A guided tour at MAG on the promotion of Lake Garda as a tourist destination

The Museo Alto Garda in Riva del Garda is offering a guided tour on Sunday, 23 August, at 10:30 a.m. of the exhibition “Visit Lake Garda. Graphic design and promotion from the Belle Époque to modern tourism”. The tour traces the creation of the lake’s tourist image through posters, postcards, brochures, period printing houses and films from the Istituto Luce.

The exhibition shows how Lake Garda became a recognisable European destination even before the arrival of mass tourism. Belle Époque images presented it as the “Mediterranean of the Alps”, associating it with landscapes, elegance and a Mediterranean atmosphere.

The exhibition follows the development of tourism communication through the 1930s. The construction of the Gardesana brought ideas of speed and modernity to the fore, while graphic design moved towards more concise and dynamic lines, also influenced by Futurism.

The tour offers an opportunity to learn about the stories connected with more than one hundred works, while observing how the lake was first created in the public imagination through printed images and later also portrayed through cinema. Posters, postcards and films document the shift from a static representation to the promotion of a territory to be experienced and travelled through.

Admission to the museum includes participation in the tour. No booking is required.