Busy, busy day. we hopped on a ferry boat first thing this morning and rode over to Sirmione where we explored the old town and Scaglieri castle. After lunch we met a boat that would take us to Isola del Garda for a tour of the palace and gardens.
The Sirmione castle is an extraordinary example of a lakeside fortification and one of the most spectacular well preserved fortresses in the lake Garda area. The castle stands at the entrance of the medieval village and consists of a central quadrilateral of walls enclosed by three corner towers and over them stands the keep, the tallest tower. There is another set of lower defensive walls surrounding a second courtyard, the doc courtyard and the dock itself. The castle was built just after the middle of the 14th century at the behest of the dells Scalia family.
Our first glimpse of Castello Scaligero di Sirmione
Isola del Garda is the biggest island on Lake Garda. It is part of the comune of San Felice del Benaco, in the Province of Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. The island has a long and varied history, having been used as a Roman burial ground, pirate lair, a site for a Franciscan monastery, border fortification and as a residential villa. The island has been visited by numerous famous people over the centuries, reportedly including Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua and Dante Alighieri. Today, it is covered by a park and is dominated by the Venetian neo-Gothic Villa Borghese Cavazza. Although privately owned by the Cavazza family, Isola del Garda has been open to visitors since 2002.
Sculpture of St Francis of Assisi. St Francis came to the island once when passing through but eventually established a monastery there. At first they lived simply in caves in the rocks but eventually built structures.
