A fairytale palace created by five patriot brothers at the dawn of the Kingdom of Italy, this was the hotel of European aristocracy. Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Russia, engraved her name with a diamond on a window pane in 1870. In 1884, it was here that the agreement to build the Simplon Tunnel was signed. During the Stresa Conference in 1935, which attempted to keep Hitler in check, it was the official hotel for the delegations, heads of state, and ministers. For the Aga Khan, D’Annunzio, Rockefeller, and Sacha Guitry it was simply paradise. Hemingway recalls it in A Farewell to Arms.