[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]During the Belle Epoque, the Grand Hotel Vittoria in Pesaro had its own private, authorised casino, which was open both to its guests and to non-residents. It is still possible to admire the 50-, 100- and 500-lire chips that were used by illustrious gamblers to...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In October 1926 the playwright and writer Luigi Pirandello stayed in Pesaro, where he had been officially invited for the opening of the theatre-cinema named after the actress Eleonora Duse. He spent one week at the Grand Hotel Vittoria: it is said he loved spending the...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In November 1970, the Grand Hotel Miramare in Santa Margherita welcomed the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, as a guest during his official visit to Italy. To compensate for the small physical stature of the sovereign, two cushions – suitably hidden from visitors’ view –...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The international Pool of Coal and Steel Conference was held in the halls of the Grand Hotel Miramare in Santa Margherita in February 1951, with the Italian Prime Minister De Gasperi, the Foreign Minister Sforza, and the French Prime Minister Pleven and Foreign Minister Schuman....
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]During WWI, Ernest Hemingway, while stationed as an ambulance driver at Villa Ca’ Erizzo on the banks of the Brenta, often came to Nardini Distillery in Bassano for a shot of grappa. Grappa also figures prominently in many of his works, especially those dealing with...