Barbarano di Salò

The hamlet of Barbarano is the only post outside the Gulf of Salò and extends along the coast, at the foot of the mountain, to the north, bordering with Gardone Riviera. The important historical residence of Barbarano is the Palazzo Terzi-Martinengo which was built in 1566 at the behest of the Marquis Sforza Pallavicino, a leading exponent of the Republic of Venice.

The building, with severe and rigorous forms, also equipped with a watchtower, has almost the appearance of a fortress even if the large declining garden, with fountains and divided into two sections, softens the overall vision .

The complex consists of four buildings connected together. The first one consists of a single floor and the ground floor, then follows a wing facing the lake, a two-storey body and a second wing that, like the first, extends towards the lake basin.

A Bit of History about Barbarano

During the Second World War, in October 1943 the Italian social republic, also historically called "La Repubblica di Salò", was born between the cities of Salò, Barbarano di Salò and Gargnano Village.

Gardone Riviera town, and partially also Fasano and Barbarano di Salò constituted an important hospital garrison declared a “free zone area” on the basis of the international convention of Geneva.

La "Repubblica di Salò" was the last attempt by Benito Mussolini and Hitler to reorganize fascist Italy.. Throughout the area surrounding Barbarano di Salò we have several historic neoclassical villas such as the Villa Fiordaliso where Claretta Petacci, the historical lover of Mussolini lived.

It seems that the amorous encounters between the Duce and Claretta took place inside the Ruhland Tower, today known as the Torre di San Marco. Other testimonies of that historical period are:

• Villa Maria Elisabetta (now a holiday home),
• Villa Paolina (today a hospice for the elderly)
• and the luxurious Hotel Spiaggia d'Oro, today a place of entertainment but at that time reserved for the German soldiers.