The nostalgie of the Belle Epoque..

This old picture shows a small town of Lake Garda situated on the extreme northen shore of Lake Garda. This town has enherited a rich history for its location on a border line between the three regions of Trentino, Veneto and Lombardia. It has  numerous fortress constructions that date back from Medieval times since which Riva (or Ripa in the local dialect) was a strategic point of defence of Trento Dukes, afterwards - Verona's della Scala family and Venetians.

 In this picture Riva is a tiny and quiet town of fishermen at the beginning of XX century when only a couple of historic buildings have a sign "Hotel" outside, the  streets are inhabited with the local people and those few foreign tourists that start visiting this shore of the Lake are observed and noticed with curiosity and respect.

The high quality of tourism - the Belle Epoque of pre-war times - brought high eclaim of Riva among the elite of those times: the Emperors of Hungarian Empire, the writers Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Franz Kafka and Nitsche, the American millionaier Vanderbilt and the Russian Great Duches Olga Aleksandrova (sister of tzar Nikola II), the Archduke Francesco Ferdinando, who chose Riva to breath the fresh meditarrenean air and enjoy the luxurious parks and gardens.

The lakeside above rappresented remained untouched and offeres the visitors the stunning views over the mountains that embrace the town on both sides where the lake seems to have no end, like a sea that hides its continuation behind the rocks. The magnificent cipruses still rise on the peninsular of the park which "enters into the lake".

Lago di Garda, Riva delGarda



"Qui è molto tranquillo... Il lago di Garda è meraviglioso; ci sono gite in battello, escursioni, cascate, una vecchia e graziosa cittadina, un buon hotel e un vitto eccellente, cose che danno un indescrivibile senso d isicurezza." Lo colpiva l'"azzurro perfetto" del lago, la luce: "Sono capace di accecarmi sulla striscia luminosa dei riflessi argentei, che il sole di mezzogiorno getta per tutta la lunghezza del lago, per cercarvi una piccola barca, che vi sembra perduta dentro, e penso che questo - per quanto forse sia impossibile perché nessuno lo riesce a vedere - lo si debba dipingere: questo esercito di stelle d'argento in cui si muove il punto nero."

(Heinrich Mann, 1893)

LAKE GARDA, RIVA DEL GARDA

A point of arrival for many tourists, a must on many Grand Tours, Lake Garda is a subject which has always attracted gazes of curiosity, capturing people's attention ever since the early days of photography.
Il Tempo e l'istante (The Time and the Instant) is a temporary exhibition of photographic landscapes of Lake Garda at the Civic Museum of Riva del Garda. It is a journey over almost a century and a half of history, an excursus through its natural environment, local society, tourism and its transformation, rendered through images chosen from the vast heritage, evoking those who have lived through those periods, in various moments of its passing. Among the protagonists of this era, it is the tourists who frame many of the most beautiful or powerful views, or who have their photos taken in poses that change just as the tastes of the times depicted in this exhibition do. Some of the images chosen to represent this photographic journey are the work of photographers famous for in their day, such as Napoleone Segantini or Alois Beer. Furthermore, there is a particular focus on photographic publications of this era.
Observing the photos you can notice the numerous changes that have taken place in the small towns on the Lake: the fishermen's boats are replaced by the lakeside walking areas now full of flowers, palms, cafes and lots of tourists. The sand beaches are equipped with shower stands, beach volleyball and cyclers who make their way among the people lying in the sun.... And you feel like missing those times when the beauty untouched by men was not the destination of mass tourism. This exhibition makes you imagine living Lake Garda in its oroginal unspoiled beauty when it belonged only to a few number of local people and the elite of the Belle Epoque with Goethe, Nitzsche or Gabriele D'Annunzio.   

the porphyry cope with the scratches

BASILICA OF SAINT ZENO IN VERONA

There are many leggends connected with the Saint patron of Verona, San Zeno and the beautiful basilica that carries his name.
For example, in 589 when Verona was flooded by the waters of river Adige, the locals saved themselves within the church of San Zeno and certainly attributed such a mercy to the grace of the Saint.
Another legend regards the giganic cope made of porphyry which is situated inside the basilica. They say that Satan threw it inside the church as the sign of his defeat agains Zeno and left his nail scratches on the cope.



The first building of the church was build in 380 after the death of the bishop in approximately the same position where it is situated at present. In the Roman period there used to be the cemetry. However, with the arrivals of barbarians (Lombards in this area of Italy), all the city and its heritage came into decline. The famous archdeacon Pacifico,who restored many of the most important places of cult in Verona in the epoque of Carl the Great (of his son Ottone I who resided in Verona), is thought to give  birth to the church. The remains of Saint Zeno were brought here in 807 from the benedectian monastry placed on the right of the church and that already existed at those times. However, the Ungarian invasion of IX-X century brought the building to ruins as many other churches of the town. The two complete reconstructions of XI and XIIcenturies saw the basilica emerge in its present look. Only a few modifications took place afterwards, but in general, the building has remained the same from the romanesque period, and this is one of its main treasures.

First of all, what is the difference between a basilica and a church? Basilica is a church that consists of at least three aisles and the central aisle is higher than the others. The facade of Basilica San Zeno is made in harmony with the proportions and has that typical colour of the stones of Verona area. 

I have been to many popular tourist destinations, but when I first visited Verona I couldn't simply help falling in love with this gracious and antient city! It is not only a romantic place famous for the masterpice of Shakespiere's "Juliet and Romeo", but one of those cities that preserved its medieval atmosphere and continuation of its development starting from the period of Roman Empire to the present days.

My recent discovery is an ancient romanesque basilica of San Zeno, which is one of the most important churches of this style in Italy.          
                                                                                           

the facade with the typical elements of  Verona style of romanesque
like "protiro"- the decoration in a form of a roof above the entrance

It was build in the honour of the first bishop of Verona - San Zeno, who was also the first preacher here at the beginning of IV century. His supposed date of birth is 300 and Zeno became the bishop in 362. The curious fact is that he had african origins (Cesaria in Mauritania was his place of birth), and and he is the Saint patron of Verona. Being very dear to the local people, there are many legends connected with him, and one can personally decide which of them are truth and which are myths.