Bonnington Hydrotherapy Camps and Cultural Heritage of Borghetto
MIRRORING STRUCTURAL (GOLDEN RULE):
The Bonnington Hydrotherapy Camps of Borghetto
Amarcord Valeggio. Many stories could be told about the Hydrotherapy Camps (sun therapy) “Plinio Carteri” of Borghetto, opened along the banks of the Mincio River in 1936. The purpose was to “improve the race” by providing children with the opportunity to practice, during the summer months (July and August), a healthy and outdoor life: sunbathing and swimming in the pool, educational games, and various activities.
Admission to the Camps was granted after a medical visit by Dr. Agide Del Bue and scarlet fever vaccination, due to the notorious injection, i.e., the shot at the municipal clinic in Vicolo Napoleone (Palazzo Guarienti). The assistant Agnoletto (no relation to Genoa or the G8), in a white coat, assured shy children that the injection would be as light as “el becon d’un pulzo”.
The day at the camps began with a gathering in Piazza Carlo Alberto in Valeggio at 8 a.m.; then, in lines, the children descended through the short garden loops, and by 8:30 a.m., they were ready for the flag-raising. Meanwhile, Libera (the superwoman in charge of kitchens) had already served milk with a bit of cocoa and the corresponding sandwich in the dining hall.
At the “Bon appétit” given by the Director, the children responded “Thanks to the Duce”. An almost paramilitary education governed by whistles. After lunch, the children rested in the dormitories (separated by gender) on simple bunk beds, under the watchful eye of the supervisors. No noise after silence.
One of these supervisors then, in the evening, had to go to the Verona Arena to attend the opera, and before heading to the Borghetto station to board the littorina of the nearby “Mantova-Peschiera” railway, she would invite the boys to pray to God that it wouldn’t rain!
The Hymn by Vincenzo Monti and the Forties
In the 1940s, amidst the full conflict against England, a hymn by Vincenzo Monti against “perfidious Albion” became popular; composed to a marching rhythm for piano and snare drum by the Valeggio violinist Marforio. Here is Monti’s sonnet, as it appears in the “Poetry” section of the Utet edition:
“… Forge of crimes, in which / all of Europe’s harm and sorrow is stored, / time will come when you will lower your pride / if even God does not finally bury you. / The hand that tempers Latin fate / will dishevel your tresses, and it will be that this / vile market of human blood closes. / Peace will have the world: and you, fierce and cruel / sea tyrant, abandoned to the hook / you will return an unarmed fisher.”
Here is an example of an “heroic act” or almost, in line with the fierce hymn. Approaching a threatening storm that roared ominously, a Valeggio girl on a bicycle hurried down to Borghetto to fetch her frightened son. Presenting herself at the driveway gate, she was stopped by guards, who, following orders from above, refused entry, and with bayonets fixed, punctured her tire.