Places to Visit on Lake Garda

Monte Baldo is a mountain massif with a height varying from 65 m at the level of Lake Garda to 2218 m at Cima Valdritta, its highest peak. It is between the provinces of Trento and Verona and separates two large valleys which, shaped by the Quaternary glaciers, gave rise to Lake Garda and the Val d’Adige.

The group is divided into the Baldo ridge, culminating at Punta Telegrafo (2199 m) and Monte Altissimo di Nago (2070 m).
On the western side it descends quite steeply towards Garda, interrupted only by the narrow plateaus of Prada, San Zeno and Albisano.

In the southern part there is a large basin between the Baldo ridge and the steep escarpments on the Adige Valley, between Novezzina and Spiazzi, forming the beautiful meadow plateau where Ferrara di Monte Baldo is located.
Towards the south, where the Garda and Adige valleys extend and almost touch each other, the Baldo slopes towards the hilly basin of Caprino Veronese.

Monte Baldo is also called “the garden of Europe” for its great floristic heritage.
Some species of flora and fauna survived the glaciations because they were above the level of the glaciers, like an island in the middle of the sea, while in other areas they have totally disappeared. Thus were born the so-called endemic species of Baldo which can be admired in the Botanical Garden of Monte Baldo in Novezzina.

Thanks to its very varied morphological characteristics, Baldo has different climatic zones, ranging from the Mediterranean to the mountainous, boreal and finally Alpine areas. Each of these bands has diversified vegetation.
Thus we can find in the Mediterranean the presence of olive trees, vines, citrus fruits, holm oaks, black hornbeam, manna ash and downy oak and, a little higher up, chestnuts and oats, as well as low-stemmed species such as orchids, capers, rosemary, lantana, laurel, primrose, lavender, broom and many others.

While above 1000 metres, in the mountain range, we find beech, lime, white fir and larch, in the boreal range above 1800 metres, there are mountain pine, alpine juniper and heather. In this range we also find some very important blooms: in addition to the white crocus and gentian, the endemic Sedge and Anemone del Baldo and the rare Pianella della Madonna.
In the last band, the Alpine one, the vegetation is of the rocky type, characterized by the potentilla, the turnip, the rhododendron and the presence of the rare herb Caglio del Monte Baldo.

Borghetto is famous for the enchanting mills and the mighty remains of the Visconti Bridge over the Mincio river.

The Visconti Bridge was built in 1393 by order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and was connected to the Scaligero Castle above it by two high crenellated curtains and integrated into a fortified complex that extended for approximately 16 km.

From the top of the hill, the Castle continues to dominate the Mincio Valley with its towers: the Tonda Tower, a particular construction dating back to the 12th century, remains of its oldest part, while the rest of the complex dates back to the 14th century. .Inside the village, above the remains of the century-old Romanesque parish church dedicated to Santa Maria. The church of S. Marco Evangelista was built in the neoclassical style in the 11th century.

The history of Borghetto, whose name means “fortified settlement”, is closely linked to the point in which it is located: in fact, it has arisen since ancient times in the easiest point for fording the Mincio river.

The position is therefore an important and strategic crossing point and a border area between the lands of Mantua and those of Veronese. In this border area, the Gonzagas, the Scaligeris, the Viscontis, the Serenissima Republic of Venice and, in more recent times, Austria and France have followed one another.

Borghetto offers a suggestive landscape, immersed in nature and in perfect symbiosis with the river. A small village of a few houses, immersed in the waters of the Mincio which opens here and is channeled into various arms that convey the water towards the large blades of the ancient mills, recently transformed into small reception centers for tourists.

To the south of the city of Garda there is a spur of rock overlooking the lake, called the Rocca di Garda, where the Castle once stood, symbol of the political and military power of the ancient town of Garda.

The Rocca di Garda had a great reputation for impregnability and such importance that it gave its name to the entire Benacus basin, replacing the ancient Latin name of the lake with the modern one of Germanic origin.

From a geological point of view, Rocca di Garda is a mountain that emerged from the sea in the Miocene period and was later shaped by the grip of the Garda glacier. Its slopes are very wooded, covered with typical Mediterranean vegetation, while on the top there are centuries-old oaks and chestnut groves.

