A BIT OF HISTORY
The “ideological” foundation of the Lake Museum dates back to 1966, when a young and zealous teacher, Luigi Bertamè, passionate about local culture and interested in the natural and anthropic aspects of the lake, began collecting and archiving materials and artifacts related to traditions, customs, and practices. From a simple collection of objects, tools, and utensils, now obsolete, testimonies of the past life of Garda, over the years it has been enriched with other artifacts of particular historical and cultural interest, increasingly needing new storage space: from an initial cabinet at the Floreste Malfer Elementary School, it expanded to occupy an entire classroom of the school, then lay for several years in the basement of the Eurogarda Condominium (where numerous lake boats, including some of considerable size, and agricultural carts were also stored), and in 2002 it moved to the former parish cinema on Via San Francesco d’Assisi, until the new and modern setup initiated in 2010 and opened to the public at the Exhibition Hall in the courtyard of the Town Hall. In September 1966, an article appeared in the Corriere del Garda, signed by Bertamè, previewing the establishment of a “Lake Museum,” but the collection initially formed as a school activity, under the first name “Permanent Educational Exhibition of Garda Folklore,” then expanded to “Permanent Educational Exhibition of Lake Folklore” and then to “Civic Collection,” thus recognizing the popular nature of the initiative. Later, in 1981, it became the “Lake Garda Museum,” when a City Council resolution officially established the administrative institution of the museum. It was not until 2009, however, that the possibility of setting up a public exhibition became feasible, thanks to a substantial contribution from the Cariverona Foundation, supplemented by the Municipality of Garda, and an agreement signed with the CTG association of Verona for management responsibility. On May 7, 2011, the “Lake Garda Museum” was officially inaugurated and opened to the public at the Exhibition Hall adjacent to the Town Hall of Garda, curated by the CTG/El Vissinel Association based in Pastrengo. Since April 1, 2013, the Museum’s openings have been managed by the “FRIENDS OF THE LAKE GARDA MUSEUM,” passionate volunteers of Garda and its history.