Benamati House Becomes Maderno Tourism Palace with Cultural Spaces
The «Benamati», located in the historic center, is the new Maderno Tourism Palace. It will host the Department of Culture, led by Fabio Cauzzi, and various associations: from the Cartiera Senior Citizens Group to Amici del Pizzocolo, from the Ski Club to Atma. The building, owned by the municipality, has been renovated and furnished at a cost of around 800 million lire.
In recent days, it temporarily housed the local police officers, who had to vacate their offices in Piazza San Marco due to a fire. Four centuries ago, the building was donated to the community by a priest. Used for various purposes (elementary school, art, crafts, and drawing institute, music school, then kindergarten), it remained vacant in the 1970s, adapted to meet needs.
Thus, it was briefly rented to Sip. Recently, it served as a lost and found storage, awaiting the rightful owner. In 1980, an overhaul of one wing was carried out, including the construction of four low-income apartments. In autumn 1999, restoration work was initiated, recently completed.
Description of the Rooms and Functions
In the stunning hall on the first floor, measuring 130 square meters and decorated with Liberty-style frescoes, the floor has been redone with a wooden parquet now. The municipal council will meet here, moving from the library; conferences, film forums, and assemblies will be held. Civil wedding ceremonies will also take place.
A modern system will allow the projection of videocassettes, DVDs, CVDs, and computer-generated slides. A carpet and a shovel depicting a rural scene, brought from Villa del Serraglio, will be displayed. The hall will bear the name of Andrea Celesti, the Venetian painter knighted by Doge Contarini, who arrived in Toscolano between 1684 and 1688.
The wealthier families of the area, owners of industries, paper mills, and lemon groves, commissioned numerous works from him. For example, the Delai family had scenes from the Old Testament painted in their palace at the port. Hundreds of square meters of paintings remain in the parish church, contributing to a lavish and colorful interior.
Celesti’s paintings crossed the borders of the Venetian Republic, with works found in Linz, Austria; Kassel, Nantes, Bordeaux, Dresden, and Potsdam. On the ground floor are rooms for the Department of Culture and associations—cultural, recreational, and sports. One of these rooms was donated to the Consorzio della Riviera dei Limoni, which preferred to keep its headquarters at the Palazzo della Comunità Montana Alto Lago in Gargnano.
These rooms are also dedicated to figures who left their mark. For instance, Nino Gaoso, originally from the Veronese side (Garda), who died in 1978. President of the retirement home for 25 years, he renovated the building donated in 1914 by the then-mayor Giovan Battista Bianchi.
Gaoso promoted the Pro Loco, later transformed into the Azienda di Soggiorno e Turismo, of which he became director. He also served as mayor in 1963 during a period of crisis. Another room is dedicated to Giacomo Benvenuti, a musician who died in 1943 at the age of just 58.
In his youth, he composed instrumental and vocal works. Later, he dedicated himself to researching and reading ancient scores, especially those of Venetian school polyphonists. He founded the series «I Classici Musicali Italiani». Also remembered is Andrea Grazioli, who graduated in medicine from the University of Padua and was called in 1567 to treat the plague.
He published the results of his experiences in a book that earned him worldwide fame and respect. A Grecist and Latinist, he also created important works in literature and philosophy. The inauguration of the Palazzo del Turismo was conducted by Mayor Paolo Elena, Vice Prefect Giaccani, Hon. Adriano Paroli, Provincial Councillor Ermes Buffoli—who is from here—, Parish Priest Don Gianfranco Mascher, and Professor Foglio, who prepared the biographies.
