At 370sq km (145sq miles), Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes. The shallow shoreline in the south produces excellent beaches which, coupled with the area's very mild climate (in part due to the huge volume of water that acts like a storage radiator), its closeness to large population centers and distance from the other large lakes means that the entire perimeter of the lake's southern shore seems to have been taken over by holidaymakers.

Do not let that observation deter you from visiting however. The near Mediterranean climate is of itself worth a trip, and it also encourages a luxuriant and very varied plant growth. The southern lake has much of interest and, in Sirmione, one of the most extraordinary towns on any of the lakes visited. The northern tip of the lake, fjord-like into its enclosing hills, is also worthwhile, the backdrop of hills to the blue lake waters never failing to stir the imagination.

Desenzano del Garda

The lake tour begins at Desenzano del Garda on the main railway from Milan to Venice, which has its own exit from the A4 autostrada. Desenzano also has a pleasant little harbor, being an important terminus for the lake steamers.

The Roman link is strong here in Desenzano, the remains of a third-century AD Roman villa having been discovered not far from the harbor. Finest of the remains are the very large multi-colored mosaics that have been compared favorably to those at Pompeii. Next to the villa a small museum contains some finds from the site, together with other items from a locally excavated prehistoric site. Of particular interest is the collection of very early Christian glassware.

The Roman link is maintained at Capo la Terra, the higher part of the town, where there are remains of a castle, constructed spasmodically from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries to guard against attacks by marauders from the north. The castle stands on the remains of a Roman fort, so the strategic merits of this spot must have been obvious 1,000 years ago. The Romans had a market here, chiefly for grain, and Desenzano held its position as an important market town right through to its time under Venetian rule.

Even today there is a market every Tuesday - a good day to come to absorb the atmosphere of the lively, small-town Italian market.  A stroll along the tree-lined lake front should take in the old harbor: Desenzano has two harbors, a large modern one that is the terminus for the lake steamers and an older, more picturesque one that nudges its way into the town. If time permits, try to visit the local church, Santa Maria Magdalene, dating from the late sixteenth century and including a notable painting of the Last Supper by the eighteenth-century Venetian artist, G.B.Tiepolo.

Away from the lake, some 4km (2.5 miles) further on is Lonato, perched on a hill with a fine view of Desenzano. There is much of interest crammed into this typically airy but small town. It has a cathedral with a fine dome beside an excellent central piazza. There is a library here with 40,000 books, some of great rarity and, in the Fondazione da Como, a museum, chiefly of statuary but also with paintings and furniture.

On the other side of Desenzano (to the east) and again inland, are two sites, close to each other and historically inseparable, which will he a must for all interested in the Napoleonic campaigns.

At San Martino della Battaglia, on 24 June (Midsummer's Day) 1859 a Piemontean army under Vittorio Emanuele II defeated the right wing of the Austrian army here, while a few kilometers to the south at Solferino, Napoleon III crushed the main body of the Austrians, a victory commemorated in name by a bridge over the Seine in Paris. The day had few equals in the Wars of Italian Independence, but it also has a significance that was even more far-reaching as the Red Cross was set up as a direct result of the suffering of survivors of the battle at nearby Solferino.

Sirmione

Returning to the lakeside it seems impossible to escape from images of war, because the castle at Sirmione is another. It is difficult, however, to be distracted by grim thoughts from the beauties of the Sirmione peninsula. It starts straightforwardly enough, with a drive from the village of Colombare, but traveling about 3km (2 miles) to the end, it narrows remarkably down to a mere 120m (400ft) wide in places. Eventually drivers must leave their cars and walk to the town, because although the bridge connecting with the end of the peninsula is of car width, the town excludes all but essential vehicles.
 
Although the bridge takes the visitor into the town, it feels as if you are actually entering the Scaligeri castle, which dominates the view rightwards. The Scaligeri built both the castle and the town walls in the fifteenth century when they were lords of Verona, using Roman foundations for their fortress. Inside the castle retains the machinery for a drawbridge, and the near perfect preservation of the upper battlements gives a good idea of the method of protection, by sentinel post and removable footbridges.

The castle, which also includes an embattled quay, must by sheer position have defended the entire southern end of the lake. It is an enchanting building, the fishtail shaped battlements giving it a fairy tale quality, the archetypal child' castle.

Beside the castle is the town, which occupies about half of the 70 or so hectares (180 acres) that the peninsula's head comprises. Into that small area are packed an astonishing variety of things. For the sun lover there a fine beach; the athlete can enjoy windsurfing or tennis, or wile away a more leisurely hour in one of the pedalo boats which characterize all the lakes; the village explorer finds an abundance of narrow streets. There is also an international congress center and a thermal spa. The spa uses natural hot water from a spring on the bed of the lake (here only 20m, 6Sft, down) at 158°F (70°C) to treat muscular ailments and sinus problems. Indeed there is a center that is world famous for its treatment of a specific form (rhinogenous) of deafness.

At the peninsula's end there are also the romantic remains of either a large Roman villa - it would have been the finest private villa in northern Italy -or, it has been argued, a public bath with water piped in from the natural hot spring. The remains are known as the Grotto of Catullus, because it is known that the great poet, born in nearby Verona, had a villa on the peninsula, and wrote glowingly of it several times, but there is no hard evidence to link him with this specific site. A small museum holds the best of the excavated finds.
Also worthy of note is the church of San Pietro in Mavino, built in the eighth century on the site of a pagan temple. It is beautifully positioned among trees and has some fine thirteenth-and fourteenth-century frescoes. Outside is a bell monument to the dead and wounded of all wars.