Salò Highlights 2002: Live Reports, History, and Local Perspectives
He arrives breathless and asks: “Is there a snack?”. He is told no, no ham and Groppello wine, only RAI TV. And he leaves, a bit disappointed. Another: “Are they perhaps talking about our hospital?”. No, about the Euro. The third, a retiree: “The Euro? But we haven’t even seen it yet at Campoverde and Villa!”. Monday morning, under the porticoes of the Salò municipality. As part of the program «Cominciamo bene», hosted in the studio by Ivo Garrani, the Rete Tre conducts a couple of live connections. There are students from the **Istituto tecnico «Battisti»** and some passersby, invited by phone. Director Cesare Zavattini, a simple namesake of the great, prepares the shots. “Hey, kids, form a horseshoe. And watch out for covering the columns.” Some jostle to secure a front-row seat (“to see me, my grandmother sat in front of the television as early as 7”), others take advantage of a break to sneak into the nearby bakery. Then everyone silents. Furio, the interviewer, talks with Mara, Claudia, Lucia, and Denis (“when we return from school trips abroad, before crossing the border we have to spend all our coins on snacks: in the future, it won’t be like that anymore”).
Live connections and interviews
Mary Zane asks that, in 2002, receipts be converted into lire. Stop, the allotted minutes are over. Half an hour later, another segment. Gianluigi Pezzali, “the federale” (as friends jokingly call him), brought his collection of Social Republic coins. It ends with applause for the Euro to come. At 12:30, once again Salò takes the spotlight. In «Italie», still on Raitre. Journalist Paolo Pardini arrives on a Canottieri boat. He explains that this is the homeland of Gasparo, the inventor (though some dissent) of the violin. He says: “The Germans built villas and hotels. It has become a kind of colony for them.” Romano Bracalini, from the studio, talks about the **Repubblica Sociale Italiana**. “History has played a nasty trick on the cheerful town of Garda,” he states, with images of the gulf rolling by, shrouded in a melancholic fog. “The capital was supposed to be Milan, but was discarded due to the risk of bombings. The ministries were spread across Venice, Treviso, Bergamo, and Brescia. Salò? More of a nominal than a real seat.”
Historical sites and German presence
Villa Feltrinelli in Gargnano? “Benito Mussolini lived here. The Germans had chosen it.” Vittorio Pirlo, the pharmacist and president of the Ateneo, guides visitors through the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs (now Hotel Laurin), the Ministry of Popular Culture (now owned by Carla Amadei, owner of Tassoni), and Villa Fiordaliso in Gardone Riviera, transformed into a luxury restaurant. In the background, the notes of «Il cuoco di Salò», Francesco De Gregori’s new song. Cut, and on to the lemon groves. “Today, these ruins,” the presenter assures, “are contested for billions by wealthy Germans who want to turn them into magnificent holiday villas.”
Current situation and the cycle of checks
Last moments. We return to the barge to measure the dissolved pH in the water. “Quantity: eight fifteen. It is possible to swim.” “From Germany,” Pardini unexpectedly notes, “they send their technicians every month to check if the lake is clean and suitable for bathing. They are very demanding.” Studio quip: “Lake Garda is a dependance of theirs, and they help us keep it clean.” Next to him, Angelo Benedetti (ASL) and Giuseppe Mongiello, newly appointed president of the Community. They could say a lot about it. But they aren’t even mentioned. As if they were just passing fishermen. The time is up. It’s the news. And «Bresciaoggi» begins to receive protest calls. “Too much Germany: in the texts, in the statements, in the considerations,” they grumble. “But do we matter at all?” In short, a lake divided between Lombardy, Veneto, and… Bavaria. Let’s hope for the Euro. s.z.