What is Lonato del Garda known for?

Castle ordered in 1376 by Regina della Scala, reshaped by the Visconti, 180 metres long on the upper level. Ugo da Como's restored Venetian residence with one of northern Italy's largest private libraries, 52,000 volumes. Turbiana white wine of the southern Garda flats, one of Italy's oldest protected wines, cultivated since Roman times.

Where is Lonato del Garda?

Lonato del Garda is a comune in the province of Brescia, Lombardy region of Italy, about 35 kilometers from Brescia.

Lombardy · Brescia

Lonato del Garda

A hilltop commune on the southwestern Garda morainic ridge, with a Visconti Rocca and the 52,000-volume Casa del Podestà library.

35 km / 22 mi

Nearest hub (Brescia)

16,911

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Città del Vino

Why come

Lonato del Garda sits on a low morainic hill on the southwestern side of Lake Garda, between Brescia and the Mincio, halfway between Milan and Venice. The Rocca was raised from 1376 by Regina della Scala, wife of Bernabò Visconti, who recognised the strategic position; the castle that survives was reshaped in the 15th and 16th centuries to its current form, a 180-metre central structure on the upper level with the so-called Quartier Generale below. The Casa del Podestà, mid-15th-century seat of the Venetian rectors, was bought in 1906 by the Brescian senator Ugo da Como and his wife Maria Glisenti and turned into a museum-residence: rooms fully furnished with paintings, sculpture and majolica, and one of the largest private libraries in northern Italy with more than 52,000 volumes and a notable collection of incunabula. The commune is one of the five Lugana DOC producers, the white wine made from the Turbiana grape on the lake's southern flats since Roman times.

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Gallery

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Known for

Rocca di Lonato
Visconti castle raised from 1376 on order of Regina della Scala, reshaped in the 15th and 16th centuries, 180-metre upper structure.
Casa del Podestà
Mid-15th-century Venetian podestà seat, restored 1906 by senator Ugo da Como as a museum-residence with library of 52,000 volumes.
Duomo di San Giovanni Battista
Late Baroque collegiate church in the centre, a single nave with sculpted altars and a frescoed dome.
Fondazione Ugo da Como
The foundation that holds the Casa del Podestà, the library and the Rocca complex, open to visit on a single ticket.
Vigneti del Lugana
Flat morainic vineyards south of the centre, part of the Lugana DOC zone, Turbiana white wine since Roman times.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the working season for southern Garda, and Lonato runs on it. May and June open the Rocca and the Casa del Podestà to long visits and bring the Lugana vineyards into bloom. July and August bring lake heat and weekend crowds from Brescia and Verona, but the hill keeps temperatures three or four degrees cooler than down at the water. September and October are the harvest months; the Lugana vintage and the autumn light on the Casa del Podestà reading rooms draw a quieter visitor. November through March is quiet. Fog drifts up from the lake some mornings, the Rocca closes for shorter visits, and the library keeps its winter hours.