Garda Community Faces Funding Shortfall and Revitalization Challenges

During the first assembly after the renewal, in Bardolino, the president of the Comunità del Garda, Giuseppe Mongiello, and the secretary general Lucio Ceresa presented the accounts: 360 million euros in contributions to be collected from the three regions and about fifty million euros in arrears from the municipalities. It was decided to entrust the matter to legal experts to recover the funds. Meanwhile, Claudio Molinari, the Culture Councilor of the Provincia autonoma di Trento (the largest debtor), narrowly escaped trouble: just the day before, his “boss,” Lorenzo Dellai, had instructed the Budget Office to access the funds.

Then, as Bresciaoggi has already reported, the assembly discussed some original projects (the Villafranca race track, approved by Veneto; the equestrian racetrack requested also by a group of Brescia industrialists; the railway between Peschiera and Gardaland; rehabilitation clinics linked to hospitals in Austria and Germany), and served to assess the current situation. Present at the meeting were the president of the Provincia di Verona, Aleardo Merlin; the Public Works assessor at Palazzo Broletto, Mauro Parolini; Aldo Brancher, coordinator of the Casa delle Libertà program (one of the architects of the agreement between Forza Italia and Lega); the key figures of the Azienda speciale Garda Uno, Guido Maruelli; of the Apt di Brescia, Maurizio Banzola; and of the Verona-side lakeside organization, Marco Zaninelli.

Numerous points were discussed by Mongiello, starting with the Statute. “The image of the Comunità – he said – is quite faded. How many lake citizens know of its existence or feel its effects? It is used more by outsiders. We need to increase awareness of shared interests to defend.”

This underscores the importance of coordinating the different economic sectors, beginning with tourism. “We participated in three major fairs: Berlin, Budapest, and Munich, where we met with the Germans from Adac to define initiatives on recreational navigation and environmental quality.

The primary goal is to act as a liaison with agencies responsible for water control, levels, and safety. In this regard, I announce that there are well-founded chances of retrieving the Coast Guard’s patrol boat.

Other areas for discussion include transportation, traffic management, territorial protection and planning. Editorial initiatives will also be strengthened,” assured Compagnia delle Opere and newly appointed press officer Carla Boroni. And Gardaeventi? “It failed to take off, perhaps because it was too focused on dance. It was also not prepared for a plurality of functions in the fields of sport, culture, and tourism.

In fact, the otherwise commendable intentions of the Comunità were undermined by events of elitist or overly local character. A project with broad scope was missing.”

There was also mention of the Lotteria granted by the ministero della Finanze (which will be linked to a race organized by the team of the Centomiglia di Gargnano), another on establishing a comprehensive archival system, later an international conference on the Garda area, and consulting provided to graduate students.

At the end, Mongiello recalled the delegated roles: vice president Giovanni Zappalà, mayor of Brenzone, will handle relations with entities (facilitating the return of dissenters); geologist Vincenzo Ceschini will focus on environment and territory; Antonio Pasotti on tourism; Clara Merici on overall image; Marcello Cobelli on the Internet; Bruno Righetti on inland area issues.

The duties of Marcello Beschi, Adelio Zanelli, former president, and Davide Bendinelli, assessor of the Provincia di Verona, will be defined in the future.