ENG The internationally renowned artist Piero Gemelli showcased his works at Delai, an evocative location on the Brescia shore of Lake Garda. The images seem almost created to inhabit those rooms …
A secret garden. A noble residence overlooking Lake Garda. This is Palazzo Delai, a historic home once belonging to the Counts Delai, in Toscolano Maderno on the Brescia side of the lake. The perfect setting for Piero Gemelli’ s exhibition.
For five days – suspended in a deliberately undefined sense of time – the artist’ s works were displayed within the rooms of Palazzo Delai, coming to life through the gaze of those who visited the villa. The spaces, poised between being and becoming, tell the story of Piero Gemelli’ s approach: through photography, he has always sought to preserve fleeting moments, giving the illusion that they may become eternal, in a delicate interplay of memory and nostalgia.“ That’ s exactly what I found and felt while experiencing those empty spaces, yet they were full of time suspended between the past, its history, and its future. What better occasion for my work?” the artist stated. Gemelli’ s essence filled every corner of Delai, leaving its trace for the future. Indeed, Delai aspires to be a small retreat on the lake, where architecture meets mindful hospitality; it is a palazzo where history lingers in the air, and a terraced lemon garden unfolds. Earth and water merge in a refined and perfect union, but one will have to wait until the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027 to fully experience this sensation. In a place where water once meant arrival, livelihood, and daily geography, it will again become a privileged point of access: guests will be able to arrive by boat and dock directly at the private boathouse, an identifying feature of the project. There are only eight rooms – three suites, three junior suites, and two family rooms – each conceived as a space attuned to time, light, and silence. Everything is designed to foster a subtle relationship between architecture, landscape, and guest.
Here, beauty does not put itself on display; it sits quietly beside the guest. Sometimes, it remains hidden. Delai is not a place for everyone. It is intended for those who know how to listen before they speak, for those who recognise that elegance is a form of attentiveness, which arrives silently. It does not shout, but reveals itself only to those capable of perceiving every detail. The philosophy of Delai, together with the quiet presence of Piero Gemelli, is not to leave a mark, but to leave space: here, each moment is not merely something past, but a fragment of time gently laid down, ready to be relived in the history of this place.
Ph. Credits DELAI | Stefano Butturini- Piero Gemelli