Goethe: Lake Garda's first influencer

Famous for its breathtaking landscapes, its mild climate that makes outdoor walks pleasant in all seasons, and its rich history, ancient traditions, and myths, Lake Garda has also inspired artists and writers of all times.

Long before advertising was created, i.e. long before influencers and social networks became part of everyday life, many artists have been on Lake Garda and honoured its little towns. One of them is a famous German writer you have certainly heard of… And yes, we are definitely talking about Goethe!

In 1786, during his journey around the lake, the German writer and poet wrote in his notebook:

“I might have been in Verona this evening but a magnificent natural phenomenon was in my vicinity - Lake Garda, a splendid spectacle, which I did not want to miss”.

On 13 September 1786, Goethe headed for Verona and left Torbole by boat. As the weather was beautiful and calm, he enjoyed the shades of dawn and drew the castle of Malcesine right from the boat. But then, suddenly, a stiff wind called "l’ora" ("the hour") started blowing violently on the lake, pulling the poet and his companions off the planned course and straight to Malcesine. Goethe wrote:

“Rowing was of little use against this superior power, and, therefore, we were forced to land in the harbour of Malcesine. This is the first Venetian spot on the eastern side of the lake. (…). I will make my stay here as useful as I can, especially by making a drawing of the castle, which lies close to the water, and is a beautiful object. As I passed along I took a sketch of it”. 

Once in Malcesine, impressed by the beauty of the landscape surrounding him and, above all, by the magnificent Scaliger Castle, Goethe couldn’t resist sketching it in his notebook. But suddenly, the quiet atmosphere he was enjoying was interrupted by some locals who mistook him for a foreign spy and ripped up his sketch. It was only after a long interrogatory that the podesta was sure about Goethe’s innocence and set him free to continue his trip around Italy. However, he wished that, once back over the Alps, the famous writer could enhance Malcesine and its beauty, as they had impressed him so much.

As you can probably imagine, Goethe’s discovery of Lake Garda does not need a legend to be emphasized: thanks to the author’s celebrity, in fact, Lake Garda’s charm soon spread beyond the Alps and became what we could call a real advertising campaign.

Goethe was the first to spark interest in the Gardasee, but he was soon followed by many other writers and famous artists of his time and beyond, such as Heinrich Heine, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, and André Gide.

Mann, who had been a patient in Riva del Garda in the same sanatorium as Kafka, wrote:

“It is beautiful here and I recover significantly. In the morning I row for hours on the lake and, especially at the beginning, I was always very fascinated. There is something extraordinarily moving when, after a long period of restlessness, for the first time, once again, one slips in here, into this sunny stillness, so gently whispering and softly lapping against the shore, encircled by austere mountains”.

Gide, on the other hand, stayed in Torri del Benaco and wrote:

“I had never before lived so many wonderful, beautiful days. But since the beginning of September the air is light, the heat at midday no longer excessive: the mornings and the evenings are cool”.

Over the years, many important figures have stayed on Lake Garda: Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Luise, in 1816; Emperor Alexander I of Russia, in 1822; the King of Naples, in 1823; the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi; the discoverer of penicillin, Alexander Fleming; King Juan Carlos of Spain; Sir Winston Churchill, in 1949, in Gardone; and, finally, Lady Diana and the then Prince of Wales, King Charles III.

Lake Garda was and still is a source of inspiration for many writers and artists, but that’s not all: its shores have also been the setting of several love stories, such as the one between the famous writer Gabriele D’Annunzio and the noblewoman Alessandra di Rudinì in Gardone Riviera, or like the one between the dictator Benito Mussolini and the musician Claretta Petacci in Garda.

To sum up, Lake Garda’s territory has always fascinated and attracted many people from all the world, including important figures from the past. Today as then, its unmissable landscapes, mild climate, and rich traditions make it a unique destination that is worth not one, but many visits!