Salò and Music: The Garda Music Summer

Salò has been hosting a musical event since 1958 that has achieved national acclaim over time: the Garda Music Summer (Estate Musicale del Garda).

I would like to offer the readers of GN a summary of the history of this festival.

I must begin by saying that, through a meticulous year-long effort, I have narrated the history of the first 65 editions of the Music Summer (from 1958 to 2024), retrieving and patiently scanning the materials describing the festival. This history is now available on the website of the Ateneo di Salò, which wanted to make this story accessible to anyone wishing to explore it.

The Research Sources

• The parish bulletin of Salò, “IL DUOMO”
• The archive of S&B Trade Promotion in Salò
• The municipal archive of Salò
• The Vittorio Pirlo Fund, preserved at the Ateneo
• The archive of the Comunità del Garda
• The municipal newsletter “Salò e i Salodiani”
• Materials and news provided by Dr. Flavio Casali, former director of the Salò Cultural Office.

At the beginning of this reconstruction of Salò’s musical event, I clarified that it was initially named Estate Musicale Salodiana (Salò Music Summer). Later, it first became the Estate Musicale “Gasparo da Salò” and then the Estate Musicale del Garda International Violin Festival “Gasparo da Salò”. This was a tribute to the inventor and perfecter of the modern violin, Gasparo Bertolotti, known worldwide as Gasparo da Salò. Today, the name is Estate Musicale del Garda Gasparo da Salò.

It is worth noting that the earliest editions of the festival were documented thanks to articles published in the parish bulletin Il Duomo. Since the 2000s, Il Duomo has resumed reporting on the festival seasons in the column “Music and Song” edited by Lamberto Dondio, who was also the President of the Amici della Musica Association.

Concerts and Locations

The festival has featured 407 concerts in total:

• 34 were hosted inside the Cathedral (Duomo)
• 104 were hosted in other venues, both inside and outside Salò
• 269 were hosted in the traditional venue, Piazza Duomo.

The event, which celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2024, is undoubtedly the most important musical event in Salò’s cultural landscape. Salò holds strong credentials to deserve the title “City of Music”. For decades, in July and August, Piazza Duomo—a splendid parlor under the stars framing our Cathedral—has magically transformed into a suggestive open-air theater. It has consistently offered residents, tourists, and music lovers, always numerous and engaged, performances of high artistic value, earning national and international renown.

It is a pleasure to recall that among Italian music festivals, the Salò Music Summer is one of the most long-lived, virtually contemporary with the famous Spoleto Festival. This historical timeline was initially inspired by the detailed reports dedicated to the event’s evolution from 1958 to 1972 by the parish bulletin Il Duomo, alongside the other sources mentioned above.

Artistic Directors Through the Years

• 1961–1963: Nando Benvenuti
• 1972–1976 & 1978–1980: Agostino Orizio
• 1981: Uto Ughi
• 1982–1987: Carlo Milini
• 1988: Agostino Orizio
• 1989–1996: Carlo Milini
• 1997–1998: Uto Ughi (with artistic collaboration of Paola Fontecedro)
• 1999–2002: Paola Fontecedro
• 2003–2005: Gerardo Chimini (adoptive citizen of Salò)
• 2006: Pier Carlo Orizio and Roberto Codazzi
• 2007–2024: Roberto Codazzi (up to the 65th edition)

Additionally, from 1989 until the 60th edition in 2018, the event organization was managed by S&B Trade Promotion of Salò.

My research to narrate this history was demanding yet fascinating. It gave me the happy opportunity to discover the most significant aspects of this unique festival, which honors the musical traditions of Salò. It also allowed me to rescue this story from oblivion so that locals and visitors alike can enjoy it.

This was a tribute that I, as a native of Salò who loves his city and its history, wished to pay to my hometown.

It was only right to document Salò’s most important musical event, given its longevity and artistic caliber. I felt this research should be entrusted to the Ateneo, Salò’s oldest and most prestigious cultural institution, so it could be shared publicly rather than remain stored away in archives.

Gualtiero Comini