Municipality in the Province of Brescia, Gargnano is located on the northern shore of the Lake Garda and it includes the "Parco Regionale dell'Alto Garda Bresciano", a protected area.
The name of the village appeared in a document of 937 as Garniano, perhaps derived from the Latin stem Garenius. Passages of the Roman historian Titus Livius and inscriptions on headstones testify to the presence of Etruscans, Celts, Cenomani and Romans. From 1350 to 1426 the territory of Gargnano was a dominion of the Visconti of Milan, later a dominion of the Republic of Venice. Gargnano was later included in the Republic of Brescia and passed under Napoleon and the Asburgic dominion till the Unification of Italy.
Built between 1892 and 1899 and planned by Francesco Solmi and Alberico Belgioiso, shows a neo-Gothic style. The Villa is located the small locality of San Faustino. The Villa is divided into three sectors: the central one is hexagonal in shape and once included a small tower, which German troops tore down during the Second War World, being the residence of Benito Mussolini.
Mussolini arrived to Villa Feltrinelli on the 8th October 1943 and from the Villa he reached the headquarter to the Ville Orsoline (now Palazzo Feltrinelli) by car. He lived in Villa Feltrinelli until 1945 when moved to Milan.
The Historic Residence has turned into a luxury hotel, which includes 18 suites and 85 employees. The huge park hosts rural buildings where the farmers who worked for the Feltrinelli's family once lived. These small buildings has become exclusive small houses located in the central section of the hotel. Villa Feltrinelli also hosts the "Limonaia" (lemon garden) now included in a beautiful garden for tourists who chose spending their stay in the small houses.
