Peschiera del Garda (; vec, Pischera; la, Ardelica, ''Arilica'') is a town and ''

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 ...

'' in the province of Verona, in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified towns constituting the

Quadrilatero The ''Quadrilatero'' (, for greater specificity often called the "Quadrilateral fortresses") is the traditional name of a defensive system of the Austrian Empire in the Lombardy-Venetia region of Italy, which connected the fortresses of Peschie ...

. The fortress is on an island in the river

Mincio The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' ...

at its outlet from

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 ...

. The town is encircled by massive Venetian defensive systems that have been a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

since 9 July 2017.

History

Roman Ardelica was a town of

Gallia Transpadana Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

that occupied the site of the modern Peschiera del Garda, at the southeast angle of the Lacus Benacus ( Lago di Garda), just where the Mincius (modern Mincio) issued from the lake. The name is found under the corrupted form Ariolica in the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

, which correctly places it between Brixia and Verona; the true form is preserved by inscriptions, of which one says that it was a trading place, with a corporation of ship-owners, ''collegium naviculariorum Ardelicensium''. (Orell. Inscr. 4108.) The town is mentioned as Arilica in

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

's ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

''. The fortress at Peschiera played a prominent part in most military campaigns conducted in northern Italy after 1400, especially during the

Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria, Russia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and a number o ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. At the Battle of Peschiera fought on 6 August 1796, the day after the major French victory at the

Battle of Castiglione The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by ''Feldmarschall'' Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated ...

, a French force commanded by general Masséna drove out the Austrians. After the Siege of Peschiera, during the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...

, it was taken by the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

ese from the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

ns, following a gallant defence by general Rath lasting six weeks, on 30 May, 1848. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Peschiera conference between the British and French premiers and the Italian king took place on 8 November 1917. Peschiera del Garda was also known for its

military jail A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members ...

, which closed in 2002. The commune is part of the Associazione Città del vino ("Association of Wine Cities"). In winter, the nearby Laghetto del Frassino is the most important habitat for

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

s in Italy (Morbioli & Sighele 2006).

World heritage site

*It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the

Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps are a series of prehistoric pile dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from about 5000 to 500 BC on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. In 2011, 111 sites located variousl ...

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. ** location Belvedere ; ** location lake of

Frassino Frassino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Frassino borders the following municipalities: Brossasco, Melle, Sampeyre, and San Da ...

; *The fortress and the external fortifications. They were included in

list as part of " Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar" in 2017.

Main sights

*Sanctuary of ''Madonna del Frassino'' (1511). It houses works by

Paolo Farinati Paolo Farinati (also known as ''Farinato'' or ''Farinato degli Uberti''; c. 1524 – c. 1606) was an Italian painter of the Mannerist style, active in mainly in his native Verona, but also in Mantua and Venice. He may have ancestors among Flore ...

and Zeno da Verona.

Transport

Peschiera del Garda railway station, opened in 1854, forms part of the

Milan–Venice railway The Milan–Venice railway line is one of the most important railway lines in Italy. It connects the major city of Milan, in Lombardy, with the Adriatic Sea at Venice, in Veneto. The line is state-owned and operated by the state rail infrastructu ...

. The town is additionally served by ferry services, which connect it to other towns on the coast of

, including

Sirmione Sirmione (Brescian: ; vec, Sirmion) is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy (northern Italy). It is bounded by Desenzano del Garda (Lombardy) and Peschiera del Garda in the province of Verona and the region of Veneto. It has a hist ...

and

Desenzano del Garda Desenzano del Garda ( lmo, label=Brescian, Dezensà) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda. It borders the communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Gard ...

Gallery

Peschiera del Garda con il monte Baldo sullo sfondo..jpg, The new port and

Monte Baldo Monte Baldo (german: Waldberg) is a mountain range in the Italian Alps, located in the provinces of Trento and Verona. Its ridge spans mainly northeast-southwest, and is bounded from south by the highland ending at Caprino Veronese, from west b ...

Peschiera del Garda 6.jpg, Peschiera del Garda 8.jpg, Peschiera-Municipio.JPG, City Hall File:Bastione di Porta Verona.jpg, Porta Verona. A renovation of the old Venetian fortifications surrounding the town, now a

. File:Peschiera-Porta Brescia.JPG, Porta Brescia - Brescia Gate 37019 Peschiera del Garda, Province of Verona, Italy - panoramio (12).jpg, Porta Brescia - Brescia Gate File:Peschiera del Garda - panoramio (1).jpg, The fortress 37019 Peschiera del Garda, Province of Verona, Italy - panoramio (18).jpg, The fortress Die Gartenlaube (1866) b 396 1.jpg, The fortress (1866) File:Giovanni Falcone Peschiera.jpg, The monument to Giovanni Falcone, meant to represent a fragment of the car in which he was assassinated.

Bounding communes

Castelnuovo del Garda Castelnuovo del Garda is an Italian ''comune'' (municipality), in the Province of Verona, in Veneto, on a couple of morainic hills few kilometers south-east from Lake Garda. Verona is about 20 km to the east, Venice is 140 km east and ...

Valeggio sul Mincio Valeggio sul Mincio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southwest of Verona. It is crossed by the Mincio river. The economy is mostly based on agriculture ...

* Ponti sul Mincio *

Pozzolengo Pozzolengo (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographic ...

Twin cities

Ula Tirso Ula Tirso (in Sardinian language just Ula) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about northeast of Oristano. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population o ...

, Italy *

Capoterra Capoterra ( sc, Cabuderra; ; from Latin ''Caput Terrae'', "head of the Earth") is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. At 2011 national census it had 24,017 inhabitants and is part of the Cagliari metropol ...

, Italy *

Villa Carlos Paz Villa Carlos Paz () is a city in the center-north of the province of Córdoba, Argentina, in the south of the Punilla Valley, lying on the western slope of the Sierras Chicas. It has a population of about 56,000 as per the . The area of Punilla is ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

References

*
PDF fulltext

External links

Associazione Nazionale Città del Vino
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peschiera Del Garda Cities and towns in Veneto Roman towns and cities in Italy Populated places on Lake Garda