Garda is considered to be the most medieval town on the lake. The discoveries made in 1964 confirmed that there was already a human presence in Garda in prehistoric times; there have also been several findings from the Roman era, both on the Rocca and along the shores, close to Punta San Vigilio, where the remains of a Roman villa were brought to light. The town was considered very important thanks to the Rocca, or stronghold, which guarded the Lake. Garda passed from the Longobards to the Franks. In the 10th century King Berengario II took Queen Adelaide prisoner, in 1162 the bishop of Verona withstood the siege of Barbarossa for a year. In 1193 Garda was given to the Scaligeri by the emperor of Germany, thus becoming part of the Gardesana Colonel. The Visconti conquered the Scaligeri and after a short period of rule, in 1405 Garda passed into the hands of the Venetian Serenissima, with the arrival of the Venetians nothing in the administration of Garda actually changed. Punta San Vigilio is one of the most beautiful places on the lake and has offered hospitality to many famous peoples such as Maria Luisa of Austria, Tsar Alexander II, England’s Prince Charles and Winston Churchill.
The church of Garda is one of the oldest in the area, because in the century. X already had a chapter of canons making life in common, as well as clerics located in Torri del Benaco and Bardolino. In 1522 it was joined to the Ospedale Maggiore of Brescia. Dedicated to Santa Maria, the parish church was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1117 and then modernized and modified in 1824. Its bell tower was built in 1571. Of the ancient medieval construction of the parish church there are traces in the bell tower and in the cloister.
It rises between Garda and San Vigilio, in the locality of Scaveaghe, under Baldo. It was built by the Marquises Carlotti between the 18th and 19th centuries, starting from an old residence, which always belonged to the Carlotti family. The family went to live in that villa, after leaving the ancient palace in the center of Garda. In 1875, Edvige Aldegati, widow of the Marquis Alessandro Francesco Carlotti, commissioned the architect Giacomo Franco to renovate the villa, starting from the outside. To create the English park in front of the building, olive groves and vineyards were sacrificed. The park opens towards the lake and is decorated with terraced flower beds. The villa is now known also as Villa Carlotti Canossa because in 1920 there were no more direct heirs and the building passed to the Marquises Canossa.
Punta San Vigilio, owned by the Counts Guarienti di Brenzone, forms a peninsula that closes the Gulf of Garda to the northwest. In this small prominence there are a villa, a small church, a historic inn, a small port, the Baia delle Sirene. San Vigilio has always been a destination for illustrious visitors, including Maria Luigia duchess of Parma, the king of Naples, the emperor Alexander of Russia, the Nobel laureate Otto Hahn and his wife, the painter Edith Junghans, Winston Churchill, the actors Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Prince Charles of England.
Discover all the points of interest in the city.
Friday
Festa di Maria SS. Assunta 15th August
Ospedale di Bussolengo Via Ospedale, 4/6, 37012 Bussolengo VR
DEL GARDA – DR. NELLO GOTTARDI Corso Italia, 78
SPIAGGIA LA CAVALLA SPIAGGIA BAIA DELLE SIRENE SPIAGGIA NATURISTA PUNTA S. VIGILIO SPIAGGIA AL CORNO
PORTO – Lungo Lago Regina Adelaide, 36