MALCESINE

This resort is in the called so, because of the large number of olive trees growing on the boundary with Trento district, "Olive Verona Riviera", and is composed by a gathering of houses built in different periods of time. Is on a little hill and underlines its embattled structure as a scaliger fortification. The landscape is characterised by the mountains that surround the place, particularly Baldo mountain chain which top is at 2218 mt on the another Valdritta top, forming a skiing excursions and naturalistic complex of great importance. Southward a gentle creek opens itself, on the front of this on, we have the little Olive tree island, while northward the lake has elements of a fjiord between mountains.

Historically the roman presence is proved by tombs and funeral outfit composed by coins and common use tools which where discovered here. Already fortified Longobard and French complex site, Malcesine entered in the territories of the Verona episcopacy, passing this way under Scaliger control. In the age of Verona Lords domination the fortress was restored then the Captain of the Lake Association was created, they had the jurisdictional power over the Verona gardesana centres between sixteenth and eightieth cent.

In 1786 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe passed here during his renowned travel. He was attracted by the beauty of the place while searching to define the profile of the castle and then surrounded by some suspicious peasants, who believed he was a spy, send him almost in a prison. The place is considered a pearl of the lake, with good tourist facilities able to welcome a lot of visitors. There are also a lot of typical places where you can taste the local gardesan cooking, together with the good wine of the Verona Riviera. For its favourable geographical position it has a mild and temperate climate, even in the coldest part of the year and is a renowned tourist and holiday resort in every season.
If you come from the north, you can will immediately notice a difference in climate and vegetation which is in this region already Mediterranean. Naturalistically we have to underline some paths and a cableway allowing people to reach the spectacular Baldo mountain top, from this place you will have a fascinating sight.

The Captains of the lake palace, with traces of venetian style, presents itself by an elegant front crowned with merlons. His restoring date back to the half of the fifteenth cent and has given hospitality, from the following century, to the Captains of the Lake that succeeded after the Venice Republic falling. Inside we have to underline The Sittings hall with sixteenth century style ornaments.
The Scaligero Castle seems to be a merlon rock on the external hill protuberance, from here you will have a fascinating sight on all the lake and surrounding mountain area. Inside the castle we find a medieval museum keeping archeologically interesting findings discovered in the surrounding area and related to the pre- Roman, roman and medieval period.

We have also to mention the weapons collections, prints, publications, naturalistic collections and Risorgimento memories. The remaining of a ship discovered on the bottom of the lake is kept in one of the halls; in the same room the brilliant diverting manoeuvre, that allowed the venetian people to catch the Visconti fleet in the well known battle of Torbole, has been reconstructed.

The Johann Wolfgang von Goethe bust was erected, in a yard, to celebrate its presence in Malcesine, in September 1786 and to remind the curious event occurred to the unintentional main character. The S. Stefano parish church, is structurally an eighteenth century building, but the ancient origin date back to the Carolinian age. The inside is enhanced with artistically relevant elements, between them the Christ Deposition, made by Girolamo dai Libri which was brought from the Verona Santa Maria in Organo church.
In the square, on the picturesque harbour there is SS. Nicolò and Rocco church of the first half of the seventieth century. Another particularly interesting religious place is the Virgin Church, known also as The Church of the Fountain. The today building owns its form to the restoring and widening works made in the seventeenth century, it was done to welcome the always growing number of devotes and pilgrims. Its name comes from a water spring, considered as prodigious, and that is located under a square rock in the centre of the floor. All regions present elements of artistic and touristic interest; southward the provincial capital, there is the Cassone hamlet which has San Zenone in mountain church and the SS. Benigno and Caro churches of the end of the Xvcentury. Out of Cassone you can see the Trimelone island, on its ground was , built by the Huns already in Barbarian age (tenth cent.) a fortress.

In the second half of the twelfth century, Federico Barbarossa gave to the flames the castle, during a military action, which was restored then by the Verona Lords who left there their coat of arms. In present age people destroyed the ancient ruins to build a modern fortified structure that has been lost in the second world war.

In Navene hamlet we have the eighteenth century S. Maria di Navene church, already mentioned in eleventh cent. documents. In Val Casera we find the Saint Michael church, which has ancient medieval origins, already mentioned in twelfth cent. Between the large number of twentieth-century Villas, built mostly in the first ten year period of the century, we will mention: Villa Gruber, Villa Labia , Villa Molitor, Villa Noli, Villa Bianca, Villa Nichesola, Villarose, Villa Sogno, Villa delle Rondini, Villa Irma e Giulia, Villa Lombardi.
Particularly interesting is the Monte Baldo tour with a sightseeing cableway that brings to the Forti refuge, 1745 meters, near to Bocca Tratto Spin, on the ridge of the mountain. The landscape is really fascinating especially at dawn and sunset.