Historic Hotels: Grand Hotel à Villa Feltrinelli

This property is part of our Historic Hotels series, which features Harper hotels and resorts that began as private homes to the world’s famous — industry pioneers, authors, real estate magnates and, yes, even a dictator.

Grand Hotel à Villa Feltrinelli, Italy

Standing on the absurdly picturesque western shore of Lake Garda, the sumptuous neo-Gothic Villa Feltrinelli enjoys a certain notoriety as the residence of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from 1943 to 1945. Commissioned by the wealthy Feltrinelli family in 1892 — their interests included the Credito Italiano bank and vast lumber holdings in Central Europe — it was intended as a retreat from the sultry heat of summers in Milan. Perhaps the most interesting family member was Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, a hugely influential publisher who was responsible for smuggling the manuscript of "Doctor Zhivago" out of the Soviet Union, and the publication of "The Leopard," the great novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

While the family enjoyed spending their days in the gardens, swimming in Lake Garda and playing tennis on the property, they were also subject to a demanding “Feltrinelli family code” respected by both adults and children that included incentives and fines. “The children were brought up with a very strict education and had to speak only German,” says General Manager Markus Odermatt. During the Second World War, Mussolini occupied the villa for 600 days along with his wife, children and relatives. While there, he was held prisoner by the Germans and 30 SS officers, who lodged in the cellars beneath the property.