Gabriele D'annunzio. Poeta architetto

From the very beginning of his writing career, Gabriele d’Annunzio regarded the design and arrangement of furnishings and decorative elements in the homes he described, whether fictional or those he actually inhabited, as the creation of a work of art. Unique spaces and living environments come together to form an imaginary book studded with symbols and allegories. Sacred and profane relics, antique art objects, modern works of art, luxurious fabrics, oriental rugs, casts of classical sculptures, chandeliers, and knickknacks fill his homes—from the Capponcina in Settignano, in the hills of Florence, to the Villa Saint Dominique in Arcachon, France—like mysterious backdrops conducive to literary invention. The idea of the residence as an autobiography finds its fullest expression at the Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera, on the shores of Lake Garda, where the poet blends, with absolute modernity, the public sphere, heroic ideals, and the memory of his “inimitable way of life.”