padenghe
PADENGHE SUL GARDA
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Between Desenzano and Salò, Padenghe is a small, cosy town of Valtenesi, a valley cultivated with olive trees and vines. Overlooked by its impressive still inhabited castle, from which one can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Garda Lake and Morenic hill countryside, Padenghe is a farming and residential centre, that has also discovered, during the years, an increasingly more marked tourist vocation. During the Christian era the first church to be built, was the small San Cassiano church next to the houses on the banks of the lake, which were then moved up into the hills due to the 10th and 11th century incursion. In fact, the old hill nucleus still partly conserves the structure of a fortified village, in defence of the southern access to Valtenesi, long disputed, in Medieval times, by Brescia and Verona. Visiting Padenghe means taking a step back into the medieval ages: from the Padenghe castle to the Drugolo castle, up to the Lonato fortress, through the woods, rich in species typical of the Prealpine hill region, like oak, lime-tree, maple, and hazel as well as olive-tree plantations, vineyards, barley and sunflower fields. The Castle represents one of the numerous examples of Medieval castles which can be found in this valley, an area fought over for centuries by those wielding power, invaded by hordes of barbarians and looted by mercenaries. The old structure dating perhaps back to the X century, and restored in more recent times, during the medieval period was used as a Ghibelline fortress, and disputed between Brescia and Verona.
To visit: Castello - Villa Barbieri - Chiesa Romanica di S. Emiliano - Porto | ||
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