So
after waiting a year since we booked the trip to Lake Garda, the day to
travel out is finally here. I’ve been wanting to see Lake Garda for
years, one of those things I never thought we’d
get to do. We never left the UK for at least 25 years or more. But
since the mortgage has been paid off and our dog Ben passed away almost 3
years ago we have started travelling abroad now.
So we drove to Stansted airport and parked up at Jetparks car park and got the transfer bus to the terminal.
We boarded the Jet2 flight to Verona and we were off! It’s Georges first time on a plane too!
After a while flying we were alerted to the fact that we were to be flying over the Austrian Alps.
The Central Eastern Alps are also referred to as Austrian Central Alps.
The Central Alps have the highest peaks of the Eastern Alps, and are located between the Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps, from which they differ in geological composition.
The term "Central Eastern Alps" may also be used more broadly to refer to a larger area of the Eastern Alps, mainly located in Austria, extending from the foot of the Bergamasque Alps at Lake Como and the Bernina Range in the Graubünden canton of eastern Switzerland along the Liechtenstein shore of the Rhine in the west as far as to the lower promontories east of the river Mur including the Hochwechsel in Austrian Styria. The valleys of the rivers Inn, Salzach and Enns mark their northern boundary, the Drau river (roughly corresponding to the Periadriatic Seam) their southern border. In the proposed SOIUSA system, the "Central-eastern Alps" include the Rhaetian Alps, of which the Bernina Range includes the 4,049-meter Piz Bernina in Switzerland, the easternmost 4,000-meter peak of the Alps. In the AVE system, however, the full list of mountain groups in the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps includes the Bernina and neighbouring ranges within the Western Limestone Alps, not the Central Eastern Alps as the Alpine Club defines them.
We finally land in Verona Italy, after getting our cases and getting through security we are met by the Jet2 rep and taken to our transfer coach. We are the first stop for the coach and we disembark at Camping Bella Italia in Peschiera Del Garda and make our way into reception, expecting just to be dropping our cases there. But after a chat we are lucky enough to be getting into our apartment 4 hours early.
We start the long walk through the park as it starts to rain. We reach the area of our apartment and we struggle to find it, but a cleaner points us in the right direction.
After we unpacked and had a rest, we took a walk down to Lake Garda. It is as beautiful as it is in the pictures. I imagine even more so in the sunshine, but right now it is overcast but at least the rain has stopped. Finally here after years of dreaming.
Lake Garda, in northern Italy, is known for its crystal clear water. At the South end, the town of Sirmione is dominated by the Rocca Scaligera, a fortress with harbour views. The nearby Grotte di Catullo archaeological site includes a Roman villa. On the lake's western shore, in Gardone Riviera, is Il Vittoriale degli Italiani, former home of poet d’Annunzio. The Dolomites frame Riva del Garda, a resort in the North.
In Roman times the lake was known as Benacus and by some it was revered as god Benacus, the personification of the lake, sometimes associated with the cult of Neptune. Today it is better known as Lake Garda, a toponym of Germanic origin attested since the Middle Ages and deriving from that of the homonymous town on the Veronese shore of the lake, which, together with another famous locality of the lake, Gardone Riviera, and others less known – such as Gàrdola, Gardoncino, Gardoni, Guàrdola and Le Garde – testifies to the Germanic presence in the area that dated from the 6th to the 8th century CE, in particular, the Lombard one. The name Garda is evolved from the Germanic word warda, meaning "place of guard", "place of observation" or "place of safety".
The classic toponym of the lake, or Benācus lacus (Benaco), is almost certainly of Celtic origin, therefore prior to romanization, and should derive from bennacus, comparable with the Irish bennach, which means "horned". The term may derive from the many promontories of the lake.
We take a walk along the lake into Pescheira.
Peschiera del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified towns constituting the Quadrilatero. The fortress is on an island in the river Mincio at its outlet from Lake Garda.
The town is encircled by massive Venetian defensive systems that have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 9 July 2017.
