BARDOLINO

Renowned health resort of the Verona Gardesan Riviera geographically located between Lazise e Garda, Bardolino owes his notoriety to the homonymous DOC wine, that is being produced in a small territorial circle, in very selected vineyard fields. Together with the vineyard fields, luxuriant olive trees spread themselves so widely that you can easily lose sight of them, and give us a refined and precious olive oil. His climate is all over year mild, particularly in winter months, this fact makes the resort a centre of attraction for tourists and holiday-makes, mostly German people. We probably have to date back Bardolino's historical origin, to a lake dwelling village settled by Retic people, and that was under Rome control. It was a free Commune in Middle Ages (twelfth sec), and depended then for a long time on Verona's Scaligeri.
Cisano's hamlet appear on the road in Laize direction. St Mary Romanesque Pieve is its pride, it is a twelfth century building, but we have to date its origins back to the eighth cent. Its front structure is really interesting, it is enhanced by a mullion window with two lights and by a little protyrus that is supported by some columns and is, so, over the portal.
The Bell Tower and the outdoor apse, also, prove to be very interesting from an architectural point of view. Its inside more than once restoring, has unfortunately, irrecoverably changed the original appearance.
In Bardolino, instead, as an interesting expression of Romanesque architecture of Verona's territory, we find the San Severo church. This building of the thirteenth cent., has come back to its original magnificence because of a careful restoration work, that stopped the deterioration course inherited from the second half of the last century.
Today it represents a magnificent Romanesque complex, that stands out for the structural harmonies of the apse divided into three parts, for its simple front enriched by a little protyrus hanging over the entrance and for its pointed top bell tower.
The inside is characterised by three parts aisles and is enriched by a cycle of Romanesque fresco paintings.
Fresco's subjects portray Apocalypse histories, and reveal a common pictorial root, with Verona's , Venezia's and German's tradition elements. Between other churches San Zeno's chapel is excellent, it was built between the seventh and ninth cent and is known as a great witness of the Carolinian architecture. It is a peculiar building with a cross plant that reveals, in the execution of the capitals, manifest relationships with Lombard workers that were active on the Veneto territory, and that probably can be referred to our Comancini masters.