Lemons, lakes and mountains

Limone sul Garda

My excitement at finally arriving in Milan was somewhat overtaken by agitation at the extremely long wait to collect baggage and then the utter chaos at the Hertz office, where people with confirmed bookings had been waiting for sometimes two hours! The anger was palpable and its loud expression only lead to longer waits as the harried staff under enormous pressure made errors and called people out of line order. At last my turn and with trepidation reflected on the 300 K drive ahead after so little sleep and briefly considered staying a night in Milan, brushing it aside only when my trusty tom tom kicked in to firmly lead the way with her reassuring voice of authority.

The first half of the journey on the busy autostrade towards Venice and other northern European cities was stressful which was fortunate in keeping me awake but quite fraught when faced with negotiating toll stations without any cash! My credit card worked at the first two but not at the third and the tooting began in earnest when the line behind me realized I was going nowhere. Luckily after pressing the assistance button and trying to explain in halting Italian in completion of course with angry car horns, the man took pity and let me through. I think I may have to pay a fine though.

It was such a relief to at last leave the motorway and climb the narrow mountain roads to Lavarone. What calming beauty with alpine villages, high peaks, vineyards on the lower slopes and at last my destination, the tiny town Lavarone Capella, where my old friend Dolly just happened to be outside talking to her cousin when I arrived. After booking into Hotel Cervo across from her house in the piazza, and catching up during drinks and a delicious dinner of pea gnocchi and then steak, I headed to bed- not alas to dream or to sleep terribly much due I suppose to a combination of excitement and jet lag.  

Forte Belvedere

It was wonderful to set off on my first walk through the little town and up to Forte Belvidere, an almost intact Austro Hungarian fort, which is now a museum dedicated to the war experience of both Italian and Austrian soldiers. On the front line during WW1, Lavarone was  almost destroyed and very few old houses remain, one of which is Dolly’s. Walking in light rain the sound of cow bells tinkling and then church bells marking the hour I made my way along silent forest paths past the looming fort further away from town surprising two deer. The views here are sublime; mist shrouded peaks, forest, green cow fields and villages with spires in the distance and pure clean air. I had forgotten to bring water and with the steep climbing I was very thirsty so headed back to town and my first excellent Italian coffee in the little bar book ending the piazza from the hotel at the other. I still had no cash and hoped to pay wave but this wasn’t an option, and in their relaxed country attitude were happy to trust me until later in the day. I love this place!

Lavarone

After breakfast over to Dolly’s to plan the day – a drive to Limone sul Garda on the western shore of Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake to visit a restored lemon house and museum. I had read and loved Helena Atlee’s,  The Land where Lemons grow,a history of citrus cultivation in Italy. The title may seem dry but this is a most fascinating read in its interweaving of history, culture past and present, food writing and interesting people and anecdotes. I am very grateful to my sister in law Kate who gave it to me. Dolly had not heard of the lemons of Lake Garda so was  also very keen to explore. With its warm micro climate, the banks of the lake provided an opportunity to share in the lucrative citrus trade that flourished in the Italian Riviera near Genoa and in the south. Lemons had been introduced to the lake in the 13C by a religious order but it was only in the 17C that they were seriously cultivated in terraces on the banks. Even with a warmer micro climate citrus cannot cope with frost and snow so massive structures to enclose them were built with long wooden masts with supporting wooden beams which were then covered in glass in winter and removed when the weather warmed.  Even with this seriously expensive infrastructure, such was the value of the lemon trade it was profitable in the context of three lemon crops each year. 

Lake garda

Lemon Gardens along the shore

Sadly during WW1 some gardens were abandoned and others raided for their wood for use in trench building and the industry never fully recovered, finally seen off after a series of heavy frosts. However their skeletons remained  and in the mid 1990s, the Limone town government set about restoring lemon houses, one of which, El Castel Lemon Houseis now fully functioning, also including an excellent interpretative museum. This was our destination and we made the spectacular drive down through the mountains to the town of Rovereto  where we connected with the highway that leads to the western side of the lake. I have been several times to the Eastern side, close to Verona and found the small towns with spectacular lake views quite charming and Limone was equally beautiful. The road however was clogged with holiday makers, mostly German and it took us far longer than the expected 1.5 hours. As we approached along the lake I could see the pale concrete pillars of the lemon gardens rising from neat terraces from the shore.  

Structure

With cars prohibited in the old town it was necessary to find a park relatively close by as Dolly is still recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia and finds it difficult to walk distances. The path to the lemon house is well signposted with small ceramic tiles embedded in the stone and our passage along the lake bank in the now sunshine was spectacular with mountains rising steeply from the opposite shore, tiny sailing boats toiling on the deep blue lake, church spires, gardens and a glacier visible on the other side. 

Inside the lemon house

Terrace

Finally we arrived and the place is fascinating with rows of white square pillars, placed at regular distance from each other and climbing up the terraced mountain. Strong wooden beams placed over the pillars allow the garden to be covered for protection and on each terrace is planted varieties of lemon, orange, bergamot, cumquat with flowering caper bushes cascading down retaining walls. With the lake always in view the spectacle is quite stunning. After some time exploring, admiring and visiting the museum it was time to find lunch, hopefully at one of the many attractive lakeside restaurants. Leaving Dolly comfortably on a seat while I retrieved the car I reflected how fortuitous it was to have read the book, which lead us to this wonderful spot!

With a dearth of parking along the lake we drove on to Riva del Garda, parked on the edge of the old town and wandered through the main piazza towards an ancient stone gate and at last found an outside table at San Marco café. While we would have loved a lake view, sitting in the warm autumn sun in a pretty town with exquisite mountain views sipping crisp white wine with a delicious mixed salad was hard to beat.

Riva del Garda

It was cool and raining in Lavarone on our return and Dolly and I made our way to the Albergo Nazionale bar for me to pay for the morning coffee, recharge my phone and to enjoy an aperitif together. With the day closing in I returned to the hotel for dinner and Dolly home to her daughter visiting from Milan!  The end to a perfect day.