Baldo Garda Landscape History and Conservation Insights
At Villa Quaranta, Pescantina, members of the Rotary Club Baldo Valpolicella hosted Professor Maurizio Delibori, director and founder of the Università dell’ambiente di Caprino, to listen to the history and evolution of 2000 years of life in the Baldo Garda region.
Essentially, how the landscape has transformed, how the territory has undergone a radical metamorphosis, and how this phenomenon has been “terribly” accentuated in the last 20/25 years.
“From the glacial age to today,” Delibori emphasized, “there’s always something to discover between the Baldo and the Garda,” as shown in the extensive slideshow presented to the audience by the professor.
Aerial Views and Key Locations in the Area
The aerial views of the lake, nestled between the Veronese and Brescia mountains, with the Trentino touch to the north of Riva del Garda, are stunning. The sight of the Vajo dell’Orsa with the sanctuary of Madonna della Corona embedded within is breathtaking. The landscape of Monte Moscal, the mountain that bears witness, with its untouched ridges rising over the Affi valley, has been standing for 25 million years.
Also intriguing is the presentation of Via Claudia, built by the Romans and today intersected along its entire length by one of the busiest highways: the Brenner Autobahn.
Conservation and Development of the Territory
Knowing and loving this unique and unrepeatable place means, according to Maurizio Delibori, “to preserve it”. Today’s globalization, which is so trendy, cannot and should not uproot local identity.
It is essential to stop it in order to prevent further transformations of the land, to avoid self-destruction.
In his latest book dedicated to Affi, Incaffi, and Cavaion, Delibori brought historical and fictional characters into dialogue to remind, even through fiction, of the importance of preserving local traditions and revitalizing the environment, which is more than ever today ravaged by human activity focused on immediate welfare and profit rather than healthy livability of one’s residential area.
Future Perspectives and Natural Risks
Delibori concluded with a vision of the Baldo Garda landscape centered around the year 2020.
The glaciation, a recurring event every 20,000-30,000 years, could repeat itself. With this catastrophic event, “we the local humans will be forced to rebuild the Baldo and Garda on another planet, because without this site, we will never be able to live again.” (s.b.)