Limone sul Garda

Limone sul Garda (Gardesano: Limù) is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy (northern Italy), on the shore of Lake Garda.

Limone sul Garda

Limù
Comune
Comune di Limone sul Garda
Location of Limone sul Garda
Limone sul Garda
Location of Limone sul Garda in Italy
Limone sul Garda
Limone sul Garda (Lombardy)
Coordinates: 45°48′30″N 10°47′15″E[1]
CountryItaly
RegionLombardy
ProvinceBrescia (BS)
Government
 • MayorAntonio Martinelli
Area
 • Total26 km2 (10 sq mi)
Elevation
69 m (226 ft)
Population
 (2011)[3]
 • Total1,177
 • Density45/km2 (120/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Limonesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
25010
Dialing code0365
Saint dayJuly 10
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Despite the presence of famous cultivations of lemons (the meaning of the city's name in Italian), the town's name is probably derived from the ancient lemos (elm) or limes (Latin: boundary, referring to the communes of Brescia and the Bishopric of Trento). Between 1863 and 1905 the denomination of the comune was Limone San Giovanni.

On 13 September 1786, the famous German poet J. Wolfgang Goethe passed by the village by boat and described with this words its lemon gardens:

"We passed Limone, the mountain-gardens of which, laid out terrace-fashion, and planted with citron-trees, have a neat and rich appearance. The whole garden consists of rows of square white pillars placed at some distance from each other, and rising up the mountain in steps. On these pillars strong beams are laid, that the trees planted between them may be sheltered in the winter. The view of these pleasant objects was favored by a slow passage, and we had already passed Malcesine when the wind suddenly changed, took the direction usual in the day-time, and blew towards the north."

(Italian Journey, J. Wolfgang Goethe, 1816–17)[4]

Until the 1940s the city was reachable only by lake or through the mountains, with the road to Riva del Garda being built only 1932, but today Limone is one of the most renowned tourist resorts in the area.

Municipal government

Limone is headed by a mayor (sindaco) assisted by a legislative body, the consiglio comunale, and an executive body, the giunta comunale. Since 1995 the mayor and members of the consiglio comunale are directly elected together by resident citizens, while from 1945 to 1995 the mayor was chosen by the legislative body. The giunta comunale is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called assessori. The offices of the comune are housed in a building usually called the municipio or palazzo comunale.

Since 1995 the mayor of Limone is directly elected by citizens, originally every four, then every five years. The current mayor is Antonio Martinelli, elected on 27 May 2019.

Mayor Term start Term end Party
Giovanni Battista Martinelli 24 April 1995 14 June 2004 Ind
Franceschino Risatti 14 June 2004 27 May 2019 Ind
Antonio Martinelli 27 May 2019 incumbent Ind

Health

In 1979 researchers discovered that people in Limone possess a mutant form of apolipoprotein (called ApoA-1 Milano) in their blood, that induced a healthy form of high-density cholesterol, which resulted in a lowered risk of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.[5]

The protein appears to have given residents of the village extreme longevity - a dozen of those living here are over the age of 100 (for c. 1,000 total inhabitants). The origin of the mutation has been traced back to a couple who lived in Limone in the 17th century.[6] Research has been ongoing to develop pharmaceutical treatments against heart disease based on mimicking the beneficial effects of the ApoA-1 mutation.[7]

Sources
  1. "The World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  2. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Istat. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. "ISTAT". demo.istat.it. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  4. "Italian Journey, Goethe" (PDF). Duke University. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  5. Sirtori, C. R.; Calabresi, L.; Franceschini, G.; Baldassarre, D.; Amato, M.; Johansson, J.; Salvetti, M.; Monteduro, C.; Zulli, R.; Muiesan, M. L.; Agabiti-Rosei, E. (17 April 2001). "Cardiovascular status of carriers of the apolipoprotein A-I(Milano) mutant: the Limone sul Garda study" (PDF). Circulation. 103 (15): 1949–1954. doi:10.1161/01.cir.103.15.1949. PMID 11306522.
  6. "LONG LIFE IN LIMONE - Visit Limone Sul Garda". Visit Limone Sul Garda. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  7. Lowe, Derek (16 November 2016). "The Long Saga of Apo-A1 Milano". In the Pipeline. Retrieved 17 August 2017.



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