Salògolosa Success: Gastronomic Event Highlights and Local Celebrations
Whatever the outcome, it will be a success, repeated Pietro Chiambretti. And for Salògolosa, it was an authentic triumph. The gastronomic-cultural event attracted hundreds of people (more than 700 tickets sold), who last Thursday strolled through the streets of the city center, entering this restaurant or that to enjoy a dish, stopping under the porticoes or in front of tables offering wines and sparkling wines, listening to music played by artists in a shop or on a house terrace.
People reclaimed the city, in a sort of open-air buffet, comforted by the mild weather. We saw Japanese tourists uncertain whether to choose herb chicken or fried aole, young people attracted to sardines in brine, elderly – perhaps reunited after years – cheerfully toasting. Meanwhile, the priest kept an eye on the…little sheep, hoping they wouldn’t overdo it with Valtenesi Groppello or Franciacorta bubbles.
Dishes, Places, and Artists in Celebration
There were salmon beef and Langhirano ham, bagoss profiteroles, pasta e fagioli, melted cheese with asparagus, trout with polenta, veal from the milk, Serle cod, orange perch. And the aperitifs with Zani’s local wine, extra virgin olive oil, desserts (onion jam, strawberries with balsamic or yogurt, lemon cake, chocolates), etc.
Locations included outside the Benaco restaurant, in Santa Giustina (Mario Felter also hosted Rino Pollini of Sirena), the Orologio tavern, the Lepanto garden, below the Municipio (for the Pargone and the students of the Alberghiero, led by Professors Dondolii and Feudàtari), La Campagnola, at Palazzo Munno the Melograno, Vassalli’s Tré Cantù tavern, at Palazzo Pantani the Gnes farm stay in Bagnolo San Michele (on Salò’s hill). Also, boutiques, shoe shops, silversmiths, delicatessens, pastry shops, barbershops.
Almost everyone was offering something: a tasting, a musical piece. About thirty wine producers participated. Around twenty artists performed in various corners: on piano, drums, bass, flute, harp, clarinet, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, violin, guitar. The event, orchestrated by Angelo Dal Bon and the Comune, will be repeated in October.
Awards and Memories
The day began with the awarding of the Gasparo da Salò prize to Dr. Vittorio Pirlo. An accolade established by Mayor Giampiero Cipani and the new administrators to honor those who made the city famous beyond our borders. Pirlo, a pharmacist in Piazza Zanardelli, is now president of the Ateneo, and also serves as a board member of the Vittoriale.
He previously served as mayor (from ’55 to ’60) and councilor in Gardone Riviera (75-80); he led the Canottieri, organized the Garda auto racing circuit (held on the Salò-Tormini-Villa-Cunettone-Zette circuit), the 1962 world cycling championships, the Rowing Challenges (canoeing), and the Oltranza motorboat cup. He held various positions: judge at the Rome Olympics, president of the Autonomous Accommodation Agency, and head of the Panathlon.
“They say that in grasping the fruit of memory, the flower withers” – stated Dr. Vittorio. “But I have never forgotten the many generous collaborators who, often rolling up their sleeves, organized an event, created an emotional experience, and upheld Salò’s name, with little or no reward, driven only by passion and sacrifice. I remember them all. I thank them. I now call them here, in my mind, around this table. This award, I dedicate to them, to the people who helped me, and to that orchestra that marked the roaring engines, the rustling of bicycle wheels, and the rhythmic, sharp splash of oars on water.”
Angelo Peretti, a banker from Verona, journalist, and culinary enthusiast, then reflected on traditional dishes of the Garda area.