Lonato del Garda

Set upon the hills just five km from Lake Garda is Lonato del Garda. This beautiful little city offers exceptional monuments and offers a completely preserved example of an ancient village.
Lonato del Garda boasts beautiful architecture such as seventh century basilicas, the fifth century Torre Maestra and the imposing Rocca, undeniable testimony to the long period in which Lonato was ruled by Venice. Both the Museo civico Ornitologico and the Fondazione Ugo da Como are based in this region, and the work of the later to protect ancient homes has ensured that these house-museums are among best preserved in Italy.
The wonderful resort can fulfil a wide range of needs from those who wish to spend their days by the lake, with it’s beautiful beaches, to those who desire to sample the rich cuisine and use the modern sports grounds.

Colonna Veneta: situated in the main square it is mounted with the lions of San Marco, a testimony to the long period that Lonato del Garda spent under the government of Venice. The colonna was begun in 1441 and sporadically worked upon until its completion in 1796.

Torre Civica: erected in 1555 it was placed above the city with its merlatura, which can be traced back to the XIX century. It has three bells dedicated to the village’s saint. From the inside it is possible to admire the intricate details of the clock.

Basilica Minore: a perfect example of baroque architecture renowned for its high cupola and its front, which is decorated with different shades of marble. The church that stands today is actually the result of three reconstructions; in 1980 it was given the title of Basilica Minore from Pope Giovanni Paolo II.

Rocca Visconteo-Veneta: probably erected around the year 1000, during a time when the whole region was being fortified against invasion from the barbarians, it was radically restructured during XIV and XV by the Counts of Milan. Declared a national monument in 1912 and today a place for conventions and conferences as well as home to an ornithological civil museum.

Pieve Romanica Di S.Zeno: rising above an isolated hill that was once the centre of the ancient settlement of Lonato del Garda. It is the oldest church in Lonato del Garda and one of the most precious.Reconstructed in the XII century upon an old church that probably dated back to the V century, the original Roman apse is preserved as well as and traces of later medieval frescos.

The castle of Lonato: Locally known as the Rocca, stands on the summit of the Morenic Amphitheatre dominating the southern side of Lake Garda. The western slope of the hill shelters the historical centre of Lonato, the limits of which border the Po valley. The fortification may be considered one of the most important in Lombardy. Its irregular and vaguely triangular form reveals a central structure almost 180 metres in length and approximately 45 metres in width.It is composed of two structures at different levels: the so called Rocca in the upper part, and the lower part called headquarters.Despite the long domination by the Visconti and Scaligeri families , the walled embankment, built with large morenic rocks, has Guelph merlons.On the western side, the Castle may be entered through a gate and drawbridge, which were restored in 1980 thanks to the intervention of the Superintendence of Architectural Works.

On the right, a postern allows the passage of a single person, while a niche overhead houses the lion of Saint Mark, symbol of Venetian dominion.Before the entrance, on the right, stand the immense brickwork ramparts, on whose top there are still traces of the niches for the cannons placed in defence of the fortification.Beyond the entrance, on the right again, we can visit the ruins of the guard rooms, through which it is possible to reach the entry to the rampart pill-box.After going up the slope, on the left side it is possible to enter the Headquarters which still show the remains of the chimneys of the barracks (also called quarters) as well as a room provided with a great oven for cooking.Through a pointed archway access may be gained to the northern quarters where, on the far side, it is possible to visit the remains of a look-out and artillery post(6), brought to light during restoration and consolidation work carried out by volunteers in 1984-1985 on the initiative of Pro Loco.Going along the watchmen’s path, from which it is possible to enjoy a spectacular panorama of Lake Garda, we reach the entrance to the Rocchetta, by the side of which stands the solid structure of the keep, with its dungeons.Beyond the entrance, on the western side it’s possible to observe the restored look-out Weapons quarters (10), through which it is now possible to reach the top of the keep, the highest point in the whole castle.The southern side, from which we can get a clear view of the historical centre and great part of the plains, still preserves the remains of some rooms, reduced to floor and side-walls. Parallel to the east side of the Rocchetta rises the lord’s dwelling, home, in ancient times, of the captain of the castle. It is a rectangular structure with rooms on two floors; under which a wide basement served as cellar and stores, or stables.Inside the building, the only noteworthy element is the Renaissance fireplace.Recently, at the rear, excavations have brought to light cisterns used to collect and store rainwater, which were also fed by the well which is still visible near to the house. In the north-eastern corner, the emergency door opens with a long and narrow staircase leading to the external base of the castle, here, in 1938, several human skeletons were discovered in a niche. During the same years, the ravelin protecting this door was demolished.The northern side of the Rocchetta is characterized by the remains of some rooms, the function of which is difficult to interpret.

