About
One fascist's estate includes a military museum, art park, mausoleum, and architectural oddity.
After poet and Italian ultra-nationalist Gabriele d’Annunzio was pushed from a window in a murder attempt, he formed his ideas and legacy into the eclectic estate Vittoriale Degli Italiani (The Shrine of Italian Victories). A controversial figure in the history of Italian fascism, an eccentric but well-connected man in Mussolini's Italy, bankrolled much of d'Annunzio's work on the estate. Though volatile and seemingly out of place, d'Annunzio attracted a following of others like him who appreciated his unique poetic voice. The main building, known as the "Prioria," was remodeled to include such eccentric flourishes as separate waiting rooms for guests wanted and unwanted, and a relic room that held objects of faith from a global selection of disciplines. An amphitheater was also constructed in front of the mansion echoing d'Annunzio's love of oratory.
