Thanks to  its position between the German world and the mediterranean world, Lake Garda and its surroundings were inhabited during the centuries and nowadays there are numerous historic resorts that can be visited. Here we provide for your convenience a brief summary of what’s worth visiting.

Especially in the South we have ancient roman resorts: the most important are those of Catullo’s villa in Sirmione known as “Grotte di Catullo”. After the roman age, in the Middle Ages, Lake Garda and its surroundings became the theatre of numerous battles and the towers of ancient castles are the symbol of the Scaligeri’s power from Sirmione to Malcesine.

Numerous  little churches of romanic period are a symbol of a religious and rural life in those ancient times. The soul of the ancient inhabitants of the lake still live in the following places:

Torri’s Museum: the museum of olive oil cultivation and fishing instruments;

Pescantina Museum: the museum of life on the river Adige;

Campo: a small medieval village near Torri;

Castle’s itinerary in Rivoli: the austrian and italian fortress in Val Lagarina.

It was an era defined as the Grand Tour, one in which Lake Garda became the destination of aristocrats, artists and, in the 1800's, a genuine tourist spot. In fact Lake Garda - which is the biggest lake in Italy - has a particular shape, especially if observed from the northern side: it is enclosed between two mountain chains and it shows an intense blue water color. It was this beauty that captivated travellers from Northern Europe in the past such as: Gòethe and Kafka.

During the Second World War, an important italian writer Gabriele D’Annunzio, choose Lake Garda to spend the last part of his life.  The eccentric villa Vittoriale, which is definitely worth visiting, with its park is located on the Brescia side of the lake in Gardone.