Riva del Garda Cited as Outlaw Site for Telecom Antennas in Updated Map

There is also the name Riva del Garda on the updated map – provided by the undersecretary for Environment, Valerio Calzolaio – which includes the 160 Italian locations considered “outlaw” due to the presence of radio-TV and telecommunications antennas.

Unique in Trentino Alto Adige, Riva has earned this quite unflattering distinction thanks to the Omnitel telephone antenna installed on Vivaldelli house, situated on the very central Viale Roma, just a few steps from the Giardino d’Infanzia nursery school. However, it is also true that the inclusion of Riva on the list does not seem to surprise anyone.

Despite years of ongoing conflict between the municipality and the nursery school on one side, and Omnitel on the other, the second national operator’s equipment remains in place and diverts thousands of calls every day.

Legal Situation and Controversies

This battle appears to have been temporarily halted, pending a decision from the Tar, called upon to determine the legality of the ordinance issued by Mayor Malossini, which ordered the dismantling of the antennas. The mayor based this on a municipal regulation that requires such installations to be placed at certain distances from public buildings or private residences.

Complicating matters further is the lack of reliable data and scientifically accepted parameters: the threshold of danger varies from one institution to another, and even scientists’ opinions seem to be highly discordant.

In short, few certainties: the antennas are still there, the waves they emit are not beneficial (though the extent of harm is unknown), and Riva risks becoming truly famous – but not for the lake.