From the archaeological finds discovered, the human presence on the Rock dates back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. Fortified in the Lombard era, the fortress is famous for having been in the 10th century. the prison of Queen Adelaide of Burgundy.

From the archaeological excavations carried out on the Rock, some walls were found which give us an idea of ​​what the ancient castle must have looked like; a large building, with a rectangular plan, almost overlooking the lake.

The surviving foundations, dating back to the Early Middle Ages, have demonstrated the long residential use of the entire area and its use as a burial place.

Near the Rocca, in 1663 the Hermitage of the Camaldolese Benedictine Monks was built around the church of San Giorgio, a cloistered monastery, of which only some internal courtyards and the small church can be visited.

The church preserves an interesting altarpiece of Saint George killing the dragon: behind the building there are the friars’ cells and the guesthouse, a stupendous viewpoint over the Gulf of Garda and a small friars’ cemetery.

Tremosine is also called “Terrazzo del Lago” because it is located on a lively plateau overlooking the western shore of Lake Garda.

To get to Tremosine you travel along a road along the deep gorge of the Brasa torrent, sometimes dug into the rock and sometimes cantilevered over precipices.

For long centuries until the early twentieth century, the Tremosine plateau was connected to the shore of the lake, 300 meters below, only by an impervious and very steep path.

Strada della ForraOnly in 1913, on the initiative of the town’s parish priest, was the road built that goes up from the Port to the hamlet of Pieve and from here reaches Vesio. After four years of very tiring manual work and mining, the “Strada della Forra” was born and at the time, the national press gave it much prominence and defined it as “the most beautiful road in the world”.

Inside the gorge there is the effigy of the Madonna, proclaimed “patron saint of Tremosine motorists” in 1960.

Set in the bowels of the mountain, along the fissure dug by the Brasa torrent, the road is serpentine with a truly unique view of the lake, a suggestive route that fascinates with its rocks, tunnels, gorges and glimpses of the landscape.

The Ledro Valley is a pre-Alpine valley of glacial origin, located in south-western Trentino, at around 650 meters above sea level: it connects to the west with the Chiese Valley and to the east with Lake Garda.

The Ponale stream that runs through it originates from Lake Ledro located in the middle of the valley and ends in Lake Garda with a 30 meter waterfall.

Green is the dominant color of the Valley: green in the most authentic sense due to the extension of the woods that cover 70% of the total area and the green of the vast meadows that succeed the forests towards the high altitudes.

The human presence in Valle di Ledro since prehistoric times is demonstrated by the pile-dwelling settlement found in the lake which recently became part of the UNESCO heritage and which constitutes one of the most important attractions of the place.

The origin of Lake Ledro is due to a barrier of moraine origin dating back to the fourth ice age.

In addition to the pile-dwelling village, other attractions can be found in the small villages of the valley.

At the entrance to the valley, Molina owes the origin of its name to the mills which, together with sawmills, ironworks and nail factories, thrived in the area in the past and where you can still visit the old forges that produce hand-hammered nails.

After passing the villages of Tiarno di Sotto and di Sopra, it is possible to reach the nearby biotope of the small Lake Ampola, a protected oasis of great naturalistic interest which leads to the discovery of wonderful aquatic and marsh plants.

The Sanctuary of Montecastello stands on a limestone rock spur at 700 meters above sea level, overlooking Lake Garda.

It is located in Tignale, a village located almost entirely on a plateau, immersed in the greenery of olive trees, overlooking the lake, but which also has a small offshoot on the lake, called “Prà de la Fam”, where the “limonaia” of the same name is also located.

It is one of the last lemon groves on the lake still in operation and dates back to the 17th century. This lemon greenhouse is an example of the particular architectural structures present on Lake Garda, especially in the Western Riviera, which served to protect the many citrus fruit crops existing at the time from possible harsh winters.

The Sanctuary of Montecastello is one of the most important places of worship not only in Tignale but also in the whole of Lake Garda.

