Lazise

The lakeside promenade, with architecture reminiscent of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, is lined with homes and porticoes including bars, restaurants and shops perfectly integrated with their environment. These continue along the narrow streets, some of them still known by the Venetian name of calli. Among the many picturesque corners are Piazza Vittoria Emanuele and the harbour, still busy with fishing boats. Modern hotels and a programme of cultural and sports activities, against the backdrop of Lake Garda, make a holiday in Lazise ideal if you're keen to explore Verona and its surroundings.

Lazise is a small town on the eastern side of Lake Garda and you can discover it, even over a weekend, by strolling along its narrow streets. The town’s main monument, and probably its essence, is the Dogana Veneta, a sixteenth century building erected by the Venetians to monitor commercial traffic on the lake. Lazise’s customs house has been used for different purposes over the centuries, from monitoring trade to spinning cotton, as a local market, a gunpowder factory and finally a cultural activity and art exhibition centre. Opposite the Dogana is the town’s main church, the Chiesa di San Nicolò.

A short distance from here is the Castello di Lazise, built in the year 1000 to defend the town from raids by Hungarians and frequently altered and fortified, now one of the best kept castles in the Garda area. Built on a square plan, with five towers and a keep, it has two entrances. At the top of the keep you can still see the crests of the Scaligeri family, which Emperor Maximilian had chiselled out because of the bitterness caused among the inhabitants by the power wielded over them by the Scaligeri family. The walls, which were built to protect the first Free Municipality of Italy (983), date from the early Middle Ages and protected the castle, the origins of which are linked to the history of Rome, which named the town Lacisium. The castle was probably rebuilt on the Roman foundations in the Middle Ages, around the 11th century, when the territory was governed by the Venetian Republic and was used as a residence by Venetian magistrates.

The town always had three gates equipped with portcullis and drawbridge systems, which were repeatedly restored. The old city centre is accessed via the Porta Superiore, now commonly known as Porta San Zeno. There are also two further gates in the military walls surrounding the town: Porta Lion, named after the crest of the Venetian Republic, with St. Mark's lion, and Porta Nuova (new gate), at the southern end, so called because it was the last one built. This gate is also known as Porta Cansignorio, named after the father of the Della Scala family, who built the Castle.

If you have time to spare, travel out of Lazise to visit the popular tourist spots in the surrounding area, including Bardolino and Peschiera del Garda, or take a stroll through the suburbs of Lazise: Pacengo and Colà carry on their traditional economic activities, based almost exclusively on fishing and farming, particularly vines and olive trees, producing excellent extra virgin olive oil. From here, there are interesting trips you can take to Monte Baldo, visiting the Vittoriale and travelling to towns along the Brescia side of Lake Garda, including Salò, Gardone, Toscolano Maderno and Limone del Garda. The area is also famous for its theme parks, including Gardaland, CanevaWorld, the Parco Natura Viva safari park, the spa centre and other wonderful attractions. Our holiday packages to Lazise will make it much easier to organise your trip.