Things to See in Sirmione | 2 Monuments & Landmarks

All the monuments in Sirmione

The landmarks and masterpieces worth planning a day around.

The arches of the Grotte di Catullo above Lake Garda's tip

Archaeological siteGrotte di CatulloLargest Roman villa in Italy, Catullus tradition, olive grove ruins, lake-tip panoramaAt the tip of Sirmione’s peninsula, on land that juts into Lake Garda like a thumb, the ruins of Italy’s largest known Roman villa spread across an old olive grove for nearly 20,000 square meters. Built between the late 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, the complex is named for the poet Catullus, who called Sirmione the jewel of all islands and peninsulas, though the villa itself likely rose after his death and belonged to someone else entirely. Walk the surviving walls and the cryptoporticus, the vaulted underground gallery that kept the villa cool, and climb to the northern terrace for a view down the lake that has drawn visitors since the Romans built it for exactly that purpose. An on-site museum, opened in 1999, displays finds from here and elsewhere around Sirmione.Plan the visit

Castello Scaligero di SirmioneScaliger Castle of SirmioneMoated lake fortress, fortified harbor, drawbridge entrance, swallowtail battlements, 146-step keepEvery visitor to Sirmione's old town crosses the same drawbridge, because the Scaliger Castle sits directly across the only strip of land linking the peninsula to the mainland. Mastino I della Scala raised it in the 1250s to secure Verona's hold on Lake Garda, and its swallowtail battlements still mark the work as Ghibelline. Behind the curtain walls is one of Italy's few surviving fortified harbors, a moated dock where the della Scala fleet once rode at anchor, screened from attack on three sides. Climb the keep's 146 steps and the lake opens out in every direction, rooftops on one side, open water on the other. The castle has never been converted into a palace or dressed up as a ruin: it still reads as the checkpoint it was built to be, right down to the drawbridge mechanism above the gate.

The Sirmione guide

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