Lake Garda all the way round – from Sirmione in the south to Riva in the north

Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake, 52 kilometres long, with the plain to the south and the Alps to the north. A journey around it goes from Roman ruins in Sirmione to D'Annunzio's Vittoriale, the lemon terraces in Limone, and the winds at Riva.

Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake, divided between the provinces of Brescia in the south-west, Verona in the south-east and Trentino in the north. It is 52 kilometres long and up to 16 kilometres wide at its broadest point, and it has two entirely different faces. In the south, it spreads out towards the Po Plain, surrounded by low moraine hills. In the north, it cuts in between steep mountains, like a fjord at the edge of the Alps. The Romans called the lake Benacus. The name Garda came with the Lombards and means roughly watch post.

The climate is unusually mild for the latitude. Olives, pines, cypresses and palms grow by the shore, and hardy varieties of lemon thrive here, close to 46 degrees north. It is this contrast, Mediterranean below and Alps above, that makes a trip around the lake worth planning in stages.

Sirmione: Catullus's Point

Begin in the south, on the Sirmione Peninsula, which juts out and divides the lower part of the lake. Already in the 1st century BC, the area became a refuge for wealthy families from Verona, and the poet Catullus wrote about his villa here. At the far end of the peninsula lies Grotte di Catullo, the ruins of a Roman villa built around the time of the birth of Christ. It measures 167 by 105 metres and is the largest example of a Roman private building in northern Italy.

The name is a later invention. When Catullus's poems were rediscovered in the 15th century, the villa was linked to the poet, even though it was built after his death. By then the ruins were so overgrown that they looked like caves. Isabella d'Este visited the site in 1514 and 1535, and Andrea Palladio studied its construction. At the entrance to the old town stands Castello Scaligero from the 13th century, a rare medieval harbour fortress built by the della Scala family. Sirmione was then ruled by Venice from 1405 to 1797.

Salò and Gardone Riviera: the western shore

Along the western shore heading north lies Salò, and shortly after that, Gardone Riviera, one of the towns counted among I Borghi più belli d'Italia. Here lies Vittoriale degli Italiani, the estate where the poet and novelist Gabriele D'Annunzio lived from 1922 until his death in 1938.

The Vittoriale is one of Italy's most peculiar homes. The house, Villa Cargnacco, had belonged to the art historian Henry Thode and had been confiscated by the state. D'Annunzio rented it in 1921 and had the architect Giancarlo Maroni rebuild and extend it. The fascist regime, wishing to keep him away from politics in Rome, funded it generously. The estate consists of the residence Prioria, an amphitheatre, a round mausoleum, a boathouse with the MAS torpedo boat he used in 1918, and the bow of the cruiser Puglia, which in 1925 was hauled up the hill and placed in the woods behind the house. The aircraft he had flown over Vienna during the First World War was also brought here. Opinions differ, from monumental citadel to fascist amusement park, but no one forgets it.

The botanical garden Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller, managed by the artist André Heller, is also located in Gardone.

Limone sul Garda: Goethe's Lemon Terraces

Further north, the shore becomes steep. Until the 1930s, Limone sul Garda was only reachable by boat or over the mountains, and the road to Riva was not completed until 1932. The name probably does not come from the lemons, but from an old word for elm or from the Latin limes, meaning border. But it is the lemon cultivation that has made the place famous.

On 13 September 1786, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe passed Limone by boat and described in Italienische Reise the terraces up the mountain: rows of square white pillars with sturdy beams on top, so that the trees could be covered over in winter. It is these pillars, limonaie, that still characterise the slopes above the village.

Riva and Torbole: the lake of winds

Further north lies Riva del Garda, in Trentino, between the mountains Monte Rocchetta and Monte Brione. Riva belonged to Austria-Hungary until 1918. Just to the east lies Torbole.

Here the winds of the lake are explained. Lake Garda lies in a north–south direction towards the Po Plain, and the temperature differences between the mountains and the plain create winds that roll down from the mountains in the morning and turn back up in the afternoon, almost with clockwork regularity. They all have names, often in dialect. This makes Riva, Torbole and Campione gathering places for sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing, and every year the lake hosts the Centomiglia regatta.

Malcesine and Monte Baldo: the eastern shore

Heading south along the eastern shore lies Malcesine, the northernmost municipality on the lake's Venetian side and another of I Borghi più belli d'Italia. Castello Scaligero stands on a cliff where the Lombards had a fortress as early as the 6th century. The della Scala family took it in 1277, followed by the Visconti and the Republic of Venice. Outside Malcesine lie two of the lake's larger islands, Isola di Sogno and Isola dell'Olivo.

From Malcesine, a cable car runs up to Monte Baldo, the mountain range that runs parallel to the lake for 40 kilometres. The highest peak is Cima Valdritta at 2,218 metres, and the lake's surface lies at 65 metres. That difference in altitude, from olive groves to alpine mountain in a single afternoon, is Lake Garda's great asset.

The seasons by the lake

The winter is mild thanks to the lake's microclimate. In spring, wildflowers bloom such as primroses, irises, violets and red lilies, and in summer wild orchids. Summer is high season for boat traffic and water sports, when the winds in the north are at their most regular. For those who would rather view the villas and gardens in peace and quiet, spring and early autumn are the best periods.

Lake Garda in numbers

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