Page 152 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Milan & The Lakes

150  THE LAKES OF NOR THERN IT AL Y

1 Sirmione + Rocca Scaligera centre is Piazza Malvezzi, home
Piazza Castello. Tel 030-91 64 68. to an antiques market known
Brescia. * 8,200. n Viale Open 8:30am–7:30pm Tue–Sat,
Marconi 8 (030-91 61 14). 8:30am–2pm Sun. Closed hols. & for its silverware and prints.
∑ comune.sirmione.bs.it The 16th-century town hall and
Terme Catullo (Spa) Provveditore Veneto buildings
Roman Sirmio lay in the Piazza Castello. Tel 030-990 49 23 (for are also here. In the Duomo
hinterland and only the villa bookings). ∑ termedisirmione.com (16th century) is a fine Last Supper
quarter faced the lake. In the } Grotte di Catullo by Tiepolo. The Museo Civico
13th century the Scaligeri lords Via Catullo. Tel 030-91 61 57. Archeo logico, in the cloister
of Verona turned it into a fortress Open Apr–Sep: 9am–6pm Tue–Sun; of Santa Maria de Senioribus,
to defend Lake Garda. In 1405 Oct–Mar: 9am–4pm Tue–Sun. contains displays of Bronze-Age
Sirmione was taken over by Closed Mon (Tue if Mon is hol). & finds and the oldest known
Venice, which then ruled until the wooden plough (2000 BC).
18th cen tury. The main focus of The Villa Romana was built
the town is the Rocca Scaligera, in the 4th century AD and
a castle built by Mastino I della rediscovered in 1921. It had
Scala (13th century), the inner been covered by a landslide,
basin of which served as shelter which preserved some lovely
for the Veronese boats. Roman mosaics with geometric motifs
and medieval plaques are in such as the Good Shepherd and
the entrance arcade. Psyche and Cupids. Finds from
Fifteenth-century Santa Maria the villa are in the Antiquarium.
Maggiore, built over a pagan
temple, has a Roman column R Duomo
in its porch, while the campanile Piazza Duomo. Tel 030-914 18 49.
was a Scaligera tower. The Open 9:30am–noon, 3:30–6pm daily
interior has 15th- and 16th- (to 6:30pm May–Sep).
century frescoes and a E Museo Civico Archeologico
15th-century Madonna. Christ Enthroned with Angels and Saints, Via T. Dal Molin 7. Tel 030-914 45 29
The spas use the water from San Pietro in Mavino or 030-999 42 75. Open 9am–1pm
the Boiola spring, known since Tue–Wed, 3–7pm Thu–Fri, 2:30–7pm
1546. San Pietro in Mavino, Sat, Sun & hols.
re-built in 1320, boasts fine 2 Desenzano P Villa Romana
13th– 16th-century frescoes. del Garda Via Crocifisso 2. Tel 030-914 35 47.
Sirmione is also famous for the Open Mar–14 Oct: 8:30am–7pm
so-called Grotte di Catullo, a Brescia. * 27,000. n Via Porto Tue–Sun; 15 Nov–Feb: 8:30am–5pm
Vecchio 34 (030-374 87 26).
huge Roman residence built in ( (antiques, 1st Sun of month Tue–Sun. Closed Mon (Tue if Mon
the 1st centuries BC–AD. The (except for Jan & Aug). is hol). 8
most evocative rooms are
the Grotta del Cavallo, the Probably founded by the
Cryptoporticus and the pool. Romans on a site inhabited since 3 The Valtènesi
The Sala della Trifora del Paradiso prehistoric times, Des enzano was and San Felice
and Sala dei Giganti overlook the taken over by Venice in the 15th del Benaco
lake. The Antiquarium has finds century, when it became the
from the villa, including a mosaic leading lakeside town. Since the Brescia. * 3,400. n Via Porto vecchio
of a seascape and a portrait of 19th century it has been a tourist 34, Desenzano del Garda (030-374 87 26).
Catullus (1st century BC). resort. The heart of the town
The area between Desenzano
and Salò, called Valtènesi, is
rich in medieval churches and
castles. At Padenghe, the Rocca
(9th–10th century) is reached
by a drawbridge. Nearby is
12th-century Sant’Emiliano.
The houses in Moniga del Garda
are protected by a 10th-century
wall with turrets. Here stands
Santa Maria della Neve, built in
the 14th century. The Rocca di
Manerba del Garda (8th century)
lies on a head land over the lake
where a castle once stood. The
ruins have become part of a
The Rocca Scaligera at Sirmione, with its tower and battlements regional park. At Solarolo, the

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