Roman Ardelica was a town of Gallia Transpadana that occupied the site of the modern Peschiera del Garda, at the southeast angle of the Lacus Benacus (Lago di Garda), just where the Mincius (modern Mincio) issued from the lake. The name is found under the corrupted form Ariolica in the Tabula Peutingeriana, which correctly places it between Brixia and Verona; the true form is preserved by inscriptions, of which one says that it was a trading place, with a corporation of ship-owners, collegium naviculariorum Ardelicensium. (Orell. Inscr. 4108.) The town is mentioned as Arilica in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia.
The fortress at Peschiera played a prominent part in most military campaigns conducted in northern Italy after 1400, especially during the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. At the Battle of Peschiera fought on 6 August 1796, the day after the major French victory at the Battle of Castiglione, a French force commanded by general Masséna drove out the Austrians. After the Siege of Peschiera, during the First Italian War of Independence, it was taken by the Piedmontese from the Austrians, following a gallant defence by general Rath lasting six weeks, on 30 May, 1848.
During World War I, the Peschiera conference between the British and French premiers and the Italian king took place on 8 November 1917.
Peschiera del Garda was also known for its military jail, which closed in 2002.
The commune is part of the Associazione Città del vino ("Association of Wine Cities").
We mooch around the shops in between the light showers.
We stop for lunch, the pizza was great. George was wowed by the lasagne.
Such a pretty town, looking forward to seeing more of the Lake over the week.
We pass the Parish of St. Martino Vescovo.
The parish church of San Martino Vescovo in Peschiera del Garda is located in the heart of our city, in the historic center, and is one of the oldest churches in the diocese of Verona.
The parchments that mention it date back to the first half of the 11th century. In that period Peschiera (the ancient Arilica) was a thriving village dedicated to fishing and commerce.
In one of these parchments, dated 8 December 1008, which tells us that Peschiera was the seat of the "Collegiate Pieve di San Martino" whose deacon was Dominico ("De plebe S. Martini sita in vico Piscaria"). This parish was equipped with two wooden fish ponds belonging to the monastery of San Zeno, which had been donated by Charlemagne in 878.
In the 15th century the church was remodeled and in 1454 that of Peschiera was already a “parish church with archpriest”.
In the 19th century, there were two cemeteries on either side of the church, one for civilians and one for the military. These cemeteries were abolished with the Napoleonic law of 1810 (the year in which the Municipality procured the land for the Frassino cemetery).
But that was not the only upheaval of the Napoleonic period of Peschiera, which began in 1796 with the occupation of the stronghold of Peschiera. Among the measures adopted by the French, in fact, there was also the closure of the parish church to worship (with the performance of religious functions in the Church of the Discipline) to use the building as a hospital and military warehouse.
In 1812 the evacuation of the temple took place which was rededicated in 1814. Unfortunately, however, the building was unsafe and badly suited to religious rites, so the government authority decided to tear it down. The pastor of the time, Don Vincenzo Fusina, promised to rebuild it.
From a report requested by the Bishop of Verona to the parish priest in anticipation of a pastoral visit (year 1815), we know that the ancient facade of the religious building was on the opposite side from the current one: that is, facing the current rectory, then not existing.
The new construction was finished in 1822 and except for some changes is what we see today.
The bombing of 1848 (Wars of Independence) caused damage to the bell tower which was later repaired. The new facade, on the other hand, with its current layout was built around 1933, while Don Giuseppe Lenotti was parish priest.
In 1966, major renovations were carried out inside and on the facade.
As we start to walk back we pass the Town Hall and the Tourist Information Centre across the road.
The weather has improved somewhat as we walk back to Camping Bella Italia.
Back at the apartment, we settle down and find the hot water wasn't working, but a trip to reception and this was sorted quickly.
George and I walk down to the lake later that night to see the towns across the lake lit up.
Camping Bella Italia is nice, pools by the apartments aside from the main pools and right on the lake!
