Holidays in Salo at Lake Garda, Italy

Palazzo del Podestà (Town Hall)
In the 16th century a Venetian façade with an arcade was added to the old 14th century town hall, and the building has retained its charm ever since. There is nothing left of the original today, however, after an earthquake also destroyed the Palazzo del Podestà in 1901. Adjacent to the town hall are the arcades of the Palazzo della Magnifica Patria (the local tourist office is located in the passage of the houses out on to the street).

Santa Maria Annunziata
Salò is the only town on the lake to have a cathedral. Work on the late Gothic house of worship began in 1453. Later on, a white Renaissance portal was inserted into the simple brick façade. The artworks of the church include a painting by Romanino (1486-1560), Sant’Antonio of Padua (please note that women dressed in overly light summer clothing can drape one of the shawls hanging on the left in the church around their shoulders).

Manerba del Garda
Situated barely 10 km to the south of Salò, this little area (3,761 inhabitants in 2001) offers a beautiful and easy walk up to the Rocca di Manerba. Those with a bit of stamina in them can choose to start from the car park below the village centre of Montinelle and walk along the Via del Melograno. Alternatively, you can drive along the same narrow road to the car park below the nature park. From there it’s just a short walk to the castle ruins. Excavation work recommenced a short while ago; the remains of the low castle wall have been well renovated and information panels have also been erected in foreign languages. ‘Nature Park of the Rocca di Manerba and its rediscovered Castle’. This spot must have been well suited for building a stronghold – but today it is above all a wonderful vantage point. Try choosing a day with good visibility to visit.

San Felice del Benaco
The vast majority of camping sites by Lake Garda are located between Salò and Desenzano; the area has far fewer hotels. Most of the beaches get fairly crowded and those which are not part of a camping site are often free, though you will have to pay for a parking space. At the weekends, numbers swell with an influx of day trippers, so it’s all the more surprising when, frequently, you scarcely find anyone using the little side roads in the interior. It all leaves you free to drive past vineyard slopes and olive groves at your leisure. Worth visiting are the inordinately tidy village square of San Felice and its churches, the parish church and pilgrimage church of Madonna del Carmine. There is a small swimming beach by Porto Protese.