E-Bike and tour from Lonato del Garda with Wine Tasting

The ancient village of Lonato is gathered around the Rocca and extends on the southern slopes of Mount Rova, which overlooks the Brescia plain and the southern shore of Lake Garda. The area, inhabited since prehistoric times, belonged to the Romans, as evidenced by the numerous archaeological finds, but the ancient village was located about a kilometer north of the current centre, around the Pieve di San Zeno. After the evangelization which took place around the fourth century, a church was erected, the Pieve di Lonato, a small castle and some houses defended by walls.

The abbey of Maguzzano, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is located in the Municipality of Lonato, in the area that directly overlooks Lake Garda. The current architectural complex was built in 1493-96 by the Benedictine monks of the abbey of Polirone (Mantua). Its origin, however, is much older: the first small abbey (“abatiola”), traces of which are found in the documents and stone finds exhibited in the museum, dates back to the 9th century

Lake Garda offers various holiday possibilities with incredible places to visit. You can choose Lake Garda as a destination for your summer holidays, or to take a day trip from the nearest towns in Northern Italy, or choose Lake Garda to spend a nice relaxing weekend. There are many beautiful places not to be missed on Lake Garda, both on the western shore of the lake, the Brescian one, with Desenzano, Salò, Limone for example, and on the eastern Venetian one, with destinations famous all over the world such as Sirmione, Bardolino, Lazise, ​​which of the northernmost shore, the Trentino one, with destinations to visit such as Riva del Garda, an important congress centre.

The first settlements date back to the Early Bronze Age (2000-1800 BC). In the local Archaeological Museum there are, in addition to various objects, the oldest wooden plow in the world, dating back to about 2000 BC. Between the 1st and 2nd century after Christ, the Roman nobles elected Garda as their country residence, with the Via Emilia favoring communications with Rome. During the Lombard period, Desenzano was under the jurisdiction first of Verona and then of Brescia (1192). Around 1170 the heretic pope Nicetas brought the Cathar heresy to these places, later stifled by the Inquisition. In the dispute between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the latter found refuge in the Castle of Desenzano, but were eventually overwhelmed.

The construction of the Castle of Desenzano dates back to the 10th century on the foundations of a Roman "castrum". Quadrangular in shape, it is located on the top of the hill overlooking the port and a large part of the surrounding area. At the end of the fifteenth century the castle was enlarged in the southern part to house a military garrison, but continuing to be mainly a refuge for the population. The plan of the castle is that of an irregular rectangle, with the tower rising at the entrance, on the north side, to protect the drawbridge, of which the loopholes for the chains are still preserved. It is a massive tower with windows only at the top. Desenzano - Detail of the Castle Of the ancient castle there are still some sections of curtain walls with crumbling merlons between the four cut-off corner towers, with the exception of the one on the north-east corner which, until 1940, functioned as an observatory.