Peschiera del Garda

Peschiera del Garda
Comune
Comune di Peschiera del Garda
Peschiera del Garda

Location of Peschiera del Garda in Italy

Coordinates: 45°26′N 10°41′E / 45.433°N 10.683°E / 45.433; 10.683Coordinates: 45°26′N 10°41′E / 45.433°N 10.683°E / 45.433; 10.683
Country Italy
Region Veneto
Province / Metropolitan city Verona (VR)
Frazioni Peschiera, San Benedetto di Lugana, Broglie
Government
 • Mayor Umberto Chincarini
Area
 • Total 17.63 km2 (6.81 sq mi)
Elevation 68 m (223 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 9,995
 • Density 570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Arilicensi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 37019, 37010
Dialing code 045
Patron saint Saint Martin
Saint day November 11
Website Official website

Peschiera del Garda [peˈskjɛːra del ˈɡarda] (Venetian: Pischera; Latin: Ardelica, Arilica) is a town and comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified towns constituting the Quadrilatero. The fortress is on an island in the river Mincio at its outlet from Lake Garda.

Probably Village of Peschiera del Garda, 1533 or later by Girolamo dai Libri

History

Roman Ardelica was a town of Gallia Transpadana that occupied the site of the modern Peschiera del Garda, at the southeast angle of the Lacus Benacus (Lago di Garda), just where the Mincius (modern Mincio) issued from the lake. The name is found under the corrupted form Ariolica in the Tabula Peutingeriana, which correctly places it between Brixia and Verona; the true form is preserved by inscriptions, of which one says that it was a trading place, with a corporation of ship-owners, collegium naviculariorum Ardelicensium. (Orell. Inscr. 4108.) The town is mentioned as Arilica in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia.

The fortress at Peschiera played a prominent part in most military campaigns conducted in northern Italy after 1400, especially during the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. At the Battle of Peschiera fought on 6 August 1796, the day after the major French victory at the Battle of Castiglione, a French force commanded by general Masséna drives out the Austrians. After the Siege of Peschiera, during the First Italian War of Independence, it was taken by the Piedmontese from the Austrians, following a gallant defence by general Rath lasting six weeks, on 30 May, 1848.

Peschiera del Garda was also known for its military jail, which closed in 2002.

The comune is part of the Associazione Città del vino ("Association of Wine Cities").

In winter, the nearby Laghetto del Frassino is the most important habitat for tufted ducks in Italy (Morbioli & Sighele 2006).

Main sights

Western corner of the fortress

Bounding communes

Transport

Peschiera del Garda railway station, opened in 1854, forms part of the Milan–Venice railway.

Twin cities

World heritage site

It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3]

References

  1. ↑ ISTAT
  2. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  3. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Site - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
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