Garda Sardella Fishing: A Historic Tradition of Passion and Sacrifice
– There were times when sardella — or rather, sardéna, as it is called on the lakeside — was considered the “providence fish.” This is how Floreste Malfer, an ichthyologist and son of fishermen (the elementary schools in Garda are named after him), described it in the 1920s. It meant that many families around Garda at the time managed to make ends meet almost solely thanks to the large, memorable, and in some ways epic bouts of sardella fishing.
Events that involved the entire town. Woe to be excluded: it was a matter of life or death. Another local from Garda, Pino Crescini (the library is named after him), captured the fervor of the “big fishing day” perfectly. “The town’s temperature,” he wrote, “rises and reaches a fever only when sardella is announced.”
It’s a scene that’s truly frightening. A gale that disturbs the quiet of the alleys. Taverns and houses empty out, men run. Some to open fountains to pull the nets out of their baskets, others to look for carts to load them onto, some to push flat-bottomed boats into the water. One cart is already loaded, crashing toward the harbor over the cobblestones with a thunderous noise.
On another, the frenzy leads to chaos: a snag and the pile of nets tips over after a brief sway, tumbling between the wheels. In a few moments, the town erupts into excitement. Women on the streets shout to their husbands: “Come on, move, you’re staying out!” And they rush out the door with clogs in hand because there’s no room for everyone in the small boats.
The climate, fights, and sacrifice
“And indeed, on the pier,” Crescini continued, “fights and brawls among desperate people, because the place and the bread are the first to jump into the boat. For those left on land, hunger — but a hungrier, more gnashing one. And it’s heartbreaking to see with a broken heart those who leave.” A terrible yet beautiful description of not-so-distant years.
Obviously, nothing about sardéne was to be wasted. Like bread, which when fallen was picked up reverently and kissed, almost to ward off a sacrilege to its sanctity. From the kitchen of the economy, delicious dishes were born, such as sardéne òio, parsémol, and àï, which unfortunately few still prepare on the shores of a now prosperous Garda.
The recipe is very simple. After cooking the sardines on the grill and enjoying them, the remaining ones are filleted and “recycled” by seasoning them with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and a generous chopped mixture of garlic and parsley. In this way, the fillets can be stored for even a couple of days.
In fact, leaving them in the marinade for a good while enhances their flavor. Of course, they’ll turn out a bit rustic, with all that garlic infusing the fish’s flesh. But they are a true delicacy for those who do not mind strong breath and social relations.
Bepo Maffioli, one of the greatest writers on Venetian cuisine, notes that “parsley, garlic, chopped together, and olive oil” are ultimately “the basic sauce for everything cooked on the grill, especially fish.” Even the general tradition of Venetian cuisine does not avoid the Gardesan tradition.
