MONIGA DEL GARDA

This location has a clear medieval mark, as part of is still within the enclosing walls of the castle and appears on The valtanesi hills in a great panoramic position.

This region is rich of wine plantations alternated with olive plantations. For this reason Moniga isrenown for its famous wines as: Rosato, Rosso di Moniga and Chiaretto. Cypresses, Oleander and Laurels help to enliven the environment offering here incomparable foreshortened views.

Historically the first settlement known dates back to the beginning of the bronze age (XXI-XOX cent b.C.). This assumption has been proven by the discovering of a wide pilework site on the bank of the lake, near the harbour facilities.

This location was an important centre during Roman age, above all for its closeness to the Gallic Via, very important connection between Brescia and the Verona territories. Between a large number of Roman findings there is to mention an altar of the IV-V century, discovered in the walls of an ancient building of the beginning of the eighties with a meaningful epigraph. In high Medieval age Moniga, depended on a cloister Verona institute.

From the XII century this place was a part of the Venetian territories, until the falling of Republic. Today Moniga is included rightfully in the Garda tourist areas with modern accommodation facilities. Hotels, campings and typical restaurants can welcome tourists offering accommodation and suggesting traditional Garda cooking courses, based mostly on fish plates: trots, eels, coregons.

The medieval castle, on the roman line, is considered as one of the most significant defensive architecture of Valtena. It presents itself with bastion walls crowned by merlons and strengthened by cylindrical towers. The complex has a square plan and features a powerful quadrangular nineteenth century bell tower at the entrance. The rooms inside the enclosing walls are very interesting for the town planning: some houses lines are nowadays inhabited and during the dark medieval centuries they constituted a safe shelter.
Out the inhabited centre we find the fourteenth century Saint Mary of the Snow church. The simple hut front is preceded by an entrance hall of the XVI cent. and presents a bas-relief of the X cent. In a very panoramic site the little San Sivino church can be found, while close to the castle there is the Saint Martin parish church ( XV cent.)with its elegant front. The Bartanzi Villa is a typical fifth century building, characterised by the arcade on the front and by the park. The inside features Venetian modern school portraits, gathered by the historian P.G. Molmenti who dwelled there for a long period of time.