What is Bardolino known for?

DOC red from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, granted in 1968 and produced in the hills between the lake and Verona. Rosé from the same grapes with short skin contact; now outsells the red, celebrated each June at the Palio del Chiaretto. San Zeno from the ninth century and San Severo from the eleventh-twelfth give Bardolino two of the oldest churches on the lake.

Bardolino is a comune in the province of Verona, Veneto region of Italy, about 30 kilometers from Verona.

Veneto · Verona

Bardolino

Lake Garda's east-shore wine town, where Corvina and Rondinella grapes have made Bardolino and Chiaretto since the Roman period.

30 km / 19 mi

Nearest hub (Verona)

6,919

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Città del Vino

Why come

Bardolino sits on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, twenty-five kilometers northwest of Verona. The hills behind town have been planted with vines since the Roman period, and the modern DOC was granted in 1968. Three grapes do the work: Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. Long maceration produces Bardolino, the light red the town has lived on since the nineteenth century; short skin contact produces Chiaretto, the rosé that has overtaken the red in current sales. Two churches hold the medieval line. San Zeno in the centro storico is ninth-century, one of the oldest in the province of Verona. San Severo, built between the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries on the foundations of an earlier church mentioned in an 893 charter of Berengario, is the town's Romanesque anchor. The lakefront has been a tourist promenade since the 1950s. The Palio del Chiaretto runs the first weekend of June; the Festa dell'Uva e del Vino runs the first week of October.

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Gallery

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Known for

Chiesa di San Severo
Romanesque church built between the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries on the foundations of a structure mentioned in a 893 charter.
Chiesa di San Zeno
Ninth-century church in the centro storico, one of the oldest in the province of Verona, on a Latin cross plan with a small apse.
Centro storico
Walled medieval core around Piazza Matteotti, with arcaded streets dating to the Venetian period from the fifteenth century.
Lungolago
Lakefront promenade running north toward Garda and south toward Cisano, with public swimming areas and the harbor for ferries.
Strada del Bardolino
Wine route through the hills behind town, signposted across Cavaion, Affi, Pastrengo and the vineyards of the Bardolino DOC.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the working season. April and May bring the lake back to swimming temperature and the Romanesque churches at their quietest. June through August fills the lungolago with German and Austrian visitors; weekends are crowded, weekday mornings still manageable. The Palio del Chiaretto runs the first weekend of June, the Festa dell'Uva the first week of October. September and October are the best wine months: harvest in the hills, lighter crowds on the lake, water still warm enough to swim. November through March is quiet. Many hotels close. The lake fog can sit for days at this elevation, and the centro storico belongs to its 6,900 residents.