Alto Garda Museum in Riva Marks June 28, 1944 Massacre

A guided tour by the Museo Alto Garda in Riva del Garda will focus on the killings carried out on 28 June 1944, a local chapter of Nazi repression in the Lower Sarca area. The event is part of “Museo nella città” and will start tomorrow at 17:00 from the museum’s premises, with a route through the town centre linking historical memory to key city locations.

The visit reconstructs the SS operation ordered by Major Rudolf Tyrolf, the German police commander in Bolzano, carried out against partisans in Riva del Garda, Arco and Nago-Torbole. Eleven people were killed in total, including six from Riva del Garda: Augusto Betta, Remo Ballardini, Antonio Gambaretto, Enrico Meroni, Eugenio Impera and Gastone Franchetti. Their names are also recalled by “pietre d’inciampo” (stumbling stones) placed in Riva del Garda as part of a project promoted by the MAG last year. The tour also addresses the case of Fiore Luterotti, who after being released from a German prison was forced to cooperate with the Gestapo; his information helped trigger the arrests and killings, including the deaths of Impera and Meroni at home and the arrest and transfer to Bolzano of Franchetti and Giorgio Tosi.

The guided walk will be led by historian Lodovico Tavernini, from the museum’s Resistance section to the historic centre, with particular attention to the “pietre d’inciampo.” The activity costs €3 per person, to be added to the museum ticket, which will remain valid for a subsequent visit.
Italian Version