Gargnano capital of Garda sailing
Lake Garda

Gargnano capital of Garda sailing

Gargnano is the largest municipality in the park "Alto Garda Bresciano"

Gargnano is the largest municipality in the park "Alto Garda Bresciano".
It
is the capital of Vela Gardesana and a popular destination for those who love the lake, nature and unspoiled landscapes. Its mountainous hinterland is almost entirely covered by woods while the hills are home to small towns that are worth a visit. The atmosphere you breathe in Gargnano is Mediterranean, thanks to its olive trees, vegetable gardens, gardens and ancient lemon groves. The town welcomes tourists with its Gothic cloister of the former Convent of San Francesco, founded in 1221.

Various buildings overlook the port of Gargnano, some of which have cannonballs walled up in memory of the naval bombardment suffered in 1866.
Leaving the historic center, with its former Town Hall of Traffegnini from 1581, you can admire Villa Feltrinelli or Villa del Duce which hosted Mussolini during the days of the Salò Republic.

In the upper part of the town, on the state road, stands the neoclassical Church of San Martino del Vantini which contains the altarpieces of the ancient parish church. Then to the north you reach the isolated Romanesque church of San Giacomo in Calì, the oldest building in Gargnano, with frescoes from the Veronese and Trentino schools of the fourteenth century. To visit it, turn to the door next to the church. Not to be missed in Gargnano: the Limonaie.

As soon as you arrive in Gargnano you notice the lemon houses, tall pillars that point to the sky, all in a row, enclosed on three sides by white stone walls, evidence of a once unique and flourishing economy, today museum relics kept alive by the Parco Alto Garda and by a few enthusiasts who grow lemons. The lemon houses were built to make it possible to grow citrus fruits in relatively cold climates. Around the years 1850/1855, around half of the lemon houses on the entire coast were concentrated in Gargnano. In Limone del Garda you can visit them.

Gargnano capital of Garda sailing