Desenzano del Garda
Encyclopedia
Desenzano del Garda is a town and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Brescia
Province of Brescia
The Province of Brescia is a Province in Lombardy, Italy. It borders with the province of Sondrio in the N and NW, the province of Bergamo in the W, province of Cremona in the SW and S, the province of Mantova to the S, and to the east, the province of Verona and Trentino .Source for statistical...

, in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, which borders Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...

. It is bordered by other communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato
Lonato
Lonato del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. Lonato is located in the middle of northern Italy, about half way between Milan and Venice, on the south-west shore of Lake Garda, the biggest lake in Italy.The commune is bordered by those of near Castiglione...

, Padenghe sul Garda
Padenghe sul Garda
Padenghe sul Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is located alongside the coast of Lake Garda.-Sources:...

 and Sirmione
Sirmione
Sirmione is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy . It is bounded by the comunes of Desenzano del Garda and Peschiera del Garda in the province of Verona and the region of Veneto...

.

History

Starting from the 1st century BC, the area of the Garda, including what is now Desenzano del Garda, became a favourite resort for rich families coming from Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, then the main Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 city in north-eastern Italy.

Main sights

  • The Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene.
  • The House of St. Angela Merici.
  • The Tower of St. Martin (Torre di San Martino).
  • An archaeological museum (Museo Civico Archeologico).
  • Several old-style villas (Villa Romana) and a castle.

Tourism

The city is a popular holiday destination in Southern Europe. It attracts a myriad of tourists from around the immediate area due to its beautiful view of the Alps on the southern shore of Lake Garda, its three large beaches (Desanzanino Beach, Spiagga D'oro Beach, and Porto Rivoltella Beach) and its 27 major hotels.
Desenzano is the heart of night life of southern Garda Lake with several discos and pubs. In the summertime its main squares, "piazza Malvezzi" and "piazza Matteotti" are crowded all night by young and partying people.

At the heart of the city is a series of interconnected piazze that house numerous open-air cafés, various shops, "gelaterie" (ice-cream parlors) and several bars.

Transport

The city has one main port near the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violence they used to gain votes...

 which operates several ferries around the lake. Also, at the southwestern outskirts of the city is a large train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

, the Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione railway station
Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione railway station
Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione railway station serves the town and comune of Desenzano del Garda, in the region of Lombardy, northern Italy. Opened in 1854, it forms part of the Milan–Venice railway....

 ('Stazione Ferroviaria'), which connects the city to the European railway system. As well as this Desenzano has its own exit from the A4 motorway, the main road between Milan and Venice.

Trivia

The town became known world wide on March 13, 1994, when Russian swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 ace Alexander Popov
Alexander Popov (swimmer)
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Popov ; is a Russian former Olympic gold-winning swimmer, widely regarded as one of the greatest sprint freestyle swimmers of all time.-Career:Born in Lesnoy, Sverdlovsk Oblast , Popov began swimming at age 8 at...

 set a world record in the 50m freestyle in Desenzano del Garda's local pool, clocking 21.64s.

World heritage site

It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling
Stilt house
Stilt houses or pile dwellings or palafitte are houses raised on piles over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding, but also serve to keep out vermin...

 (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps is a series of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements in and around the Alps built from around 5000 to 500 B.C. on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands...

 UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site.

External links




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