Limone Hoteliers Threaten Protest Over Highway Closure During Easter

The hoteliers of Limone are up in arms; if the Western Gardesana highway, which connects the Brescian town to Riva, is not reopened at least partially for Easter holidays, they threaten to mass boycott the upcoming political elections on Sunday, May 13.

The Brescian hoteliers also request that in the Alto Garda area, road signs be installed indicating the possibility to reach Limone by ferry, which has been shuttling between Riva and Limone for several months now.

Threats of Protest and Future Actions

“If our demands are not fully accepted by the administrations of the Province of Trento and the Municipality of Riva, we will undertake protest actions,” says Chicco Risatti, president of the hoteliers of the Riviera dei Limoni and vice mayor of Limone. “Therefore, on May 13, not only will we abstain from voting, but we will also inform the unions that, for this tourist season, we will be forced to drastically reduce staffing.”

Furthermore, the inevitable decline in tourist numbers will also lead to disruptions in supplies to hotels by Trentino wholesalers.

“But that’s not all,” Risatti continues, “we will instruct our legal team to represent us in court and to seek damages from the Trentino authorities. We also plan to organize protests in Trento, outside the Province headquarters, as well as in Riva, Arco, and Torbole. If nothing moves in the meantime, we will start mobilizing from next Monday.”

Tourist Forecasts and Traffic Situation

For the upcoming Easter holidays, a decrease in visitors to Limone of between 40 and 50 percent compared to the same period last year is expected.

The tourist center of the Alto Garda region in Brescia can only be reached by land from the south; meanwhile, most visitors who have stayed in this town, also known for the longevity of its inhabitants and where all economic activities are tourism-related, arrived from Riva via the section of Gardesana road that was blocked by a massive landslide a few months ago.

If the residents of Limone are furious, the Rivans are clearly not amused. There are fears that the capital of Trentino’s Garda will remain trapped in a traffic gridlock.

To mitigate this, strict measures will be implemented by the city police; one of these pertains to the parking area near the ferry terminal: if more cars arrive there than can be transported by the Navigarda ferries, they will be forcibly removed.