Entries about gargnano

More than a week ago I spent some days in Gargnano.

Gargnano is a village on the western shore of lake Garda; in the Lombardy region. It if formed of thirteen districts.

There is a nice harbour surrounded by a number of colourful houses in Gargnano.

There is a good choice of shops on the main street in Gargnano. There is also an hotel and a some cafes.

I spent four nights at hotel Lido. It is very near the lake and it is situaed in Villa; a district of Gargnano.

My room was nice; the food served at dinner was good.

In 1912 the English writer D. H. Lawrence lived with his lover Frieda Weekley von Richthofen for six month in Villa.

The house where Lawrence stayed is still there. It is quite near the hotel Lido. It was refurbished and it is used as flats to let.

Bogliaco is a district of Gargnano. Its old core is really beautiful.

Even Bogliaco has a harbour with colourful houses.

Every september the Bogliaco harbour is the starting point of a famous boat race; the Regatta Internazionale della Centomiglia.

I spotted some beautiful frescoes in the old core of Bogliaco.

I liked a lot the old core in Bogliaco.

The old core in Bogliaco is made of a few streets. It doesn' t take long to explore it.

From the harbour in Bogliaco you can see a beautiful ladscape over Gargano.

The main sight in Bogliaco is a very large mansion. Villa Bettoni. It was built between 1764 and 1767.

It is possible to visit it inside only on guided tours. You have to book it beforehand.

Another place I visited was Gardone Riviera. This is a tourist resort not far from Gargnano.

It is made of two areas; Gardone di Sopra (upper Gardone) and Gardone di Sotto (lower Gardone).

In Gardone di Sopra you can find one of the highlights of Gardone Riviera; il Vittoriale degli Italiani.

It is a hillside estate; a monumental complex commissioned by the writer, poet, jounalist and Gabriele d' Annunzio.

At Il Vittoriale you can visit various museums and the last residence of d' Annunzio (the Prioria).

There is also its burial place and a large outdoor theatre here.

Before my visit to the residence of d' Annunzio I took a short stroll in the gardens of the Vittoriale.

La Prioria (the priory) is the mansion where d' Annunzio lived from 1922 until his death in 1938.

Into this dimly lit villa the rooms are crammed with books, art objects, musical instruments and lost of other things.

Into the Prioria you will visit the writer' s workshop, the kichen, the music room, the bathroom and several other rooms.

Unfortunately it is not allowed to take pictures into the Prioria.

Near the Prioria there is a large room; the Auditorium. Inside you can watch a movie about the life of d' Annunzio.

Morever; into this room; hanged to the roof there is a two seated S. V. A. airplane. D' Annunzio reached Vienna on its board in 1918.

Gardone di Sopra (Upper Gardone) is a beautiful old small village.

In Gardone di Sopra there are some small shops.

There is a good choice of restaurants and cafes in Gardone di Sopra.

Most of the hotels and other accomodations in Gardone sul Garda are located in Gardone di Sotto.

This is he Grand Hotel. A old and long palace.

Gardone di Sotto has a nice, but quite short lakeside promenade.

I liked a lot this holiday, even if it was too short!

If you are going to spend more than a couple of days in Trieste, you could visit two beautiful castles and an island. There is no need to rent a car, because the castles and the island are easily reachable by public trasportation from Trieste.

I visited the castles and the island some years ago.

Miramare castle was built between 1856 and 1860 by orders of Maximilian of the House of Habsburg (1832-1867). He was Franz Joseph' s (emperor of Austria) youngest brother. This castle is located in Grignano.

Inside you can visit more than 20 rooms. All these have original furniture. You can see the private apartments where Maximilian and his wife Charlotte lived for a short period; the guests rooms and the throne room.

The castle is surrounded by a huge park with ponds, statues and some buildings as the stables and the so called Castelletto. Here Maximilian and Charlotte lived while the castle was being constructed.

Duino is a town not far from Trieste. Here you can visit a castle. Well, in reality there are two castles in Duino. The old and the new one. This one is open to visitors.

The new castle was built around 1400. What we see today are some buildings constructed in different years.

This castle belonged to various people and was also used as a prison. At the end of the 19th century it became property of the prince Alexander of Thurn und Taxis.

Over the years this castle hosted many famous artists as Strauss, Liszt, Twain and Rainer Maria Rilke.

I took this picture from the castle tower.

Another picture from the castle tower.

The "old" castle was built in the XI century. It is now in ruins. You can see it from a balcony and from the tower of the new castle.

Grado is an island situated 52 km from Trieste. It is linked to the mainland by two bridges.

One of the highlights in Grado is the basilica of saint Euphemia. It has a beautiful mosaic pavement which covers almost the entire floor surface.

This church dates from the end of the VI century. It was built on the site of a previous basilica built between the IV and V centuries.

Beside this church there is a baptistery which dates to the fifth century. In this picture you see part of the basilica of saint Euphemia.

Some meters from the church you can visit the basilica of saint Maria delle Grazie. This church was built at the end of the VI century. It was built over another one of the V century. It is smaller than the basilica of S. Euphemia and houses a beautiful colourful Madonna.

Once you visited the churches and the baptistery you could have a stroll in the town center.

The old core of Grado is made mostly of stone houses. It has narrow streets (calli), small squares (campielli) as in Venice. You can wander in the center of Grado for at least a couple of hours or maybe more.

There are even some Roman ruins in this town.

I went to Grado from Trieste by coach from the bus station. I took a coach to Monfalcone. Once in Monfalcone I crossed the road and I took a bus to Grado.

The bus station in Grado is in piazza Carpaccio; which is just a couple of streets from the harbour.