Its privileged position offers the visitor unique and spectacular views that range from the high peaks of Monte Baldo to the Sirmione peninsula. Recently restored, it is very popular not only with pilgrims but also with those who love its architectural, artistic and landscape beauty.

Built on the ruins of an old temple, later transformed into a Castle, the Sanctuary at the entrance has two nineteenth-century buildings which are now used as reception facilities for pilgrims, then there is a loggia and from here there is the staircase leading to the church, on two flights, which dates back to 1599.

The Sanctuary is also called the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Stella thanks to the miraculous appearance of a “star” which put an end to a bloody battle that took place in Tignale in 1200.

The Valle delle Cartiere di Toscolano has been a paper center of great importance since the fifteenth century.

The wealth of water coming from the Toscolano river which flows along the valley and the right climate made the place suitable for the construction of numerous paper mills, the first of which was already functioning in 1381, and for the start of an intense paper production and trade activity.

Even important printers moved from Venice to the shores of the lake to be closer to their best suppliers.

Over the long period of activity in the factories, talented paper makers such as the Delays, the Veroneses, the Hells, the Emmers, the Bianchi-Maffizzolis and the Donzellis took turns.

As many as 61 paper mills stood next to each other along the banks of the river, thus creating one of the largest and most important centers in Italy.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the papermaking activity of the Valley began to decline, since with the advent of new technologies, electricity replaced water as the driving force and consequently paper production was transferred to the shores of the lake where the connections are easier and more convenient and where it still continues.

Furthermore, other factors, such as strong competition and the collapse in the price of paper, led to a gradual depopulation of the Valley and the definitive cessation of industrial activity linked to paper in the 1960s.

The current landscape of the Valle delle Cartiere di Toscolano is very suggestive and characterized by thick vegetation, by the remains of the paper mills surrounded by greenery and by gorges, in some cases very deep, cut by the watercourse of the Toscolano river which, for example, between the towns of Garde and Quattroruote, flows between two very high rocky walls.

The remains of the factories, the traces of the canals that conveyed the water necessary for production, the road, sometimes dug into the rock, built by the paper entrepreneurs themselves, blend with the lush vegetation which, over time, has reclaimed the spaces left empty by the industry after the end of paper production and the slow abandonment of the Valley.

The island of Garda is located on the Brescia shore of Lake Garda in the municipality of San Felice del Benaco. It is approx. 200 meters from the promontory of Capo San Fermo, it is approximately one kilometer long and is on average 600 meters wide.

The island was inhabited already in Roman times.

Around 1220 we know that Saint Francis visited many places in northern Italy, including Lake Garda and on this quiet island he built a simple hermitage for the friars.

In 1429 the old monastery of Isola del Garda was renovated and expanded and the island became an important ecclesiastical and meditation centre.

In 1797 the monastery was definitively suppressed by Napoleon who became owner of the island.

Later, the Isola del Garda passed into state ownership and in the following years it had several owners who fixed up the villa and contributed to the creation of the park, building retaining walls towards the lake and importing fertile land and exotic plants. The palace was enriched by terraces arranged in an Italian garden with rare plants and unique flowers.

Between 1890 and 1903 the old villa was rebuilt and became the current grandiose palace in Venetian neo-Gothic style designed by the architect Rovelli.

Today the villa is owned by the Borghese Cavazza family who continues to passionately take care of the park and the palace they inhabit and which, upon reservation, open to the public with guided tours from April to October.

The Rocca di Manerba is located on a rocky spur overlooking Lake Garda, on the Brescia side.

On the top, in a spectacular position, are the remains of the ancient medieval castle known as “Rocca”, surmounted by a large cross: three circuits of defense walls dating back to the 12th-13th century are visible.

All this is inserted in a protected green area of approximately 90 hectares called the Rocca di Manerba Natural Park, a true paradise for lovers of trekking and birdwatching.

The park is characterized by a great variety of plant species, including native, Mediterranean plants and botanical rarities, such as splendid wild orchids: in a relatively small space many plants belonging to different climates coexist thanks to the presence of the lake.

We recommend a visit to the Rocca Museum, which also houses the Valtenesi Archaeological Museum.

