Air. Water. Land. Fire. These four natural elements are alive more than ever
in Garda Trentino, a region of intense colors and perfumes. The
territory, lapped by waters and colors of the largest lake in
Italy, boasts a special climate which makes it the northern-most Mediterranean region in Europe - the first point of
contact with the sun of the south. Culture, nature and history
come together in the communities of Garda Trentino. Still today,
with its imperial style palaces, Arco shows traces of
that which was defined as the Kurort Austriaco. While Riva and Torbole offer, in ever a new way, that tourist
liveliness that made them known to renowned personalities in Central Europe during the 1700's and 1800's.
Lakes
Garda, Ledro, Tenno, Toblino, Cavedine: the
element water defines and distinguishes Garda Trentino. The
Trentino part of Lake Garda, otherwise known as "Benaco",
is narrow and enclosed by high cliffs that recall the roughness
of the Norwegian Fjords. In the past, it was frequented by Dante
Alighieri, Mann, Kafka, Brahms, Nietzsche and Goethe. It is this
body of water, the largest in Italy, together with the
mountainous Baldo, that characterise the climate and vegetation
of Garda Trentino and bring about its Mediterranean side.
Lake Ledro is suspended among the
Giudicarie and Sarca valley, and is a natural balcony that has
recently been used for hydroelectric purposes. It is known,
above all, for an extensive Bronze Age pile-dwelling site
carefully laid out on its shores. The turquoise blue waters of
the small and charming Lake Tenno are located on the
lower south-western slopes of Mount Misone, while the ice blue Lake Cavedine is located in the setting of the Marocche, an enormous post-glacial landslide. Finally, Lake Toblino, with its distinctly romantic turreted castle
on a peninsula that gently leans out into the water, the islets
and the beds of reeds…
Places to visit
Besides the changing reflections of Lake Garda, the territory
has many other distinctive characteristics from fascinating
routes to captivating landscapes. The Marocche, an
impressive landslide dating back to the glaciation period,
characterises the Cavedine Valley lunar landscape. Mount
Brione, rising up at the center of the Sarca Valley, is
mirrored by Lake Garda and has become one of the stops on the
European "Sentiero della Pace" (Path of Peace) due to the World
War I Austro-Hungarian fortifications found on it.
The Varone Waterfall, which inspired
Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain", is an 87-metre waterfall on
the inside of a cavern that was excavated by the Magnone stream.
It is open every day in the summer and holidays and Sundays in
the winter. The celebrated "Marmitte dei Giganti" (Giants'
Potholes),deep circular cavities of glacial origin found
along the provincial road, connect Nago to Torbole. And finally,
the botanical peculiarities of the ArcoArboretum,
an antique park created by archduke Albert of Hapsburg in
the second half of the 1800's which is open during daylight
hours.
