Sirmione and Garda Island (without island visit)
If you would like to visit Garda Island, the visit must be booked additionally and in advance, in this case the duration of the excursion increases to 6 hours
First you will be guided around Sirmione, then you will take a boat trip around Sirmione and head towards Garda Island.
Garda Island, as well as the lake itself, was inhabited in Roman times. When the great power fell into decline, Garda Island was abandoned and used as a haven for brigands and pirates, and later as hunting grounds. In 879 the island was mentioned in a decree of King Carloman of Bavaria. The document referred to the transfer of the territory to the possession of San Zeno, an abbey from Verona. The name of the site was then inscribed in a document from 1180. This certificate confirmed the legal transfer of the Island of Garda from Frederick Barbarossa to the possession of Biemin da Manerba. In 1220 the founder of the Franciscan Order, Francis of Assisi, visited Garda Island. The Catholic saint was enchanted by the secluded island and asked the owner of the territory, Miebino de Manerba, to allocate a small plot of rocks in the north for the monks to build a miniature hermitage. After the construction of the hermitage, the monks stayed on the island without leave. The Franciscans were not intimidated by military raids by soldiers from Mantua, Verona and Brescia. After the foundation of the hermitage, the island was visited by Anthony of Padua (in 1227), a famous member of the Franciscan order, and Dante Aguilieri, author of the famous “Divine Comedy” (in 1304).
The island of Garda is a place of rare beauty – a precious casket full of history, legends and memories. A picturesque reef that hosted ancient Romans and Lombards. You will be impressed by the elegant palace built in the early twentieth century, in neo-Gothic Venetian style. Everything here impresses with its harmony and richness of marvellous architectural details. At the foot of the palace are Italian-style terraces and gardens, gently descending to the clear emerald waters of the lake. Everything is surrounded by luxurious, blooming, unspoilt vegetation: exotic and native plants, rare scents and unique flowers. A beautiful grove of pines and cypresses, acacias and lemons, magnolias and agaves.
