Grand Tour 2023, Garda tells its story

23 September 2023

For the second year running, the Lake Garda Tourism Observatory (OTG) is proposing the Grand Tour, a travelling space for discussion and debate, hosted in five locations around Lake Garda, in Veneto, Lombardy and Trentino.
For five weekends in October (which has been named "the month of tourism"), on Saturday there will be a meeting with a lectio proposed by a lecturer from a national university on topics relating to Lake Garda or related to it, followed by a guided visit to a nearby location of particular interest.
Combining knowledge and beauty, reflection and passion for places: this is the spirit of the Grand Tour 2023, which has the ambition of involving administrators, students, stakeholders, and all those who love to discuss the present and the history of these extraordinary places, but above all look to the future. The guest lecturers are all highly experienced and come from national universities but also boast deep ties with foreign academies.
In keeping with its name, the Grand Tour aims to be a journey of knowledge and dialogue between several actors, all animated by the positive desire to build.
Admission to the events is free.
Present at the Grand Tour presentation conference were the mayor of Desenzano Guido Malinverno, the secretary general of the Garda Community Pierlucio Ceresa, OTG director Giovanni Gregorini, Grand Tour coordinator Maria Paola Pasini, and councillors Stefania Lorenzoni of the municipality of Desenzano, Luca Antonio Tononi of the municipality of Toscolano Maderno, and Bruna Bigagnoli of the municipality of Valeggio sul Mincio.

The Programme

Grand Tour 2023 - Garda at the crossroads of cultures, languages and innovation
30th September - 5.00 p.m. Desenzano del Garda -Villa Brunati (Loc. Rivoltella) Sala della Musa Followed by: visit to Villa Brunati "The promotion of the territory through technologies: the role of digital" Rossella Gambetti, Angela Beccanulli - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
07 October - 11.00 am Toscolano Maderno - Valle delle Cartiere - Paper Museum Followed by: visit to the Paper Museum "Networking and territorial collaborations: Italian and European examples" Patrizia Battilani - Alma Mater University of Bologna
14 October - 11.00 a.m. Arco - Palazzo dei Panni (via Segantini, 9) Auditorium Room Followed by: visit to the Galleria Civica G. Segantini to the exhibition "Orizzonti di Luce" "Il Garda as a place of linguistic and cultural encounters" Giovanni Gobber - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
21 October - 11.00 a.m. Valeggio sul Mincio - Municipal Library Followed by: visit Visconteo Bridge - Borghetto "Cultural heritage, tourism, imbalances and territorial policies. The impact of the PNRR on territories" Donatella Strangio - La Sapienza University of Rome 1
28 October - 11.00 a.m. Torri del Benaco - Auditorium San Giovanni Followed by: visit Museo Castello Scaligero and limonaia "Sustainable tourism and media narratives" Paolo Carelli - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore


The Lake Garda Tourism Observatory

What is the O.T.G. Subject: Programme of activities 2023 of the Observatory for tourism on Lake Garda and appointment of the new director and secretary The new Observatory for tourism born in 2022 from the collaboration between the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and the Garda Community, on the basis of a PNRR announcement, enters the operational phase with the presentation of some initiatives planned for 2023 and the appointment of the board of directors, director and secretary.
The Governing Council is composed of:
- Giovanni Gregorini (director), Professor I fascia Unicatt
- Maria Paola Pasini (secretary), Unicatt researcher
- Massimo Scaglioni, Professor I fascia Unicatt
- Pierlucio Ceresa, secretary general of the Garda Community
- Giovanni Panzeri, director of the Brescia branch of Unicatt
- In addition, Patrizia Avanzini was indicated by the president of Comunità del Garda as delegate for tourism issues.
Among the objectives for 2023
- A research project under the guidance of Prof. Valerio Corradi on "Trends in tourism demand on Lake Garda", which will be illustrated in detail later.
- Grand Tour 2023 II edition with five meetings in October in as many
tourist resorts around the entire lake.
- The initiation of periodic external relations with a dedicated communication on the various Community and University initiatives of tourism value (newsletter -stampastakeholder).
- Project of an international summer school for 2024.


Why an Observatory on Lake Garda?

The numbers speak for themselves. Lake Garda as a whole confirms itself as a "giant" on the national tourism scenario. Awaiting the consolidation of the 2022 data, the 2021 data confirms and accentuates already known trends that make Italy's largest lake also the most attractive area from the tourist point of view of the three regions it insists on: Lombardy, Trentino and Veneto and one of the main Italian and international destinations.
According to data from the XXVth Report on Italian Tourism 2020-2022 by CNR-IRISS, 11 municipalities on Lake Garda appear among the 30 municipalities with the highest number of presences (top 10 for each region). Large cities such as Venice, Milan, Verona and Brescia are included in the ranking.
Of the ten municipalities in Lombardy, six overlook the Benaco: Sirmione, Limone, Desenzano, Manerba, San Felice and Moniga. Milan is obviously in first place in terms of absolute values. Brescia is in ninth place followed only by Moniga. Riva and Arco dominate in Trentino-Alto Adige. Riva is in absolute first place ahead of giants such as Merano, Trento itself, and Selva di Val Gardena. In Veneto there are three municipalities included in the top ten and they are Lazise, Peschiera and Bardolino.
On a national level, according to Istat 2021 data, six municipalities from Lake Garda are among the top fifty: Lazise, Bardolino, Riva, Malcesine, Sirmione and Limone. These are just some of the data that demonstrate the 'value' of Lake Garda on an Italian and European level.


Read the full article on : https://www.gardapost.it/2023/09/23/grand-tour-2023-il-garda-si-racconta/