The house of the podestà was built in the second half of the 15th century as seat of the representative of Venice, who was in charge of the control in the surrounding area. Lonato was under the Venetian republic for more than 350 years (1441-1796) and its government was interrupted only once and very shortly by the marquis Francesco Gonzaga (1509-1516). After Napoleon gave Venice to the Austrians, the House of the Podestà passed first to the Austrian public domain, which used the building as barracks, and then to the commune of Lonato, which didn't take care at all of the building.

In 1906 the House was bought in a public auction by Ugo Da Como, who, conscious of the historical importance of the place, called the architect A. Tagliaferri (1835-1909) to restore it. His purpose was to give back the ancient dignity to the Venetian building and, as it was fashionable in those years, he furnished it as a house that looked more like a museum than a place to live in. Ugo Da Como and his wife Maria Glisenti passed in this building their summers and, visiting it, we can nearly exactly see the house as when they lived in it. The house is located in a charming group of buildings surrounding the stronghold and belongs to a private foundation wanted by Ugo Da Como and set up in 1942.

Probably this room was created closing an arcade, so that what we see now was the original façade at the time the Venetians lived here. Wonderful are the fresco of the Madonna with the Infant Jesus from the 15th century and the emblems of the noble families which governed Lonato in the name of the Venetian republic. Some of these were erased in the last years of the 18th century, the period the Jacobins disdained the nobles.

The three frescoes, which represent 4 severe characters in Renaissance dress and armour, were bought by Ugo Da Como in 1920 and were believed to be painted by the painter from Brescia Floriano Ferramola (1478-1575). The big bronze mortar from Padua is from the 16th century.

Wide coloured Venetian windows, clear tribute to the Venetian period, light up the room and, exactly as the ceiling adorned with 14th/15th century coffers, was added at the beginning of the 20th century, when the building was completely restored.

Important appointments and recognitions offered to Ugo Da Como during his intense activity as politician and as man of big culture hang on the walls.

This room, named after its red walls, is the biggest living room in the house. Some of the most beautiful paintings of the collection of the foundation (more than 200 from the 15th to the 20th century) hang here. All the paintings that are to see in the red room were part of Ugo Da Como’s father's collection and are mostly from Lombardy and Venice.

On the floor is reproduced the emblem of Brescia: a rampant lion. The big 15th century-marble-fireplace was bought by Ugo Da Como and adapted to this room.

The bust in the corner shows Cicero and it belonged once to G. Zanardelli (1826-1903).

This intimate little room was where Maria Glisenti, who married Ugo Da Como in 1894, passed most of her time. The elegant furniture is all from the 18th century. China from Germany, Venice, Naples is to see all around the room. It is also possible to admire some miniature pictures, among them we can recognize some members of Ugo Da Como's family.

The ceiling is embellished by some tablets, bought by Ugo Da Como, representing faces, allegories, and animals, which were probably drawn under the influence of the painter of Cremona Bembo (middle of the 15th century).

The Arcadian landscape, painted by the painter Marco Ricci from Belluno, is important not only for its prestige, but also because it belonged once to the senator Pompeo Molmenti, a friend of Ugo Da Como's.

Ugo Da Como particularly cared about this room, since he wanted to reproduce an eating-room from the 15th century. And the step back in time can be felt immediately while entering, thanks to 15th -century coffered ceiling, which was once in the Ugoni-Cigola-Ducos palace in Brescia. The coffers show polychromatic traces and are typical of the manufacture of Brescia, strongly influenced by the Venetian one. Also the 14th-century fireplace was originally located in the same building. Wonderful are also the chemist-vases on the panels. Near the fireplace are placed some bronze-oil lamps.

This wing leads on the inner garden. On the walls, near the paintings, are placed some majolica-plates, exactly as it was fashionable at the beginning of the 19th-century. Among them, the most important are those representing figures and chinoiserie, which are of the 17th-century Milanese manufacture. Four dishes, placed over the doors, represent symbolically the the beginning, the way, the end and the continuity of life while the great painting by Alessandro Varotari (Padua 1588- Venice 1648) depicts "The Judgement of Paris". Very important are the miniature pictures by Faustino Joli (Brescia 1814-1876), which represent dogs.

Since collectors were particularly fond to this kind of objects, pewter-plates built up an important sector of the antique market in the 19th and 20th century. Over the plate-rack of the cupboard hang a 17th century painting of a bucolic landscape made by the Flemish painter Philipp Peter Roos ( Frankfurt 1657- Rome 1706) and an interesting representation of an inn painted by Gaudenzio Botti (Brescia, 1698-1775). Near the fireplace is still placed a peculiar counterbalance mechanism, which loaded like a clock, turned the spit. In this room are also kept two small paintings by Giorgio Duranti.

This is the warmest room of the entire building, thanks to the furniture, which is particularly sober. The 17th-century commode is a masterpiece of Lombard manufacture. The table in the centre is dressed with Wedgwood-plates and blown-glass of the thirties. Among the paintings kept in this small dining room the most important are the six portraits of the 18th-century.

