Apart from being a mushroom-picking area, for those who know the “secret” spots.
You can go up from the main road, the one that starts near the police station, or as soon as you enter, take the “steep climb” that passes behind the campsite.
For those starting from our home.
Those living in Sant’Alessandro, on the opposite side of the mountain, have two other options.
All generations raised in this area of Riva—70 years ago a suburb, now a place where hotels tower and tourist apartments abound—spent their afternoons on Mount Brione.
Playing in the woods, chasing each other among the olive trees, hiding around the old wartime forts.
Carlo inherited a plot of land with about thirty olive trees from his mother. It’s located roughly halfway up to the peak, at 376 meters, where the antennas are.
Every autumn, they gift us the “Gold of Garda.” Enough for our family and to bottle a few liters for special occasions.
We have always delegated the harvest to others. We’re neither skilled nor strong enough for the task.
Our olive neighbors take care of it for us, as the owners of that plot are professionals and collect their olives at the same time.
Then, we take the olives to the Agraria cooperative, the oldest mill in the area.
In the past, you could watch the whole process in person: the washing of the fruits, the pressing, and the milling. With my dad, we used to prepare little bags because from one of the pipes came the “molche” leftovers, which, if you didn’t collect them, would be lost.
A huge waste! You can make molche bread with them or spread them on a piece of bread.
Today, everything is automated, fast, and scheduled.
Back then, it was romantic to gather with other farmers late at night in the square, waiting for the tanks of fresh oil.
Now, within a few hours, you drop off the olives and pick up the oil.
As soon as it’s bottled, the fresh oil is fluorescent green. It looks like one of those liquids the villains in cartoons throw around.
Its aroma is intoxicating, and it tingles on the tongue. It’s a true luxury product, extra virgin olive oil unique to the Mediterranean microclimate of Lake Garda.
On the evening we bring it home, we usually cook just boiled potatoes to savor its taste to the fullest.
