Desenzano Discusses Protecting Lemon Houses as National Monuments

Can lemon houses become “national monuments” to better protect them? The proposal, which was discussed last Saturday in Desenzano, where a conference organized by the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Municipality of Desenzano took place, received more than one favorable response. Starting with that expressed by Bruno Faustini, president of the Alto Garda Mountain Community.

Opinions and Protection Initiatives

“The lemon houses with haystacks at Cima Rest are unique and original architectural features, already protected by the Superintendence. We will request further enhancement: we agree that they could be classified among the national monuments.”

Faustini recalled that “many of the professionals present at the conference already work for the Mountain Community, and there are plans to create guided tours for schoolchildren specifically through the lemon houses and other remnants of an ancient civilization that needs to be rediscovered and valorized.” The initiative will be realized at the Park Visitor Center, which will open in the early months of 2002.

The Role of the Lemon House in Tourism and History

For Alberta Cazzani of the Politecnico di Milano, “the future of lemon houses lies in incorporating them into a museum circuit aimed at attracting a segment of cultured tourism that stays along the shores of Garda.” The professor also pointed out that the economy of northern Garda, from the 14th century to the 19th, revolved around the lemon houses and their production: in fact, a significant shipment of lemons from Desenzano (by train) once traveled to St. Petersburg, in the Russian Empire.

Among the interventions was that of Giovanni Cignognetti, an architect and former mayor of Salò, who emphasized that “the lemon houses represent an approach to construction, an extremely attentive way of utilizing the territory, which teaches us an important lesson on how to operate within the environment: it is a lesson we must remember and pass on to others.”

The Conference and Its Organization

The conference, which lasted all day, was led by Maria Ida Germontani and coordinated by Marialuisa Monesi and Sira Savoldi. The setting was delicate, taking place in the rooms of the Palazzo del Turismo and the Porto Vecchio.