Lake Garda is the largest lake in
Northern Italy we're bringing you to
three of the beautiful Villages along
the shores of this Lake visiting Garda
town enjoying a stroll on the lakefront
Promenade and the little winding Lanes
of the Old Town
next to bartolino famous for its red
wine pedestrian lanes and Waterfront
Promenade then we'll visit pascara
Delgada with a fortified Harbor built by
the venetians 400 years ago
located in the southeast part of Lake
Garda just about 30 kilometers from
Verona and 50 from brescia Garda is in
the Lake District of Northern Italy near
the Alps
you can get around on Lake Garda by boat
as we did in our visit coming in from
Sir meone approaching the town of Garda
one of the first sites is this luxury
hotel locanda San vigilio with just over
a dozen rooms in a Renaissance Villa
some famous guests who took up residence
include Napoleon Czar Alexander II
Winston Churchill King Charles and
Lawrence Olivier featuring an outdoor
Cafe Terrace and a deluxe restaurant
surrounded by a park with hundreds of
Cypress and olive trees and a big
swimming pool
located about three kilometers from
Garda town which has many many other
hotels in various price categories
arriving at Town in a boat gives you a
lovely view of the tree-lined Promenade
with the marina out front our group
enjoyed this chartered boat but the
public ferries pull into Garda about
once every hour throughout the day with
stops at more than a dozen towns along
the Lakeshore the town is known for its
beautiful Lakefront Promenade which is
lined with cafes restaurants and shops
visitors and locals alike can enjoy a
stroll along this Promenade while taking
in the stunning views of the lake and
the surrounding mountains we'll see more
of the Promenade in a few minutes but
first we want to dive into these
wonderful pedestrian Lanes it's a tangle
of shop fronts and restaurants and homes
up above
it gets busier in the summertime but our
visit was in October when it was nice
and quiet and peaceful the locals are
out walking their dogs
the old town is quite small with a
length of just about 400 meters and
extending Inland just a few blocks
population is only five thousand this is
one of the smallest towns in the whole
Province you don't really need a map to
navigate here you can just wonder at
will
here's the route that we navigated
walking along the lakefront Promenade
then into a couple of blocks of these
narrow pedestrian Lanes with all the
shops and then back out again to the
Promenade and then going in once again
you can go back and forth into town then
along the lake and then we made our way
out of here to go on to the next town
which will be bartolino my small group
and I were visiting with the help of a
local guide this is part of our tour of
Northern Italy that we've been showing
you visiting many excellent towns and
Garda is certainly among the most
beautiful
it's quite wonderful to walk through
these Stone tunneled passageways that go
right through the buildings it's a
densely packed Town Center but it's all
in a human scale no high rises or modern
structures here even the smallest of the
alleys are not dead ends they connect
through to other lanes so you can just
keep on walking brick arches are
stabilizing the buildings
the return route towards the lakefront
brings us back through another tunneled
passageway
now arriving at the main square of the
Piazza catalo a nice open space with
more shops and restaurants
overall Garda is a Charming town with a
rich history and plenty of attractions
to keep visitors entertained
whether you're looking to relax by the
Lake explore the town's historic sites
sample some delicious Italian cuisine or
enjoy adventurous outdoor experiences
Garden Town offers something for
everyone
in addition to the Old Town some of the
other popular attractions in Garda
include a big outdoor Market every
Friday and there are wine tastings you
can visit one of the many local wineries
in the area and enjoy a wine tasting
experience featuring The Region's famous
wines such as bartolino and Valpolicella
you can explore the beautiful
countryside around town by hiking or
biking along one of the many Scenic
trails in the surrounding hills and
mountains there's also Garden land for
families and children it's one of
Italy's largest amusement parks a short
distance from town
Garda is situated in the province of
Verona and the region of Veneto with
Venice located an hour and a half away
by car the Old Clock Tower is one of the
tallest structures here known for its
excellent Cuisine visitors can enjoy a
meal at one of the towns many
restaurants serving traditional Italian
dishes especially notable are the
seafood meals prepared with fresh fish
caught right here in the lake
the earliest known inhabitants of the
area lived in homes and Villages right
on top of the lake built on stilts or
piles over the water a bit similar to
this dock with a gazebo that we see
today
these early Lake dwellers were skilled
in agriculture fishing and weaving and
they also traded with other cultures in
the region dating back to the bronze and
iron ages between 1500 BC and 500 BC the
first actual town on dry land dates back
to Roman times when it was an important
commercial center by the 9th century the
town became so important that it ruled
the entire area and the name of the lake
was changed to Garda about that time a
fortress was built up on top of the hill
now you can walk up there for the view
from 300 meters high what had been most
recently a fishing Village is now a
thriving tourist center with a strong
economy you don't see any vacant shop
fronts here nearby Olive Groves and
extensive Vineyards for wine are also
important parts of their economy that
wraps up our short visit to Garda we're
having a busy day we started earlier at
ceremioni in a different video you can
find and now we're going on to bartolino
and pashira Delgada you can get from
Garda to bartolino in five minutes on a
