Drought in Italy: drought changes Lake Garda

“It’s a beautiful sight, but sad at the same time because it’s caused by drought,” says Albert Bamburi, who cycled here from nearby Brescia with his wife and two friends. “Hopefully it won’t go on like this for too long,” the 62-year-old added.

Italy is in a dry land and so is France battling drought:

Like Vorhauser and Pampuri, visitors flock on foot or by bike along the narrow path that now connects San Biago Island to the beach. The island, with its cypress trees and white rocky beaches, was only accessible by boat in the past.

The unusual phenomenon is reminiscent of the installation “Floating Piers” by packaging artist Christo, who had yellow fabric-covered piers floating on nearby Lake Iseo in 2016. “But those were artificial bridges, whereas this is a natural work of art,” says the teacher. Agata Carteri, 48 years old.

Five years ago, Matteo Fiore waded into San Biagio with his backpack high over his head. “The water was up to my chest, it was an adventure,” the 45-year-old social worker recalled as he and his family looked out over the land bridge. Everywhere, families picnic on the grass, and kids climb on the rocks on the beach.

“The curiosity to see things that are usually covered by water,” says Paolo Artlio, head of the local tourism agency Vizietgarda, “allows a new type of tourism. They include the Caves of Catulus, the ruins of a Roman villa on the Sirmione peninsula, which are now partially exposed thanks to the lowering water level.

Here is a documentary by Harald Lich on the state of global climate research:

But the small community of Manerba del Garda benefits from the new land bridge to San Biagio. “The island has become a popular attraction in the off-season,” says Mayor Flaviano Matteotti. “But if the water levels don’t rise, we’ll have to dredge the ports so that tourist boats can dock. That will be the first time.”

Approximately 28 million tourists visit Lake Garda each year, 40 percent of whom come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Representatives of the authorities attach importance to the fact that nothing changes for tourists at the moment. Lake Garda is still 136 meters deep on average, says Pierlusio Sirisa, Secretary General of the Federation of Lake Garda Municipalities. Tourists can “surf, sail and swim as they please”. It was “too early to declare a disaster”. If it rains in the coming weeks, “the situation will return to normal.”