Lazise on Lake Garda in November

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Lazise - The unsuccessful search for an open campsite on Lake Garda led us to the medieval town of Lazise, ​​where we, along with other campers, found accommodation in the public parking lot opposite the city gate on the Via Gardesana.

Today's townscape of Lazise is dominated by the castle and the 14th-century city walls enclosing the town centre, which were expanded by the Scaligeri, a dominant ethnic group at the time with their headquarters in Verona.

Lazise boasts numerous picturesque corners such as Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, whose houses and arcades around the harbour, along with the characteristic alleys of the old town, house numerous bars, restaurants, and shops.

Today, the economy is centred on tourism, which has made Lazise one of the most sought-after destinations on the "Olive Riviera." It is primarily visited by German tourists as a popular holiday destination on Lake Garda.

Today's fishing port was built during the Scaliger period as a berth for Venetian galleys and boats tasked with guarding and protecting the southeastern shore of Verona, and once served as a naval port.

Since the 11th century, Lazise has been a fortified port station owned by the House of Bevilaqua, whose representatives built the first castle here. Even then, Lazise was a centre of military conflicts. At that time, the town focused on trade and military affairs. Further expansion and the strengthening of these focal points were realized by subsequent rulers. It was only under the Scaligers that the present-day old town was transformed into a fortress, which also served to defend the weapons depots they had built.

A little tidbit: This "parking space" is reserved for the water taxi!

The castle was originally built to defend against the Huns towards the end of the 9th century. The Scaliger Castle is one of the best-preserved fortifications on Lake Garda. In addition to its five somewhat smaller towers, there is the impressive, mighty main tower, the "mastio," in whose upper part the old coats of arms can still be seen, even though they were first destroyed by Emperor Maximillian. "The justice of Mondragòn gives injustice to the one who is right." ("La giustizia del mondragòn la ghe dà torto a chi g'ha rasòn"), is the saying of the people of Lazise when observing the "mastio."

The Church of SS. Zeno e Martino was first mentioned in a document in 1295 and is dedicated to Zeno, the patron saint of waters and fishing. Inside, it houses an altarpiece of Saint Martin by C. Dusi and the "Stations of the Cross" by P. Testoni.

Walking north along the beach promenade, you reach the fine pebble beach of Lazise. Directly behind it is the municipal campsite, which we were actually heading for.

Clear water and sunshine even tempted us to swim, but the hand test immediately spoke against it.

After our walk through the town centre and along the beach promenade, this was our last look at the Lazise harbour before heading to Sirmione. The building of the Verona customs office can still be seen in the picture on the right. The building was also a base for the production of saltpetre for gunpowder and ultimately housed the customs office for goods imported and exported from Veneto.

Olympus - Andrea and John at the destination of their project

Dangast – sometimes there's water – sometimes not!

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