Peschiera del Garda Awards for Local Research on Lemon Houses and Roman Artifacts
A town not only for tourism and art. For several years, the Arilicense center can rightfully boast the title of a citadel of culture thanks to an important window opened to the university world. This attention is not recent, nor is it attributable to the usual flourishing of initiatives that suddenly emerge near administrative deadlines.
The scholarship «Città di Peschiera del Garda e territorio benacense» promoted by the Department of Culture and now in its fifth edition awarded Friday evening the interesting and detailed thesis written jointly by Michela Pinamonte of Garda and Barbara Zanetti of Lazise.
Analysis of the history of the lemon houses of Garda
The two young women presented to the Faculty of Architecture in Venice a comprehensive analysis on «The Lemon Houses of Garda: History and Project». A very original work that the competition committee, composed of President Giorgio Maria Cambiè, Director of the Civic Museums of Verona Paola Marini, geographer Eugenio Turri, and Professor Alfredo Buonopane, awarded with a prize of three million lire.
«We took two years to complete research that starts from the 13th century and also pays attention to the methods of production and cultivation techniques of Garda citrons», explains Barbara Zanetti after the award ceremony held in the civic hall of the library in the presence of about thirty people.
«The cultivation of lemons has shaped the morphological aspect of entire areas, especially on the Brescia side, from Salò to Limone. Evident signs even today with hundreds of pillars soaring towards the sky, neatly aligned and surrounded on three sides by high white stone walls, forming true citrus gardens», Zanetti added, recalling the presence of important lemon houses in Torri and Punta San Vigilio.
«Furthermore, on the Veronese coast, we found significant remains also in Colà, Lazise, and Bardolino, inside the former Villa Botta now called Magnolie».
Historical studies on ancient Arilica
Of a very different genre and historical period is Elena Benvenuti’s thesis, a resident of Verona in Borgo Trento, which received second prize (a two million lire award) with her study: «Roman Amphorae from the excavations of Peschiera; topographical data and trade routes». It offers a thorough reconstructive hypothesis of Roman-period buildings in the historic center of Peschiera, defining their functionality precisely with the support of detailed graphic documentation.
This confirms the role of the settlement of ancient Arilica within the context of the Romanization of Lake Garda and its active participation in trade networks of the Po Valley area from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The jury also highlighted the works of Paola Testa from Malcesine, «Analysis of a particular river environment: the Aril River», and Stefano Minozzi from Bonferraro, «Bernardino Cillenio da Peschiera’s commentary on Tibullus’ elegies».
Award ceremony and future prospects
At the award ceremony hosted by journalist Giuditta Bolognesi, the culture assessor Valter Montresor and the budget assessor Fausto Luciani were present. Both emphasized the increasing number of participants (rising from two in the first edition to fifteen this year) and the difficulty faced by the committee in ranking the submissions, considering the high quality of the works presented.
All theses are now available at the library. And for the next edition, the monetary prizes will be increased thanks to…
