltrinelli, the 19th-century residence located north of Gargnano, designed by architect Alberico Belgiojoso. The building has long been known as the “Villa del Duce,” after it hosted Benito Mussolini, leader of Fascism, during the Italian Social Republic between October 1943 and April 1945.
Four years ago, a building permit was obtained to convert the villa into a luxury hotel, leading to renovation works. Among the two theories long proposed to enhance the historic building—either as a documentation center on the Social Republic or as a luxury hotel—the latter ultimately prevailed, and the villa is now ready to be launched on the high-end tourism market.
Yesterday, the people of Gargnano had their first glimpse of how things unfolded and of the effects of the transformation. Between 2 PM and 6 PM, the villa was open to the public, who was able to visit it. It was an interesting experience, assisted by municipal staff and volunteers from the Pro loco, who helped ensure compliance with the rules and maintained the flowerbeds, freshly sown, which will be renewed in October.
Visits and Prior Regulations on the Villa
A scheduled event that the community clearly appreciated, judging by the number of visitors who arrived at the villa on a sunny, warm afternoon. Along with the satisfaction, the event also fulfilled the wish of many who had only seen the villa from the outside, due to restrictions in entering.
On the other hand, in recent years, the building had been undergoing renovations, making visits impossible. Previously (from 1981 to 1996), the owners—Gussago-based family Regalini—used the villa privately, preventing unauthorized access, except for sporadic thefts of furniture and furnishings. Of course, such trespassing was not authorized.
Even earlier (from the end of World War II until the Feltrinelli sale to the Regalini family in the early 1980s), the villa was monitored by a Gargnano couple, Pierino Noventa and Flaminia Cervini, who kept it protected long before the Duce’s passing. But Pierino and Flaminia only allowed trusted friends and close associates to enter.
Memories and the Present
Until yesterday, some Gargnano residents remembered the villa as it was before the 1980s, recalling a period—whether appreciated or not—that brought to mind a significant time in Italian history: the final years of the fascist era.
Now, according to Christophe Bergen, general manager of the Villa-Hotel, “More than Mussolini, we aim to connect the hospitality we offer to the memory of Gargnano’s bourgeois past and particularly to the Feltrinelli family, to whom the villa seems to speak in every detail.”
