Culture
CASTELLO SCALIGERO E GROTTE DI CATULLO
Thanks to Its fortunate and natural position, the peninsula of Sirmione has been a privileged place for a settlement since ancient times. Still today, It keeps many vestiges of its long and uninterrupted history, difficult to find in other town centres. The oldest human token goes back to the first Po-Neolithic (second half VI-V century B.C.). During the Bronze Age (III-II century B.C.), lake dwellings are documented by lakeshores (in Maraschina, porto Galeazzi, San Francesco) but there are also isolated archaeological finds of the same period in some places of the town (Grotte di Catullo, lido delle Bionde, via Antiche Mura , gardens by San Salvatore). Sirmione has become a resort, as other lake areas, chosen by rich families from Verona as Valeri Family since the first century B.C. The poet Catullo (87-54 B.C.) belonged to this family and he celebrates the beauty of Sirmione in an ode and he writes about his house in this place. Two big Roman Villas date to the turn of the I century B.C. and the I century A.C.: the first one known as "Grotte di Catullo" and the second discovered among Mosaici square, via Vittorio Emanuele, via Antiche Mura in recent years . At the base of the peninsula, there was the street which linked the roman cities of Verona and Brescia; not far from Sirmione, probably in the place of Lugana Vecchia, there was a rest station for travellers "the Sermione mansio", whose existence is documented in Antonio's route (III Century A.C.). In late Roman Age (IV-V century A.C.), Sirmione becomes a fortified place to control the low lake, a defence bailey along the peninsula is erected; a small residential complex settles within the walls. In Lombard Age, starting from the last quarter of the VI century, there is a settlement, substantiated by huts ruins and a necropolis. By the end of Lombard Reign, Sirmione was a wide district (Iudiciaria Sermionense), which was under the authority of the sovereign. The Queen Ansa, wife of the Lombard King Desiderio, founds a monastery and the church of San Salvatore. Other Churches are mentioned to be present in the town, as you can read in documents of the VIII century: San Pietro in Mavino, San Martino and San Vito. The district of Sirmione loses its independence because of Charles the Great, but Sirmione continues to hold its privileged relationship with the sovereigns, from who it obtains exemptions and particular granting. In the XIII century, Sirmione becomes one of the reference point for the defence system of della Scala Family through the building of the Castle, made probably by Mastino I della Scala. At the same time, Sirmione is the shelter for heretic Patarini, after condemned to the stake (1278). Its control and defence function, assumed in late Roman Age, continues till the XVI century, when Peschiera replaces Sirmione in its role of being defence system of the low Lake. In any case, the Castle remains seat of the military garrison till the half of XVIII century. Sirmione lies in a strategic and important position between the plain and the south part of the Lake, a border area of Signoria scaligera and after at the beginning of the XV century it becomes part of the Republic of Venice. Sirmione keeps in touch with Venice still its fall in 1797. In the XVIII century, the population were committed to fishing and hinterland agriculture, tilling the typical local cultivation such as olive trees, grape vines, mulberries. The mass tourist development and the wide planing changes of the area date back to the second post-war period. To this case, It has contributed the presence of sulphur waters, known for ages, but which medical capacity began to be used only at the end of the last century.
ARENA DI VERONA
In the summer of 1913, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, the tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the theatre impresario Ottone Rovato took on the financial risk of promoting a magnificent lyrical festival. With the staging of Aida, the Arena di Verona became the biggest open-air lyrical theatre in the world, a supremacy that it still holds today.
During the seventy-nine seasons that can be counted from the summer of 1913, the theatrical organization has undergone numerous transformations.
Since 1914 various individuals have taken it upon themselves to manage the seasons in the Arena amphitheatre. Zenatello, the mind behind the idea of the festival, was among these as well as the company Lyrica Italica Ars (1919-1920), the Casa Musicale Sonzogno of Milan (1921-1922) and the impresario Gino Bertolaso from 1923 to 1926. Renovations were carried out on the scenery, under the management of the Ente Fiera di Verona (the Fair Organization) in 1930 and 1931, while 1934 saw the birth of the Ente Comunale degli Spettacoli (the municipal performance association) which organized the summer festival of the same year.
IL VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI
The Vittoriale degli Italiani is the monumental citadel established by D’Annunzio from 1921 to 1938, after moving to Gardone Riviera on the bank of the Brescia side of Lake Garda. It isn’t simply a house, but an ensemble of buildings, streets, squares, theatres, gardens, parks and watercourses.
MUSEO SAN MARTINO E SOLFERINO
The Solferino and San Martino Society is a Charity established in 1871 by the wish of Count Luigi Torelli, a senator of the Realm, to perpetuate and honour the memory of those who fell in the bloody battle of 24 June 1859 at Solferino and San Martino, as well as all those who fought for the Unity and Independence of Italy. The Society is also committed to keeping the ideals and values of the Renaissance alive by promoting events aimed at spreading awareness of that fundamental part of Italy’s history and preserving the monuments, museums and the ossuary chapel built in the two historical locations of San Martino and Solferino, a destination for numerous visitors every year.
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