Sirmione, pearl of Garda

Sirmione is a town in the province of Brescia, has 8,000 inhabitants and lies on the shores of Lake Garda. The main resource is tourism. The delightful old town is a peninsula bathed on all sides by the lake, accessed from the Scaligero Castle, built in the thirteenth / fourteenth century. Well preserved, it is a rare example of lake fortification, entirely bathed by the waters of the lake, remarkable are the dovetail battlements and the dock, once a meeting place for the naval fleet. Another tourist attraction is represented by the caves of Catullus, whose name is highly misleading; it is in fact the remains of a Roman villa dating back to the first century BC and the first century AD. It is one of the most important Roman villas in all of northern Italy. Sirmione is also famous for its thermal waters. It must be remembered how it fell back into the Verona area and only with Napoleon was it transferred to the Brescia area. The aforementioned castle holds a famous legend: the young Arice and Bengardo lived there happily, until, on a stormy night, the knight Elaberto asked for a welcome, who was struck by the beauty of Arice and tried to possess it at night. When the girl refused, he stabbed her. Bengardo then killed the knight. It is said that even today in the stormy nights the ghost of Bengardo can be seen wandering in search of Arice.