Archaeological Find Supports Legend of Salt Boat Wreck Near Malcesine
“Malsalè”: this was the nickname used in Brenzone to refer to the inhabitants of Malcesine. It is not uncommon in Brenzone land to still hear the legend that the salt boat crashed on the Trimelone island, in front of Assenza, never reaching Malcesine. The Malcesinesi would therefore have remained “malsalè,” meaning poorly salty. At least, this is what the “brensonài” say; however, the people of Malcesine are quite knowledgeable about salt, as demonstrated by the town’s tourist and economic development.
It is a fact that in the old days, stories about the salt boat and its alleged shipwreck on the Trimelone were frequently told. And many legendary tales often hide a kernel of truth. The same can be said for certain nicknames used along the Riviera: for example, the people of Garda were branded as “magna àole,” as they primarily subsisted on small, humble anchovies.
The archaeological discovery and the legend of salt
Well: a recent archaeological find now suggests that a shipwreck of a salt boat might have actually occurred. From this, the origin of the nickname used to tease Malcesine inhabitants could have arisen. On Lake Garda, salt was transported by waterway. This is confirmed by the rediscovery of the “porto del sale” (Salt Port) at Padenghe, on the Brescia side of Lake Garda.
Endeavors to demonstrate that there was a dock designated for salt trade are documented by ancient Manuscripts. In the 1600s, Silvan Cattaneo stated that the port at Padenghe played a crucial role because here “all the salt that our Venetians send to Brescia, Bergamo, and Crema” was brought in. It seemed that traces of that docking site had vanished, but recent discoveries of a series of poles at a depth of about two meters beneath Garda’s waters have likely confirmed its exact location.
As Andrea Nodari, a local historian, writes in “Padenghe, the Roots of a Community,” an upcoming volume set to release next fall, the discovery of significant traces of an ancient dock at the locality Fabbrica is reported. This probably corresponds to the historical Salt Port mentioned in old documents.
From that port, salt was transported across the lake to various riviera towns, just as grains and other foodstuffs from the nearby port of Desenzano were shipped via waterway throughout the region of Benaco. Why then not consider that one of the “salt boats” leaving Padenghe was truly caught in a storm off the Trimelone, sinking near the island? The brenzoni, witnesses to the disaster, would have easily called the neighboring Malcesine men “malsalà.”