Antico Lavatoio

It is a public place, intended for the hand washing of clothes. The wash house is made possible by the fact that Ponti sul Mincio is an area particularly rich in springs.
April 1926 – some women of Ponti report to the mayor GAROFALO that the water of the public fountain where drinking water is drawn is cloudy and dirty with soil.
The problem was that the fountain’s drinking water pump drew dirty water from the nearby wash house.
It was therefore decided to move the washhouse further east to the adjacent land.
The land was donated by Countess Metilde D’Emilei Viganò and the project for the new wash house was approved by the engineer ing. Silvio Brugnoli.

• The project includes a sink divided into 3 TANKS: 2 SMALL for washing clothes and 1 LARGE for rinsing.
• The construction is in CONCRETE except the profiles of the tanks which are in STONE VIVA DI SANT’AMBROGIO.
• The water comes out of a drain and ends in the DUGALE ditch which then flows into the river MINCIO.

The works are carried out by the company “ROBERTO MEDAINA” of Ponti sul Mincio in 1930.
In JANUARY 1932 the public wash house was inaugurated.
The wash house is made possible by the fact that Ponti sul Mincio is an area particularly rich in RISORGIVE: the soil to the south is in fact occupied, in depth, by a mass of impermeable clay which forces the underground water to re-emerge on the surface.

• The resurgence that feeds the wash house is so abundant that in addition to the water that ends up in the wash house, there is a side pipe that drains excess water.

The spring water that supplies the washhouse has a constant temperature, both in winter and in summer, between 13 and 14 degrees.
In 2016, the wash house was renovated.
The upper grids of the sink have been placed, the underlying wall has been restored, now restored with the use of osmotic mortar, which waterproofs the walls preventing them from getting wet and above all remaining wet. All the pillars were then restored and also the internal basins that had holes in the bottom, the overflow and the secondary drain redone. The external front of the wash house was also arranged and a mechanical shutter was placed, as well as some lighthouses that illuminate the area in the evening.
The wash house is still often used today and the women of the village continue to wash their laundry in this corner of local history to live this wonderful tradition every day.
In the washrooms it is only allowed to wash clothes with Marseille soap or natural soaps. Detergents are prohibited.
It is forbidden to get wet, wash and carry out personal cleaning operations.
Access is always free to visit the ancient wash house.
The Antico Lavatoi is located in Via Roma, 25 Ponti sul Mincio (MN)