Bardolino is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, located about west of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

and about northwest of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Geography

Located on the eastern shore of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

, Bardolino borders the following municipalities: Affi, Cavaion Veronese, Costermano, Garda, Lazise,

Manerba del Garda Manerba del Garda is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is located at the southwest side of the Lake Garda. It is bounded by the comunes of San Felice del Benaco, Puegnago sul Garda, Moniga del Garda, Polpenazze ...

, Moniga del Garda,

Padenghe sul Garda Padenghe sul Garda is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is situated on the southwest coast of Lake Garda. Neighbouring communes are Calvagese della Riviera, Desenzano del Garda, Lonato del Garda, Moniga del Garda a ...

, and

Pastrengo Pastrengo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,486 and an area of .All demographics an ...

. The economy is mostly based on tourism and production of wine (including the Bardolino DOC).

History

Archaeological excavations have proven the presence of humans in the area since prehistoric times, in the area of Cisano. There also traces of

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 ...

, though the modern settlement dates to the early Middle Ages, when Berengar of Italy (983) had a castle built here. In that period the area was under the suzerainty of the

Bobbio Abbey Bobbio Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di San Colombano'') is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus. ...

. In the 12th century Bardolino is mentioned as a free commune, and later was under the

Scaliger The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History Wh ...

, who enlarged the fortifications to encompass the whole village. After their fall, it became part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

which had a marine base here. In 1526 it was sacked by the

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front lin ...

s. Under the Lombardy-Venetia, it was an Austrian administrative center: in 1848 it revolted against them in the wake of the first

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly reg ...

victories in the First Italian War of Independence. However, later the Austrians retaliated with ravages and shootings. It was annexed to the newly formed

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

in 1866.

Main sights

* Church of San Zeno (mid-9th century), one of the few Carolingian edifices in Italy. It has traces of original fresco decorations. * Church of San Severo (11th-12th centuries). It has 12th-14th-century frescoes, and an early medieval crypt. * Church of San Nicolò and San Severo (1830-1844) by the architect Bartolomeo Giuliari, parochial church. * Monastery of San Colombano (11th century), a dependency of the

Pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after t ...

of Santa Maria, rebuilt in the 12th century above a 7th-century early Christian church, which had been in turn constructed over an ancient pagan temple. * City walls (12th century) * Villa Bottagisio (19th century). * Villa Guerrieri (19th century). * Villa Ferrari (19th century). * Casa Ottolenghi (1974-1978), designed by Carlo Scarpa. * Museo Sisàn, dedicated to fishing and bird hunting in the

area. * Zeni Wine Museum, founded in 1991 as part of the Zeni Cellar. It exposes objects above all of Veronese wine culture. Free entry for individual visitors, against reservation for groups.

References

External links

Official website

Bardolino Tourist Guide
Cities and towns in Veneto Populated places on Lake Garda {{Veneto-geo-stub