Scaligero Castle

The Scaligero Castle rises straight out of Lake Garda at the narrow neck of the Sirmione peninsula, a compact brick-and-stone fortress whose walls are washed by water on every side. It guards the only way into the old town, so that arriving in Sirmione means passing beneath its towers, and it is one of the most complete and best-preserved castles in Italy. Its walled harbour, the darsena, is a rare survival of a medieval lake port built to shelter a fleet.

The castle takes its name from the della Scala, or Scaligeri, the family that ruled Verona from the mid-13th century until 1387. Work began in the 13th century, probably on the remains of a Roman fortification, and Mastino I della Scala is traditionally regarded as its founder; its role was to defend this exposed border post and control the lake traffic. About a century later two courtyards and a detached outwork, joined to the main fort by a barbican, were added. When Sirmione passed to the Republic of Venice in 1405 the defences were strengthened again, and the darsena seen today dates from that period. The castle lost its importance in the 16th century, when Venice modernised the fortress at nearby Peschiera del Garda, though it kept a garrison into the 19th century and later housed the town offices. Restoration began in 1919, and in 2018 the waters of the inner harbour were finally cleared.

Three massive corner towers with the swallowtail merlons typical of Scaliger building stand around a much taller keep, once above the prison cells. A stair of 146 steps leads up to the wall-walks, which look down into the harbour and out across the lake; the harbour towers, built later, end in plain pointed tops rather than swallowtails. The portico inside holds a small collection of Roman and medieval stonework. Local legend tells of the lovers Ebengardo and Arice, whose guest, a knight caught in a storm, killed Arice and was killed in turn; on stormy nights, it is said, Ebengardo's ghost still searches the castle for her. Sirmione itself has drawn visitors since Roman times, when wealthy families from Verona built villas here; the poet Catullus wrote of his own, and the remains of a vast Roman villa known as the Grottoes of Catullus lie on the peninsula.

Getting there

The castle stands at the entrance to Sirmione's historic centre, about 6 km from Desenzano del Garda. The nearest airport is Brescia Gabriele d'Annunzio Airport (VBS), about 23 km away. The closest railway station is Desenzano del Garda–Sirmione, on the Milan–Venice line.