Widely regarded as a trailblazer in Italy’s theme park media landscape, Efrem Lamesta was the first to bring structured, in-depth storytelling about amusement parks into the digital space, turning a niche passion into a recognized editorial genre. With Gardaland: The Complete History (1975 – 2021), he takes that vision further, crafting a documentary that merges rigorous research, rare archival material, and exclusive industry voices into a compelling narrative about the evolution of Italy’s most iconic theme park, and the enduring sense of wonder it inspires.
What does Gardaland represent for you and why did you choose this park for your documentary?
Gardaland has always been the park of my childhood. It was the first theme park my parents took me to when I was a kid, and it always represented this magical place where you could escape for a day into a completely different world.
Every year there was that one special visit to Gardaland that I would wait for with excitement. It was the highlight of the year. That emotional connection stayed with me as I grew up. Then in 2018 I opened my YouTube channel dedicated to theme parks, which eventually helped create a new niche in Italy focused entirely on this industry. Because of that personal history, Gardaland felt like the most natural place to start telling a bigger story.
Gardaland is an iconic place for many generations. How did you balance nostalgia and entertainment in the documentary?
The key was research and authenticity. I spent a lot of time collecting historical material and speaking directly with people who worked at the park during different periods.
That process was important not only to make sure the information was accurate, but also to uncover stories and details that had never been publicly told before.
I searched for archival footage and images that could bring those moments back to life and place them together in one narrative. At the same time, I used my experience as a content creator to keep the pacing engaging. I didn’t want the documentary to feel like a slow historical lecture. The challenge was to respect the history while making it dynamic and enjoyable for a YouTube audience.
Thousands of people visit Gardaland every day for special occasions. What is the most emotional scene you have witnessed there?
The moments that move me the most are often the simplest ones, because they remind me of my own childhood. For example, seeing a family walking through the park and a child insisting that their dad ride a roller coaster with them.
You can often see the father hesitating, maybe a little scared of the ride, but eventually agreeing just to make their kid happy. Those small moments happen all the time in theme parks. They might seem ordinary, but to me they represent the real magic of places like Gardaland.
How did you find the transition from YouTube to a more narrative documentary format?
For me it was actually a very natural transition. My background has always been strongly influenced by cinematic storytelling, even when creating YouTube content. Because of that, working on a documentary felt like an extension of the same creative approach.
What fascinated me most was the possibility of blending the two worlds: using a documentary format while still making it work on a platform like YouTube. Seeing that combination actually resonate with the audience was probably the most satisfying part of the whole process.
In your career as a creator, is this project an isolated experiment or the beginning of a new chapter?
I would definitely like it to be the beginning of a new chapter. However, projects like this require a huge amount of time and resources. The documentary was produced entirely by me while I was also continuing to create my regular content on YouTube and other platforms. It was a massive undertaking.
So while I would love to explore this format further, it would have to happen under the right circumstances and with the right conditions to make sense creatively and logistically.
If you had to summarize the documentary in a single emotion, which one would it be?
Wonder.
That sense of wonder is what I felt as a child visiting Gardaland, and it’s exactly what I tried to capture in the documentary. Wonder for the place itself, but also for the incredible amount of work, creativity and attention to detail that goes into building a theme park. It’s that dedication that allowed Gardaland to become the number one theme park in Italy.
