Rocca di Garda

General Survey

 

Panorama view of the rock

 

Panorama view from the rock

Rocca di Garda (Sentinel Rock) is outposted 650 feet high rock
located on the Southeast shore of the Garda lake.
Formed by glaciers during the last Ice Age,
Garda lake is easternmost and largest of the Italian lakes,
and Rocca di Garda is the best viewpoint on it's southeast coast.
Rock itself is easy walkup (stroll up may be better description) from the downtown Garda,
and can easily be combined with more serious activities due north,
as both Mount Baldo and the rock climbing areas
are almost inside one hour drive from Garda - and one hour only is what it takes
to summit Rocca di Garda from Garda town.
Visitor is awarded with nice panoramic view down the southern shore of the lake,
clear view of Monte Lupia  accross the Garda gulf, Southeast ridge of Monte Baldo clearly seen,
as well as few summits of Lombardian Prealps located across the lake.
Another bonus is plethora of various flowers - rock is rich with flora.

Getting to the top:
From Garda town walk due southeast, pass Piazzale Roma square,
untill Via degli Alpini street forks right uphill.
Walk till the small junction where marked normal (walkup) path winds left
from the small power station. Fork right instead, and catch with not marked path due right.
Path steepens as it catches almost in vertical line with spur through the forrested northslope of Rocca.
Inside under 30 minutes you will find yourself just under the rock face,
where path diverges left and join with walkup path to the summit plateau.
Use common path for descend, it leads back to the saddle behind the main plateau
covered with rich forrest (Boschi di Rocca), and leads back down to Garda town.

Glimpse into history

 

Medieval imprssion of Rocca di Garda

Rocca di Garda was home to the oldest settlement on the Garda lake.
During the 5th century the fortress of Garda stood on the rock, serving as the guarding point
above the old route connecting the lake with the Adige plain.
First human traces on the rock are believed to date back to the Bronse age, there is longer
circular path around Rocca that allows visiting some of the archeological sites.
Both Rocca di Garda and the Garda town are believed to be namesake for the lake,
Castle on top of Rocca was of such importance that the lake changed
its former Latin name "Benacus" to its present name, Garda.
On the less (or more?) noble side, Rocca also served as prison.
Rocca di Garda fortress is where Queen Adelai was imprisoned
before she managed to fled
and later married Otho, the first German imperator.
Fortress lost its strategic value and was gradually abandoned from the 12th century onwards.

Getting There

 

Overview and road map

 

Large map of the area

 

Detailed map

• Getting there by air:
  Nearest airport is Verona Villafranca
  Airport is served  by several low-cost carriers.
  There is shuttle service connecting airport with Verona.
  The other convinient airport is Brescia Montichiari
• Getting there by train:
  There are no trains arriving directly in Garda
  as there is no railway contouring the lake;
  the nearest stations are Peschiera del Garda,
  Desenzano and Verona Centrale,
  all on the from Milan - Venice rail line.
  Peschiera del Garda is most convinient, from here
  you can take either ferry to anywere on the lake,
  or coach. Peschiera - Garda by ferry takes around 1 hour.
  From Verona Centrale, however, you can take coach service
  driving down the Garda eastern shore. Bus station in Verona
  is next to the Railway station.
  Check the train timetable and book tickets on TreniItalia web site.
• Getting there by coach:
  Frequent coach service down the east Garda coast is operated by
  APTV (L'Azienda provinciale trasporti di Verona). Coach line
  connects Verona bus station with Riva di Garda on the northern end
  of the Garda lake(climbing site). Roughly, it takes over an hour by coach
  from Garda to Riva di Garda. It takes about 45 minutes from Garda to Malcesina,
  Malcesina is where you can pick up gondola for Monte Baldo.
  Garda bus station information centre (summer only)
  Autostazione di Garda, via Corso Italia, 62
  phone:  045 7255833
• By boat:
  Garda port is well connected with all other ports on the lake. Note that,
  however, boat service is slower an more expensive then coach. Schedules
• By car:
   Motorways
  A22 Brennero - Modena
  exit Rovereto sud (Tn) to lake Garda north
  exit Affi (Vr) to lake Garda south
  or
  A4 Serenissima Milano - Venezia
  exit Brescia est
  exit Desenzano del Garda (Bs)
  exit Sirmione (Bs)
  exit Peschiera del Garda (Vr)

Maps, Weather

Camping, Red Tape

Images