city bus or you could walk it in 45
minutes
bartolino's old town is a Charming Maze
of narrow streets picturesque squares
and colorful buildings visitors can
wander through these streets and explore
the local shops restaurants and cafes
bartolino is also famous for its
namesake wine which is made from the
local Corvina and rondinella grape
varieties
visitors can explore the town's many
wineries and taste the delicious wines
produced in the region we have just
walked into town along Borgo Garibaldi
which leads into a series of little
twisted lanes and intersections and
small piazzas heading towards the
Waterfront it's quite easy to get around
because this is a pedestrian Zone and
it's small just about 400 meters long
and 400 wide
you can see on the map the quick route
that we're taking in our brief visit to
bartolino just walking down through the
town to the Waterfront stroll along the
lungo Lago and then back up into town
and we depart
passing through a few more short blocks
with shops and restaurants and that will
lead us to the main Piazza of town
Piazza mate
this Plaza is slightly unusual in that
it is very long it's wide like a
Boulevard but there's no cars of course
it's for pedestrians and lined with
shops and restaurants the whole way
leading right down to the Waterfront as
seen in the outline the aerial view
illustrates how small the old town is
with just about a half a dozen main
lanes and little Alleyways sneaking
through it and you could easily spend a
day here enjoying the town and the
surrounding Countryside this fortified
Tower is all that's left of a castle and
surrounding walls partly built up by the
Scala Dynasty who ruled this area from
Verona back in the 13th and 14th
centuries
the origin of the town is remote
certainly dating back to a thousand BC
with the pile dwelling civilization
building their homes in the lake up on
stilts then later Roman occupation
followed by the longobards the Goths and
the Visigoths then Scala Jerry followed
by occupation from Venice which made
bartolino the center of the Venetian
Navy on the lake which lasted till the
end of the 18th century then Napoleon
took over briefly and was replaced by
Austrian control until
1866 when bartolino became part of Italy
as we walk Inland we notice one of the
major cross streets for shopping Corso
Umberto
and then we head out through an archway
into a little bit more modern part of
bartolino we are heading back towards
the bus and will continue on to pashira
Delgada first we have one more important
Historic Landmark to have a look at one
of the oldest churches in the region San
sebero
the church was built in the early 12th
century in the Romanesque style and
features a simple elegant facade with a
bell tower it's open to the public for
free and you'll notice the rough Stone
facade much different than the later
decorated Gothic facades and the
Renaissance churches
but the interior is decorated with
colorful frescoes that date back to the
12th through the 14th centuries back in
the 9th century an earlier church was
built on this site on the ruins of a
pre-existing Temple that completes our
bartolino visit now we're heading down
to pashara delgarta you can get there in
25 minutes by bus or 45 minutes by ferry
boat during the 15th through 17th
centuries the old town was protected by
a series of massive walls that were
built by the rulers of Venice who
controlled this area at that time these
walls are a world heritage site as
declared by UNESCO which said they are
of exceptional historical architectural
and technological significance
upon entering Town your first impression
will be this beautiful Marina with its
outdoor cafes it was part of the
Venetian fortified Harbor
just next to the Waterfront you'll see
Piazza San Marco with a beautiful
building looking down on it it's the
palazzina expinansa built in the
impressive neoclassical style in the
early 20th century the building was
originally used as a Barracks for the
Italian Finance police aerial view shows
The Piazza and the small cluster of
little streets that were about to wander
through these three islands created a
fortified Harbor for the Venetian Navy
at one time Lake Garda was connected to
the Adriatic Sea by canals that reached
the rivers at DJ and Poe but that was
severed by the venetians to cut off
trade competition from mantra
of course the history here goes back
much further back to the Bronze Age with
those Lake dwellers with their homes up
on stilts and wooden piles and then
there's the Roman times when the town
served as a major military Outpost to
protect the border of the Roman Empire
we can still see some of the remains of
the stone foundation walls of a Roman
village during the Middle Ages it was a
strategic location that was fought over
by factions including the Lombards
venetians and the austrians who were
driven out in 1859 during the second
Italian war of independence when the
town was besieged by General Garibaldi
leading shortly after to the unification
of Italy after wandering around through
these picturesque little Lanes maybe do
some shopping get some refreshments you
walk through port to Brusha and have a
closer look at the walls
from the bridge there's a fine Vista
showing how the lake forms a moat with
those huge walls Rising above to protect
the harbor and if you have time you can
walk along the walls and explore the
various Gates and Towers
but we have run out of time concluding
our visit to these three Charming
villages in the Southeast shores of Lake
Garda there is more to discover at this
lake with nearly two dozen towns all
around it and these three places are
among the best
we frequently upload new movies so
please subscribe to our Channel and
click that little alarm Bell so you'll
be notified and if you enjoyed the movie
how about a thumbs up and we always
welcome comments down below or if you
have questions about the destination
make note and we'll answer them thanks
for watching