On the southern coast of Lake Garda there is a town full of historical and naturalistic surprises. Are you ready to go on a low cost trip?
Sirmione it stands on a peninsula on the southern coast of Garda Lake . To its right are Peschiera del Garda, Lazise, Bardolino and Garda; to his left Desenzano del Garda, Padenghe sul Garda, Moniga del Garda, San Felice del Benaco, and a little further up, Salò.
Sirmione historic center, how to get there
The morning of ours visit to Sirmione, there was a slight haze over the lake, which glowed in the light of the morning sun. It was half past nine, and the air was already warm. We left the car in the Piazzale Monte Baldo car park, the closest to the historical center of Sirmione. In fact it is not possible to access it with cars, which must be left in the various municipal paid parking lots. Residents also park outside, opposite walls of the Rocca Scaligera. The historic center can also be reached by shuttle service, whose ticket can be purchased both on the ground and in the turrets located at the stops.
Visit to the Rocca Scaligera
Our visit to this pretty village started right from the Rocca, of which you can visit the dock, the battlements, and the keep. In the dock, the visit is carried out with a guide.
The Rocca Scaligera was built around the thirteenth century, From Scala family, who used it as a merchant port, since they lived on trade. Since the lake water is no more than two and a half meters deep at that point, only small boats could access it. After the Scala family, the fortress was controlled for a long time by the Visconti family, and finally from Republic of Venice, until its fall.
The tallest tower, the keep, is called shield, due to the way it was built, an architectural feature of the Scala family. In medieval times, a castle could be considered occupied, only if it was conquered up to its inside, therefore the fortress had different defenses. One of these was precisely the way in which the keep had been erected, divided into three floors, connected to each other by a ladder, which allowed to see the way in which the men were disposed, in case of attack. Besides the battlements, there were and still are loopholes, from which the archers shot their arrows towards the enemy.
Proceeding through the streets and underpasses, we arrived in a small square where there was this two-storey stone building, which I believe is the most photographed, due to a purple bougainvillea which covered the entire façade, and extended, through the telephone cables, to the building next door, almost embracing it. In front, under an arch that frames a ladder adorned with a climbing plant, there was a plaque bearing a verse from Dante's Inferno, canto XX, "Suso in Italia bella lies a laco, it has the name Benaco", for indicate the Dante Alighieri Civic Gallery.
Parks and beaches
Continuing our visit, we skirted the Don Lino Zorzi Park until we reach what was once the home of the divine Callas, and following the directions, we reached the archaeological area of Grottoes of Catullus, which are located on the north coast of the peninsula on which Sirmione stands, and from which you have a panoramic view of the lake.
There are also beaches there for bathers. The archaeological area is entirely pedestrianized, and you can walk among what once must have been the internal garden and the panoramic terrace of the villa, the living rooms and the spas.
We stayed in an apartment located in Colombare area, just under a kilometer from the Brema beach and the arteries leading out of Sirmione.