Rocca di Manerba In the naturalistic section you can admire the tree and fauna species that populate the Park through splendid photographs; in the archaeological section, however, the historical phases of the site are retraced from the Copper Age to the Middle Ages, through the observation of the finds coming from the archaeological excavations of the Rocca, the Riparo Valtenesi, the stilt house of San Sivino and the Parish Church of S. Maria.

The protected area of the Mincio Park was established by the Lombardy Region in 1984 and includes the territory of the 13 Lombard municipalities located along the Mincio river.

The municipalities of Mantua, Ponti sul Mincio, Monzambano, Volta Mantovana, Goito, Marmirolo, Porto Mantovano, Rodigo, Curtatone, Borgo Virgilio, Bagnolo San Vito, Roncoferraro and Sustinente are part of it.

Mincio ParkThe Mincio Park extends over a vast area formed by the Mincio river which leaves Lake Garda at Peschiera del Garda (Verona), enters the Mantua area at Ponti sul Mincio crossing the gentle morainic hills of Garda and passing through many small fortified villages and then continues in the Po Valley until reaching the great Po river at Sacchetta di Sustinente.

The Mincio Park includes within it various Reserves and Natural Sites of excellence and offers a thousand ideas for visits starting from the Mincio Valleys, an important wetland, to river excursions in the lower Mincio, organized starting from Mantua, Grazie di Curtatone and Rivalta sul Mincio, to observing the storks’ nests in the Bertone forest-garden, to paddling among the reeds and cycling along the several dozen kilometers of cycle and pedestrian paths that cross the Park or that run along the Mincio from Peschiera to Mantua.

Punta San Vigilio juts out into the lake, very green with cypresses and centuries-old olive trees and is one of the most romantic places in Garda.

It has been inhabited since Roman times and the origin of its name seems to refer to the Holy Monk Vigilio who lived here in the century. IV doing his utmost to convert the people of the lake to Christianity, or, according to a legend, to the satyr Vigilius who, having loved the nymph Stella without loving him in return, blinded by anger transformed her into the rock that emerges from the waters in front of the peninsula that still bears his name today.

On the tip there is the beautiful Villa Guarienti, built in the mid-16th century based on a design by Michele Sanmicheli, a famous Venetian architect.

The villa, privately owned, is surrounded by a garden of Renaissance geometries and has the small church of San Vigilio next to it, which has older origins than the villa.

Walking along a cobbled street, we find the small port overlooked by the Locanda San Vigilio, one of the most exclusive hotels on Lake Garda.

On the north side of the peninsula we find the Baia delle Sirene, a beautiful gulf framed by the greenery of cypresses and olive trees with an equipped beach and all the services to fully enjoy the hot summer days.

Behind this small peninsula, there is Monte Luppia, famous for its prehistoric “rock carvings”: over 3000 cataloged images representing men, weapons, animals and various symbols.

The Lessinia Natural Park, established in 1990, occupies 10,000 hectares of the summit part of the Lessini Mountains, between the provinces of Verona and Vicenza.

The Lessinia Natural Park aims to enhance and preserve this territory rich in history, archaeology, unique naturalistic and geological aspects, as well as to protect the ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage of the “Cimbrian” populations.

The Lessina Natural Park is a vast plateau of woods and pastures where nature and the traditions of ancient populations merge: a land of spectacular karst phenomena and characteristic districts with typical stone roofs, of rich fossil deposits unique in the world, testifying to its origins.

The fossil deposits of Bolca-Pesciara and Monte Postale are famous, which have provided finds of plant and animal species from lagoon and oceanic environments.

Over 50 million years ago in the area of ​​the Lessinia Natural Park, in place of Bolca and all of Lessinia, there was a warm sea, rich in tropical fauna and flora. Tens of thousands of fossils, fish and plants from the Tertiary Era were extracted from Pesciara di Bolca and can today be admired in the local Fossil Museum.

The Terrazza del Brivido is located in Tremosine, another peculiarity of this area overlooking the lake.

It is a real terrace, suspended 350 meters above the lake, from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view, even for those who do not suffer from vertigo.

If the day is clear and the sun is shining, the spectacle is unique, romantic and scary at the same time, given the overhang on which the terrace is built.