Lombardy · Brescia
Toscolano-Maderno
Twin lakeside villages on the western shore of Garda, paper mill suppliers to the Republic of Venice from the 14th century onward.
47 km / 29 mi
Nearest hub (Brescia)
7,546
Population
Apr–Oct
Best time to visit
Recognised as
Why come
Toscolano-Maderno occupies a wide flat fan on the western shore of Lake Garda, the two old villages of Toscolano and Maderno split by the Toscolano river and stitched into a single commune only in 1928. The Romans built a villa here for the Nonii family; its mosaic floors are still visible in the lakeside park. Maderno served as the capital of the Magnifica Patria della Riviera di Salò until Beatrice della Scala moved the seat to Salò in the 14th century, and the loss of administrative weight was offset by paper. The first mills along the Toscolano date to around 1300; by the 15th and 16th centuries the Valle delle Cartiere supplied paper to the printers of the Venetian Republic, marked with an ox-head watermark and exported to royal libraries. Martin Luther's Bible was printed on it. The 12th-century Basilica di Sant'Andrea in Maderno, Romanesque-Lombard with polychrome marble, anchors the older quarter. The commune holds the Bandiera Blu for clean swimming water.
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Gallery
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Known for
Basilica di Sant'Andrea
12th-century Romanesque-Lombard church in Maderno, polychrome marble facade with carved portals, on the foundations of a pagan temple.
Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Parish church of Toscolano, rebuilt in 1584 on the remains of an earlier parish church, frescoed interior.
Villa romana dei Nonii
Roman villa built in the 1st century AD for the Nonii family, mosaic floors preserved in the lakeside park.
Valle delle Cartiere
Paper-mill valley up the Toscolano river, ruins of mills running from around 1300, now an ecomuseum and walking route.
Museo della Carta
Paper museum in the Valle delle Cartiere, equipment and documents from six centuries of fine paper production.
Lungolago di Maderno
Lakeside promenade and beach, Bandiera Blu water, with the ferry pier and views across to Torri del Benaco.
When to visit
Best months · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
April through October is Toscolano-Maderno's open season. May and June bring the lake into swimming temperature and the paper-mill valley out of its winter mud. July and August are warm and crowded with German and Austrian families on the lungolago; the ferry to Torri del Benaco runs full. September and October keep the swimming and lose the crowd, the colours along the Toscolano valley turn copper, and the temperature is right for the longer hikes above town. November through March is quiet. The lake fog can settle, many lake-side hotels close, and the paper museum runs short hours.
How to get there
From Brescia, Toscolano-Maderno is roughly 47 km by road. Allow about 40–56 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).
Drive time to the nearest gateway airports
- Milan1h 24m
- Verona1h 25m
- Bologna2h 34m
Elevation 72 m
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