Wedding at Torre San Marco

Wedding at San Marco Tower - Garda Lake

Wedding at San Marco Tower – Garda Lake – francesca e marco

Sirmione was the place chosen by Maria Callas to relax after her success on the scale of Milan, that narrow tongue of land that stretches into Lake Garda has something magical with its entrance inside a castle.

For us it was the starting point for a fast ride on a Riva motorboat that plowed through the waters of the lake to take us to Torre San Marco where the party was to be held.

The Riva Aquariva motorboat in the photos is the same one used in Nolan’s film Tenet, do you remember the scenes in Capri? Just that.

It was the first time I worked on Lake Garda and I must say that it is a beautiful discovery, larger than Como, but with very beautiful structures overlooking its waters. Like the marvelous Villa Scipione Borghese in Venetian Gothic style, which stands on the largest island of the lake.

But our prow was aimed further, we had to get to the San Marco tower, formerly the Ruhland tower. We owe the change of name to Gabriele D’Annunzio who bought it in 1925, transforming it into the outlet to the sea of his villa.

There in his dock was in fact hospitalized the M.A.S. (Memento Audere Semper – remember to always dare) the motorboat protagonist of Buccari’s hoax and which is now kept in the Vittoriale.

But perhaps more piquant is the story witnessed by our Tower between 1943 and 1945. Indeed, it seems that it was the seat of clandestine meetings between Benito Mussolini and Claretta Petacci, during the period of the Italian Social Republic.

Who knows how many secrets the walls of this tower have listened to, curious to think how Claretta and Benito then spent their last days just a few steps from some of the most renowned wedding locations on another lake, that of Como.

Who knows if it was the ghost of the Vate, a well-known libertine, who made one of our assistants sharpen his eyesight and made him notice a beautiful guest with whom he fell in love. For the avoidance of doubt, the writer was accompanied by his wife and daughter who were waiting for him to then go to Gardaland.

Second shooter Michael Bagnoli