Thursday June 1, 2023
After eating our breakfast, we head out for todays sightseeing. We have a 1100 tour reserved for the Island of Garda. Our apartment is 1.8 miles from the peninsula on which the old town lies and near where our boat fro the island will depart. There is a bus about a block away that we can take to the peninsula, but we decide to get some exercise and walk. Our walk starts along the shore of the lake and continues for about half the distance until it veers slightly inland along the road to the peninsula. We arrive at the peninsula entrance about 1015, which gives us time to ask around and find out where exactly our boat for the island leaves from. We figure it out and then go into the old town to check it out a little while we wait.
Up until now, almost everywhere we have been has not been overrun by tourists. Well, it seems that we have found them, as the streets of the old town are brimming with people. It is very different than our recent experience on Lake Iseo. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and as such, seems to attract many more people. Sirmione is located on the southern part of the lake which is more accessible by train and bus. Our tour today is guided and we will get to explore the island and the villa that is on it. The islands history is varied having been used as a Roman burial ground, a pirate lair, a Franciscan monastery, border fortification, and as a residential villa. We walk back to the boat dock and wait for our tour to begin.
The boat arrives and we depart for Isola del Garda which is the largest island on the lake. We are happy that the weather is perfect for our trip. As we pull away from Sirmione, we get nice views of the peninsula and the Grotto of Cattulo (Roman ruins) that we will be visiting later or tomorrow. The ride will take about 45 minutes so here is a little more history of the island. Today it is covered by a park and the Venetian neo gothic Villa Borghese Cavazza. In 1924 Anna Maria, wife of Prince Scipione Borghese (yes, the Borghese’s from Rome) inherited the island. She only survived her mother by a few months (dying at age 50) and in 1927, the Prince died. He left the island to his daughter, Princess Livia Borghese, who was married to Count Alessandro Cavazza from Bologna. Their youngest son Count Camilo Cavazza dei Conti took over and in 1965, married Lady Charlotte Sarah Alexandra Chetwynd-Talbot (that is a mouthful) who was the eldest daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Lady Charlotte was born in 1938 and still owns the property today. Her and the Count had seven children before Camilo died in 1981. Today they ( four brothers and three sisters) live on the island with her although many of them own and run businesses on the nearby lake shore communities. these include boat rentals, olive growing, a campground, agriturismo, and a riding school.
We get to the island and meet our guide. He tells us some of the history of the island. We learn that it was a rocky island and that all the topsoil and dirt for the gardens and the now wooded park areas was brought here in rowboats. Quite the task. The effort paid off as the parklands, English, and Italian gardens are beautiful. We see a beautiful wooden sculpture carved out of a tree trunk by artist Gianluigi Zambelli. Later we will see many more as we walk around the park and gardens. They are all pretty amazing works of art. We walk on up to the villa which was built in the late 19th century. The family still lives in it and Lady Charlottes children and their families occupy many of the apartments on different floors. We are not allowed to take pictures in the few rooms we see.
Back outside, we go through the Italian and English gardens. The Italian garden has groomed hedges some of which are in the shape of the emblem of the family. The English garden was created by Lady Charlotte over forty years and used to be a lakeside orchard. There are still various fruit trees remaining. One can only imagine growing up inn this magical place. After the gardens, we are given a glass of local wine, a taste of the family olive oil, and some snacks. We are allowed time to walk around the nature park, enjoy the views, and more of the wooden sculptures hidden among the forest. Then it is time to board the boat for the return trip to Sirmione. It was a very worthwhile tour.
When we get back to Sirmione, we go through old town to visit the Grotto di Catullo. It was a Roman Villa which dates back to the era of the first Emperor, Octavian Augustus (27 B.C. To 14 A. D.). It was built on the extreme tip of the Sirmione Peninsula and is surrounded by water on three sides. The remains of the villa which had been abandoned since the 3rd century was discovered in the 15th century and looked like natural caves which is how it got its grotto name. It was associated with the ancient Veronese poet Catullis which accounts for the other part of its name. However, he could not have lived here as it was built after his death. It may have been that members of his aristocratic family lived here for a time but it is not known for sure who lived here. The excavated ruins are quite good and sitting high on the bluff, a very strategic and defensible position. We can see the inviting waters of Jamaica beach below. We spend quite a bit of time walking around the remains. They have quite a few signs posted in English explaining what some of the various rooms and structures were which help make the visit more enjoyable.
Leaving the villa, we go down a road toward Jamaica Beach. It is not really a beach, more like a series of flat rocks that go around the tip of the peninsula with the Grotto of Catullis perched above it. It is quite crowded where the path ends so we take off our shoes and half wade, half walk along the shoreline to the tip of the peninsula. We find a fairly flat rock to put our clothes down on and prepare to go in the water. I go first as we are not sure if it is safe enough to leave our packs and things alone on the waters edge with all the people traffic. The water stays low for quite a ways out and you need to watch your footing as you are walking on large slabs of rock and occasionally between them. It is an interesting but slow going journey to get to where you can submerge a bit in the water. It does feel good once you do as it has gotten to be quite warm today.
I return to our shoreline rock and we decide that it is safe enough to leave our things and go in together. It is not a place you could do a grab and run unless you want to break a leg or your face. I guide Carol back in among the rock slabs watching for orange color on the rocks which seems to be more slippery than other areas. We enjoy our time in the water and finally go back to shore to dry off a bit. We are going to walk the rest of the way around the peninsula which will eventually pick up a path back to the old town. It is more slow going but we finally make it and duck behind some bushes to change out of our bathing suits (my underwear, Carol actually carried a suit this trip) and put our socks and shoes back on.
We walk to the old town and look for a place to eat and find a place called L’Arcimboldo. The menu looks good but they are closed at the moment. We decide to wait the 30 minutes until they open and hope we can get a nice seat outside. While we ain’t a line forms behind us. They finally open the door and I ask for a table for two by the lake if possible. They march us through the restaurant and out back and we get a wonderful table on the lake and in the shade. We order a simple pasta with tomato and basil sauce and splurge on a grilled seafood platter for two. The ambience and the fact we really haven’t eaten since breakfast makes it seem like the perfect time to do this. The pasta is good and the platter is very nice. It has grilled lake fish, calamari, salmon, tuna, scampi, and vegetables. Our white wine goes well with it and we enjoy a nice leisurely meal.
As we walk through town, Carol stops at a gelato place. I do not want to get a gelato here as it seems like a tourist trap. Every time we have walked by it they are luring you in for a free sample and then asking what do you want. The cones seem large but as I go and find some prices are expensive at 7 euros. I am about to tell Carol that I would rather go closer t our apartment where we went yesterday but I am too late. She has already ordered and on top of that they charged another euro for a cone which was not explained on the menu. I am not a happy camper and it kind of ruins my mood for the whole walk back to our apartment. I know I will shake it off but I hate feeling like I was taken advantage of and we definitely were. At the apartment, I sit out on the balcony to reconnect with my happy place. That is all for tonight. see you tomorrow.
Expenses Tour to Isola di Garda 86E Dinner at L’Arcimboldo 73E Gelato 16E Appartmente Jamaica 98.68E Walked 10.75 Miles
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