Reviving Lake Garda’s Porto Catena with Ancient Bragozzi and Floating Museum
Transform Porto Catena, the historic harbor of the city of Benaco, into a floating museum with moored ancient bragozzi, which until the 1950s plied Lake Garda transporting all kinds of goods. The plan also aims to have the boats sail out to open water to relive the navigation of bygone days for tourists. This is a summary of the proposal – a revival from the early 20th century – by «Berto» Foletti, the well-known figure from the Riva sailing community, still connected to the world of ancient navigation for professional reasons: he is the last surviving member of Lake Garda’s celebrated lineage of «maestri d’ascia».
Historical Images and the Current State of the Boats
“The countless historical photos, especially those from the 19th century and the early decades of this century, depict Porto Catena with the original Venetian bragozzi docked, featuring their characteristic large colorful sails,” explains Foletti. “The opening of the two lake routes and the economic and social changes in the Garda basin marked the decline of the centuries-old era of lake transportation.”
The white-haired locals, including myself, recall that after World War II, the last sail cargo ships navigated Lake Garda before being abandoned and dismantled. However, some boats avoided an inglorious end, among them the bragozzo «Norge», which was moored at Porto S. Nicolò and later transferred to other lake ports. Its structures were renovated at the time, and it belonged first to Dr. Cannobbio and later, for about fifteen years, to Guerrino Delana.
The bragozzo is now in Bardolino and has become a remarkable tourist attraction, as it is occasionally used for lake excursions. The cruise service is one of «Berto» Foletti’s proposals.
He is confident in the project’s success. In some locations along the Adriatic coast and recently in Grado – Foletti recalls – successful exhibitions of bragozzi have been staged.
“These boats of Venetian origin, characterized by their large colorful sails, came in three sizes,” explains the «maestri d’ascia». “While they are hard to find on Garda, they are available in good condition in the ports of the Adriatic. Mooring them at Porto Catena does not require extravagant expenses, so they are certainly within reach for public entities.”
The local authority must take on the task of preparing this initiative due to its enormous tourism and cultural potential. It will be a very popular event, not only attracting many tourists to make Porto Catena come alive again as in the old photographs but also offering the chance to navigate the Benaco Gulf with vessels of the past.
To turn words into action, I await the availability—and hopefully prompt—of the public entity, in particular, the «Apt».
