Bardolino Launches Christmas Events, Culinary Tours, and Cultural Exhibits
The inauguration of the nativity scene exhibition today at 3:30 PM officially marks the start of Bardolino’s “Christmas among the Olives” celebrations. These events are part of the more extensive program of winter activities on Lake Garda, involving nine municipalities from the Riviera and inland areas of Garda. The aim is to showcase to winter tourists the area’s scenic, cultural, and gastronomic treasures, even under the Christmas lights. Now in its seventeenth edition, the nativity scene display, set up at the Rambaldi barn described by the “La Preonda” Cultural Circle, will be open to the public on the following Saturday, December 16, and will remain accessible until January 6.
Christmas Events and Local Initiatives
Following this, on December 19, there will be a antique and historical items market along Lungolago Cornicello from 10:30 AM to 5 PM. During the week leading up to Christmas, a series of concerts will take place, starting with that of Thursday, December 21, titled “Waiting for Christmas” by the Polyphonic Choir at 5 PM in Piazza Matteotti. The next day, a concert will be held at the S. Nicolò Parish Church at 8:30 PM, offered by the Institutions Harmonics, while on Sunday evening, a piano bar will be set up in the square with a refreshment after midnight mass.
The New Year will be celebrated with a New Year’s concert at the Gritti Hotel at 9 PM. On January 6, there will be a “Parade of… the Three Wise Men” with a traditional brüiel and a concert by the Schola Cantorum at 8:30 PM. The following day will feature a grand concert by the Bardolino Polyphonic Choir, and on January 13, the event “Gospel and Spiritual” will take place.
Gastronomic Initiatives and Local Promotion
Among various initiatives, all of December will feature meetings with the black truffle of Baldo and Garda extra virgin olive oils. These are organized by the Garda Veronese Slow Food branch in collaboration with the Riviera degli Olivi Tourist Promotion Company. The selected restaurants for this extended gastronomic event are the Il Giardino delle Esperidi wine bar in Bardolino and Kus Tavern in San Zeno. In the former, a menu highlights some of the oils produced in Upper and Lower Garda, as well as along the Lombard shoreline of Lake Benaco; while the latter offers an entire tasting menu based on the prized black Baldense truffle.
All paired with Veronese wines: Bardolino Classico Le Frughe for dishes featuring the oils, and Valpolicella Classico Allegrini for truffle-based dishes. Both wineries are included among those recommended by the “Vini d’Italia” guide, published by Slow Food and Gambero Rosso, while the two restaurants are listed in the “Osterie d’Italia 2001” guide, the handbook for authentic Italian eating.
During the presentation of these events, Armando Ferrari, Mayor of Bardolino, Enrico Merenda, President of the Promotion Agency, and Fernando Morando of the Chamber of Commerce emphasized how promoting typical local products and cuisine tied to the territory is one of the main pillars supporting the tourist promotion of Garda and the surrounding areas.