The Territory - Lake Garda
"...Garda là in fondo solleva la rocca sua fosca
sovra lo specchio liquido,
cantando una saga d'antiche cittadi sepolte
e di regine barbare."
Giosuè Carducci
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Lake Garda, a Mediterranean oasis stretching up into the Alps as far as
the ramifications of the Brenta-Adamello group, was formed during the
last lce Age. Its overall surface area is 370 sq. km- The climate is
temperate and mild and the unusual vegetation of the area has much in
common with the southern regions of ltaly.Given these features, the
lakeside areas have since ancient times seen flourishing civilisations,
from the paleolithic to the neolithic (especially in the Pai locality,
whose very name derives from
<<palafittes>>), from the Bronze Age to the
first settlements of the Gauls, until the area finally became one of
the strongholds of the Romans. The long peninsula at Sirmione, sung of
by Valerius Catullus, still today has extensive remains of an enormous
Roman Villa. Other villas have been discovered, together with roads and
fortifications, along the entire Riviera of Olives, as the Veronese
east bank of the Lake is called and where not only is D.O.C. olive oil
produced, but also famous D.O.C. wines, such as Bianco di Custoza and
Bardolino.
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 Garda |
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A civilisation of ancient traditions in history and art, it is today
the destination of international tourism which has made Garda one of
the most popular tourist areas in Europe. This background of artistic
tradition includes such treasures of European art as the church and
frescoes at S.Andrea di Sommacampagna (X-Xll Centuries), the
architectural beauties of a town such as Lazise (Scaliger walls,
Venetian Customs House, the church of San Nicolo'), the exceptional
basilica of S. Severo in Bardolino (X-Xll centuries), unique in Europe
with its huge frescoes of the Story of the Cross and the Apocalypse, as
well as the Palatine Chapel of S. Zeno (lX Century) again in Bardolino,
or the secular frescoes o f the small church of S.Zen de l'Oselet at
Castelletto di Brenzone. This is a pictorial culture which firmly links
Garda to Europe. Nor should one forget the castles and the towers of
the area, such as the famous castle at Malcesine, which J. W. Goethe,
the first <<tourist>> of modern history,
visited and drew (Scaliger base built on ancient Roman foundations),
the Castle of Torri del Benaco, built near the ancient tower of
Berengar (X Century), the fortress of Garda on which the most powerful
castle of the area was built, guarding (from which the Lake itself was
eventually named) the entire lake area in times of terrible pestilence
and regular invasion. Today , a short way off, the Hermitage of the
Camaldolesi Friars teaches peace and serenity. |
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The Scaligers who built these castles were followed in the XV Century
by the V enetians, who also built many other fortresses around Garda,
such as the << Arnese Fort>> at Peschiera,
a military citadel standing on the River Mincio where it flows out of
the Lake; not to mention many villas, numbering in their tens on the
Veronese bank, and public palaces, such as the Captain's Palace in
Malcesine, the Customs House at Lazise and the Lodge built by
Sanmicheli at Garda. |
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Looming above the Riviera of Olives is Mount Baldo, with its
several peaks of Naole, Telegrafo and Valdritta, an ideal and rewarding
excursion for the visitor with time to spare: with its unique flora,
deriving from the fact that the higher peaks were not submersed under
the last ice age, together with very ancient, prehistoric paths (such
as that at S. Zeno di Montagna) and very modern winter sports
facilities (cable cars and ski lifts at Malcesine - Tratto Spino -
Prada - Costabella, Spiazzi - Novezzina).
Azienda Vinicola Valetti Luigi
Vini Classici di Qualità della Provincia di Verona 37010 Calmasino di Bardolino (VR) - Via Pragrande, 8 - Lago di Garda - Italia Tel & Fax +39 045 7235075 E-Mail: valetti@valetti.it P. IVA 00285210233
Sirmione