Anniversary in Sirmione

A lunch in Sirmione

We leave Milan with sunshine and a nice little breeze carrying the typical spring pollens: if it weren't for the sun, they'd look like snowflakes!!!

Once we arrive in Sirmione and leave the car, we decide to treat ourselves to a motorboat ride (3 euros each) to reach the historic center via the lake. The crossing is short, but it lets us observe the Scaligera Fortress from a different angle.

Given the time, we decide right away to go look for the restaurant we had found by chance on the Internet: Al Torcol (Via San Salvatore, 30). The choice turns out to be very interesting: the restaurant is very small, but in the warm season it has several outdoor tables, which let you savor the climate and the scents of the lake. Unfortunately it doesn't have a view of the lake itself, but it's also interesting to watch the alleys of historic Sirmione and the many tourists (lots of foreigners) strolling with their noses in the air!!!

The menu also turns out to be interesting: the menu offers choices from both the lake and the land, but we already had lake trout in mind so we choose fish dishes and a good local white wine.

If it were up to us, we'd never leave, but the historic promontory offers good walks (for the lazier ones there's also a little train) and some historic sites to visit.

The afternoon in Sirmione

After lunch, we head straight for the Grotte di Catullo, right at the northern tip of the promontory, of which I always remember the beautiful, highly fragrant rosemary hedges, as well as the grandeur of what must have been a luxurious Roman villa.

"Grotte" is a Renaissance term for collapsed structures, in most cases covered with earth or ivy. This one, due to the slope of the land, stands on several levels, created thanks to a series of massive cuts in the rock. According to tradition, these would be the remains of the poet's residence in Sirmione: however, we have no certain proof that this is so. Without a doubt Catullus stayed in Sirmione, as the verses of Carmen XXXI testify. In the nineteenth century the first archaeological excavations of the area were carried out by the Veronese Girolamo Orti Manara, who published the results in a work from '56. Manara's research is particularly careful and precise and was completed with meticulous floor plans. The site that today stands at the entrance of the actual archaeological area is called the Antiquarium.

Tourists visiting the grottoes can find there all the most interesting material that emerged during the archaeological excavations. These are everyday objects, but also artistic ones. Among them are particularly beautiful frescoes decorated with marine scenes, and one depicting a poet.

Meanwhile the sky has become cloudy so we decide to head back toward the Scaligera Fortress, making a stop at the ruins of San Pietro in Mavino with the bell of the fallen, and at the entrance of the Terme di Sirmione (Aquaria Wellness Center), a temptation for a future return!

After walking all the streets of the historic center, we also visit the Scaligera Fortress, admiring Sirmione from the battlements of the Castle.

An imposing structure that faces directly onto the lake, the Castle of Sirmione has for centuries been a fundamentally important outpost for controlling the waters. It has a dock still in perfect condition that is one of the rare examples of a fortification used exclusively as a port. Overall its impact with the rest of the urbanized area is one of great detachment, imposanence, but also harmony. The Castle was built during the 13th century by Mastino della Scala, yet in the portico we can still find a Roman lapidary stone. It's possible to access the walls, from which you can perfectly admire the fortified dock, the favored refuge of the Scaligera fleet. It was further reinforced when, in 1405, Sirmione was annexed to the Republic of Venice, which opted for a general renewal of the castle's fortifications. Overall the fortress of Sirmione is among the best preserved in Italy.

Visitors are allowed to enter through the drawbridge, and walk on the imposing crenellated walls, along the patrol walkways, after climbing a good 146 steps to reach the main keep!

Once the tour is over, all that's left is to admire one last time the many swans that populate the lake's waters and... treat ourselves to one of the many gelatos sold on every corner!!! (For the health-conscious, Sirmione is also full of kiosks selling fruit and fruit salads!!!)