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Sirmione
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The original inhabitants of Desenzano's villa may well have come to
SIRMIONE
, spread along a narrow promontory protruding 4km into the lake, to seek cures in its sulphurous springs - it still retains the remains of a Roman spa. It is a popular spot, in a beautiful setting, though these days it's suffocated with luxury hotels, souvenir stands and tourists. You're unlikely to want to stay, and in any case most of the hotels are pricey and usually full, but it's worth a brief visit to take in the town's handful of sights and laze around on the surrounding lidos.
Most people head for the Rocca Scaligera (daily except Mon: April-Sept 9am-6pm; Oct-March 9am-1pm; L8000/€4.13), a fairy-tale castle with boxy turreted towers almost entirely surrounded by water, built by the Veronese Scaligeri family in the thirteenth century when they ruled Garda. There's not much to see inside, and, although the views from its battlements are lovely, they don't really warrant the high entrance fee. You can escape the crowds by walking out beyond the town to the peninsula's triangular and traffic-free hilly head, covered in cypresses and olive groves. The church of San Pietro here has thirteenth-century frescoes inside, and its shady grounds make for a good picnic stop. A path leads along the edge of the peninsula, passing bubbling hot sulphur springs, to the Lido (May-Oct daily 8am-midnight) where you can eat, drink, swim in the lake or sunbathe on the pontoon or nearby rocks. If you continue, you'll reach a fenced-off area at the tip of the peninsula. The signs warn of landslides, but most people ignore these since the flat rocks are good for sun-soaking. Swimming or paddling is tricky, however, as underwater the rocks are slippery. There's a gate here up to the Grotte di Catullo (March to mid-Oct Tues-Sat 8.30am-7pm, Sun 9am-6pm; mid-Oct to Feb Tues-Sat 8.30am-4.30pm, Sun 9am-4.30pm; L8000/€4.13), touted as Catullus's villa, although the white ruins are actually of a Roman spa: there's a hot sulphur spring 300m under the lake, and people still come to Sirmione to take the waters. Catullus did, however, retire to the town, coming all the way from the Black Sea by boat, hauling it overland when necessary so that he could keep it on the lake. The ruins, scattered on the hillside among ancient olive trees, are lovely, and there are superb views across the lake to the mountains. There's a small antiquarium with fragments of mosaics and frescoes, and below the site, though not accessible from it, a beach.
If you want to stay in Sirmione, booking ahead is essential in July and August. If you haven't booked, the
tourist office
(April-Oct daily 9am-8pm; Nov-March Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 3-6pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm; tel 030.916.114) by the bus station has a list of
rooms
, but don't count on these being free either. Of the
hotels
, the
Grifone
, Via Bocchio 4 (tel 030.916.014; L60,000-90,000/€30.99-46.48), on the waterfront overlooking the castle, and
La Magnolia
, Via Vittorio Emanuele 43 (tel 030.916.135; L60,000-90,000/€30.99-46.48), on the main thoroughfare beyond the castle, are both reasonably priced and pleasant. The nearest
campsite
is the
Sirmione
, Via Sirmioncino 9 (tel 030.990.4665; March-Oct), at Colombare, 3km south of Sirmione, on the lakefront; head along Via Colombare out of town towards the mainland - though this too gets extremely crowded. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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