Bertone Park Centre

(Municipality of Goito)
Open from the beginning of March to the end of October, every year, for the holiday and festivities, the Centro Parco Bertone is also open to classrooms on school trips during weekdays.

The centre hosts cultural events during summer evenings, such as the Mediterranean music festival inspired by the migrating routes of storks. Among the entertainment offering, there are environmental education initiatives for children and families, parties, guided tours, summer camps, itineraries and playful/educational structures.
Situated in the municipal area of Goito, the Centro Parco Bertone is a small green haven (7 hectares) that stands out in the middle of the Mantua countryside, not far from the main city. The centre is a romantic park/garden, the formed lathe XIX century residence of a noble local family originally from Trentino – The counts of D’Arco – who decided to build a mansion and several annexes (stables and guesthouse). By will of Count Luigi D’Arco, a naturalist and botany enthusiast, the ancient plain forest traditional Po plain base was enriched and complemented with several exotic plant essences. In the meantime, the very morphology of the site was gradually changed into the romantic park typology, where different landscapes would alternate: small forested hills, shady paths, open clearings and meadows, ornamental flowerbeds, artificial lakes, majestic trees (worth mentioning are the imposing, 270 year-old black walnut and a two-century, 40-meter high old Gingko, considered the tallest in Italy). Thus, during the pleasant walk, visitors may see absolutely natural species and – mainly – other elements introduced by man, who modified the environment to suit its purposes.

In 1973, when the last heiress of the D’Arco family, Marchioness Giovanna, passed away, the park and the rest of the family estate became the property of Fondazione D’Arco, established by the same noblewoman. The natural management of Bosco Bertone was trusted to the Parco del Mincio authority, which restored the old forest and opened it to the public, thus valuing its educational and recreational value and turning it into the Centro Visite.

The park also boasts a stork repopulation centre, currently involving a few dozen birds that were born and raised in the area starting in 1994, the year when 12 adult storks arrived from Switzerland. The species was quite frequent in the past centuries, though it has grown to become quite rare in the Po plain and, more generally, in the rest of Italy, because of the strong anthropogenic pressure and the change the natural landscape was subjected to. Thus, the visit of the park and the above-mentioned repopulation centre takes a particular value and is highly suggestive for children and adults alike. The park features structures and educational boards, as well as an open library/play area; the audiovisual room shows the images shot by a camera constantly pointed at the net of couple of storks. The park is equipped for picnics, though no fires or barbecues are allowed. Recently, the Centro Parco was involved in a number of restructuring initiatives promoted by the park authority, which translated, among others, to the building of a food/rest area – the Ginkgo Garden Bar – open during events, initiatives and shows taking plane in the forest.