Salò Society Holds Elections, Awards, and Celebrates 142 Years
Tomorrow, Saturday, March 24, at the sede located in via S. Bernardino in Salò, from 10 am to 12 pm and from 4 pm to 6 pm, voting booths will be open for the renewal of the board of directors (twelve members) of the «Società di mutuo soccorso artigiana-operaia».
There are twenty-five candidates, with a maximum of seven preferences to be expressed. For those who arrive late, voting will continue on Sunday, during the annual assembly. After the mass at the Monastero della Visitazione di Villa (at 9:30 am), President Dino Comini will read the moral and financial report in the conference hall of the «Panoramica» restaurant.
Activities and Awards
Followed by an aperitif and a meal. At the end, the awards for members with 50 years of membership (Luigi Tarolli) and the presentation of the honor diploma to engineer Luciano Silveri «for his unique and original life choice of dedicating his professional skills to serving the less fortunate, with the gift of the talents received».
Silveri’s recognition comes after Tullio Foffa, «the man who reads the weather», awarded in 2000; Marisa Basso Tonoli (’99); Mother Assunta Corti (’98); Dr. Ugo Gagliardi (’97); Renzo Regosa (’96); Monsignor Paolo Zanetti (’95); and the historian Mario Ebranati (’94).
History and Activities of the Association
The «Mutuo soccorso» celebrates 142 years. Created in 1859 (initially including members from Maderno, Toscolano, Gardone Riviera, Campoverde, and Volciano), it provided subsidies to sick or injured workers, covered half of medical visits, and supported families in difficulty.
It organized free evening classes for adults (in 1861), maintained the art school, supported the birth of the nursery (1863), founded the Banca Popolare di Salò (1869), the Cooperative (1897), and the Union of Consumption (1906). Honorary presidents included Giuseppe Garibaldi, Giuseppe Zanardelli, and the sculptor Angelo Zanelli, the same who created the bust of Gasparo, and designed the monument to the fallen in Piazza Vittoria and a frieze at the Altare della Patria in Rome.
With health care now managed by the state, the association has lost significance and experienced a period of low activity, dropping to just fifty members. Since January 1, 1994, it has revitalized itself with a new statute and opened to women.
Abandoning the now obsolete «contribution» for those in need, it has opened up to the community by supporting various initiatives. It has, in short, become more lively than ever. The number of members continues to grow: now 349.
In 2000, the society awarded scholarships to students of the Scuola Bottega, projected old photographs to the elderly at the nursing home, purchased and distributed local history books, hosted dialect comedy and operetta performances, set up the nativity scene in the Duomo, participated in shows at the Vittoriale, organized trips to the Varone waterfalls, and celebrated popular events («Salò: immagini e sapori», Carnival, late summer festival in the hills, chestnut roasting, and spiedo with the Alpini).
The membership card also grants discounts at opticians, orthopedics stores, polyclinics, on tickets to the Cristal cinema, and in bookstores. The society’s headquarters, located in the twisted Tresanda house, hosts the offices of the Alpini and the Cai associations, a family residence, and a warehouse.
The income from rents and membership fees funds various activities. The outgoing board of directors includes Dino Comini (President), referred to as the prince of shoes, always ready to advance on the path of solidarity; Adolfo Banali (Vice President); Pierangelo Del Mancino (Secretary); Stefano Bana; Pierluigi Zanca; Giuseppe Morandini; Sergio Tonacci (who provides free bureaucratic-administrative assistance for potential issues with the Azienda Sanitaria); Bruno Scalmana; Luanella Molinari; Gino Silvestri; Anna and Vittorino Apollonio.