A lot of interesting things are kept in the two rooms which form the kitchen. Good examples are the range under the window, the plate rack over the stone-sink and the kitchen utensils. Among these, the 16th-century wafer irons are very worth seeing for their rarity. The preciously-worked copper utensils which hang on the walls are from the 17th-century and they were saved from the requisitions of World War II because of their recognition as very precious objects which marked out the collections of the House of the Podestà.

The Latin saying written on one of the walls RECTE FACTI FECISSE MERCES EST (The reward of having done a good action is in having done it) was often added near the signature of Ugo Da Como on his letters. On the walls hang some photographs of very good friends of Ugo Da Como's. For example, Giuseppe Zanardelli, Giangiacomo Morando and Pompeo Molmenti were just few of those who shared with the Senator is passion for history and collecting. The wooden bed from the end of the 19th-century is decorated with angels and sea-creatures. Over the small writing desk hangs a letter written by Garibaldi sent to Giuseppe Da Como from Caprera in 1876 as sign of gratitude for the poem "Trento" dedicated to him and full of Risorgimento-ardour. The big map of the areas surrounding Brescia was painted by the painter Leone Pallavicino, who worked in Milan from 1590 and 1616, and printed in 1597.

This room could also be called the baroque room for the presence of two showy-manufactured pieces of furniture. One is the bed from the 17th-century while the second is a bookcase, made up by decorated parts from the 18th-century, where all the incunabula of the foundation are kept. The manufacture is surely that of the Boscai, a family of woodcarvers. A small altar-piece representing the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus, painted by the Lombard painter Martino da Gavardo (Anfo, end of the 15th-centuru-Gavardo? first half of the 16th-century) hangs over the chest between the two windows.

The two pastels representing Saint Therese and a Saint with beard were painted by Modesto Faustino (Brescia 1839-Rome 1891), who worked together with Antonio Tagliaferri on one of the most important neo-gothic buildings in Brescia: Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The two cartoons, both reproducing the Madonna with Infant Jesus, are works of a good friend of Ugo Da Como's: Gaetano Cresseri ( Brescia 1870-1933) who also decorated other parts of the house and the lunette of the church of Saint Anthony in Lonato. On the small table there's a bronze-sculpture by Vincenzo Gemito, which is said to be a present from Giuseppe Zanardelli.

This room, which is used nowadays as an office, was named after Jacopo Cerutti because here were kept all the books bought by Ugo Da Como from the family of this important scholar, who lived in Lonato in the 19th century. In the wonderful wardrobe are kept all the 500 manuscripts of the foundation. On the ceiling is reported the Latin saying LIBRIS SATIARI NEQUEO ( I cannot get tired of books). Among the etchings which hang on the walls the most important are those representing Saint Eustace and Saint John drawn by Girolamo Muziano, (Acquafredda 1528(32?)-Rome 1592), a 16th-century artist to whom Ugo Da Como dedicated a monograph in 1930, and those made by Giambattista Tiepolo (Venice 1696-Madrid 1770).

This building was built by the engineer of Brescia Arnaldo Trebuchet (1862-1939) in 1923. The library was expanded on two different levels to better suit the morphology of the hill on which the House is placed. The façade with its rose window recalls a small Lombard church and its plaster was once completely yellow and decorated with some graffiti showing suns with rays, similar to those on the central part of the other façade of the House which looks on the inner garden. Near the entrance-door were placed two scroll ornaments which reported in Latin: TANTUM CUM LIBRIS CUM ISTIS USQUE LOQUAR (only with books, only with these I'll speak forever). This latin saying, which reminds Cicero and Seneca, was completed by the words which appear in Ugo Da Como's ex libris: NE QUID IMMINUAT DAMNOSA DIES (so that the fatal day won't consume everything). The reference is to death and to everything everlasting which is kept in books.

This room, named after a small bronze statue representing the goddess of victory, copy of a bigger one which is kept in the Museum of Santa Giulia in Brescia, is furnished with a 17th-century monastic choir-stall. The big ceiling is inspired by the classic-Renaissance style of the lacunars. The two Latin sayings placed near the 16th-century fireplace report: SI HORTUM CUM BIBLIOTHECA HABES NIHIL DEHERIT (if you have a library and a garden nothing will miss) and HIC MORTUI VIVUNT PANDUNT ORACULA MUTI (Here live the dead, the dumb reveal oracles). Worth of note is also the painting representing Ugo Da Como, commissioned Emilio Pasini (Brescia 1872-1953) by the Foundation. In this room is kept also the so-called smallest book of the world.

Named after all those books kept in this room which deal with Brescia and with Lake Garda, this room houses a bronze study by the sculptor Odoardo Tabacchi (Valganna 1836-Milan 1905). This was planned for the monument to Arnaldo da Brescia, placed in the place having the same name by Giuseppe Zanardelli, reminded here by a small bust by Ettore Ximenes(Palermo 1855-Rome1926).

The important bronze-plate represents an allegory celebrating Ugo Da Como: the figure is a personification of Lonato which gives a laurel branch to the Senator.

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