BARDOLINO
Church of San Severo
The church of San Severo in Bardolino on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is on the gardesana road. It is an ancient Romanesque construction of the XI century and, in fact, referred to in a diploma of Berengario of 983 AD. The church of San Severo in Bardolino on Lake Garda in the province of Verona is one of the most beautiful churches of the Veronese shore of Lake Garda. The Church's architecture consists of three naves, supported by four pairs of low columns. The Church houses some splendid fresco cycles, reproducing scenes from the Gospel and visions of the Apocalypse. The crypt of the church of San Severo in Bardolino on Lake Garda in the province of Verona dates back from the High Middle ages; furthermore, the bell tower has a particularly beautiful spire.
Pieve di S. Maria - Loc. Cisano
The Pieve (parish church) of S. Maria in the Cisano locality, near Bardolino, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona is a true jewel of Romanesque art. Built in the XI century on a preceding parish church of the late VII century AD (in turn erected over an even older pagan temple), the Pieve of S. Maria in the Cisano locality, near Bardolino, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona still preserves its façade intact, which is particularly beautiful with a fresco of the Crowned Virgin, and the semi circular apse crowned with hanging arches, with two sculpted heads of Adam and Eve at the side. The interior of the Parish church was renewed in the XIX century and, in this way, the original antique structure was damaged beyond repair.
The Pieve of S. Maria in the Cisano locality, near Bardolino, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona contains a painted inscription, probably the zone's oldest inscription from the High Medieval Ages. The inscription dates back from the end of the VII Century and describes the rebuilding of Tempone the monk on a work by another anonymous monk.
BRENZONE
Church of San Zeno – Castelletto locality
The small church of San Zeno in the Castelletto locality, near Brenzone, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, built in the XI century in Romanesque style, stands in a panoramic position near the cemetery close to the Castelletto village, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona. The church of San Zeno in the Castelletto locality, near Brenzone on Lake Garda in the province of Verona is one of the oldest of the Verona diocese and has some highly original architectural characteristics. It contains numerous frescoes, and we should especially mention the cycle dedicated to the life of Saint John the Baptist. The church of San Zeno, also known as "de l'oselet" in the Castelletto locality famous on the entire Lake Garda as one of the most ancient testimonies of Christian faith. The eastern part of the church of San Zeno in the Castelletto locality , near Brenzone on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is estimated as dating back to the XI century, whereas the western side probably originates from the XII Century. The church of San Zeno in the Castelletto locality near Brenzone on Lake Garda in the province of Verona has three apses and two naves. Moreover, finds from the Roman era have been discovered in the zone around the church.
COSTERMANO
Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rescue – Loc. Marciaga locality
The small and simple Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rescue in the Marciaga locality near Costermano, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is built in Romanesque style and recalls the apparition of the Virgin to a shepherd boy, to whom she is said to have given bread. The apparition occurred in this very place. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rescue in the Marciaga locality near Costermano, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, was refurbished at the end of the XVI century and contains interesting frescoes and paintings. The Sanctuary stands between Virle and Marciaga, a few kilometres from Lake Garda, in the place where the legend states that the Madonna appeared to a deaf and dumb boy, to whom she apparently gave a piece of bread which miraculously healed the shepherd boy. This miraculous event, which probably occurred on a 6th of September in the first years of the XVI century, led the inhabitants of the zone to build a first chapel in Romanesque style. This first chapel was enlarged several times in the following centuries. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rescue in the Marciaga locality near Costermano, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, has a façade with a sloping roof, and an arched portal fitted between two oblong windows, and surmounted by a central eye; the quadrangular bell tower has four single-light windows. The interior of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rescue in the Marciaga locality near Costermano, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, has a single nave with a trussed roof. There are also two small side chapels, which contain altars from the XVI century. The right hand chapel is dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, and has an alter piece dating from the end of the XVI Century. The left hand chapel, dedicated to Saints Bartholomew and Francis, houses an alter piece with the two saints beneath a Madonna with Infant Jesus. The main altar of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rescue in the Marciaga locality near Costermano, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, dates back to 1765, is built with polychrome marbles, has a baroque canopy and houses a wooden tablet from the early XVI century, showing the apparition of the Madonna to the shepherd boy.
FERRARA DI MONTE BALDO
Basilica Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Crown
Spiazzi Locality
The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Crown in the Spiazzi locality near Ferrara di Monte Baldo, a few kilometres from Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is the boldest in Europe: it is dug from a rock overhanging the Adige Valley by 400 meters. There are two ways of reaching the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Crown in the Spiazzi locality near Ferrara di Monte Baldo, a few kilometres from Lake Garda in the province of Verona: you can leave your car in Spiazzi and go down by foot or on a bus, along a road immersed in greenery; or you can go up by foot from Brentino Belluno, along the old pilgrim's path in crushed clay and flights of steps (1,540 steps).
Legend has it that in 1522 an image of the Madonna appeared on these Mounts and today, the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Crown in the Spiazzi locality near Ferrara di Monte Baldo, a few kilometres from Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is one of the most frequented spiritual places in the entire zone of Lake Garda and Verona. At one time one could access the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Crown in the Spiazzi locality near Ferrara di Monte Baldo, a few kilometres from Lake Garda in the province of Verona, only by the flight of steps from the Adige Valley; instead today it can be reached also along the asphalted road after the village of Spiazzi. The road can be travelled only by foot, and along the section which takes you to Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Crown in the Spiazzi locality near Ferrara di Monte Baldo, a few kilometres from Lake Garda in the province of Verona, there are the fourteen stations of the Via Crucis, and there is a reproduction of the sepulchre, where our Lord Jesus was placed after his death.
GARDA
Hermitage of Saint George
The Hermitage of Saint George in Garda on Lake Garda, in the province of Verona, is a place of peace, silence and attention. The Hermitage of Saint George is situated on the Rocca di Garda, from where visitors can enjoy a magnificent panorama of the entire Lake Garda. It is the place par excellence of Lake Garda's spirituality and was founded in1665 by the Benedictine monks of Camaldoli, who still live in the Hermitage of Saint George and who fill their days with liturgical prayers and with the work necessary to support themselves, following the rules of Saint Benedict.
At the porter's lodge of the Hermitage of Saint George in Garda on Lake Garda, in the province of Verona, there is a shop selling the typical products of the Antique Pharmacy of the Camaldoli Monks, and other products made with the community's work. Subject to prior agreement, the monks of the Hermitage of Saint George can provide accommodation for people wishing to spend a few days of prayer, sharing the Hermitage's pace of life. The Hermitage of Saint George in Garda on Lake Garda, in the province of Verona was suppressed by Napoleon in 1810 and inhabited by the farm hands of Lake Garda until 1885, when a community of Camaldoli monks returned to live there. The Hermitage of Saint George in Garda on Lake Garda, in the province of Verona cannot be considered as a tourist venue and, therefore, the places where the monks live and work are not open to tourism visits.
LAZISE
Church of San Nicolò
The Church of San Nicolò in Lazise, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is situated in the centre of the town, overlooking the small port near to the Veneto Customs House. The Romanesque Church of San Nicolò in Lazise, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, was built in the XII century and has a particularly characteristic façade, on which one can admire a niche with the serene face of a Madonna with Infant Jesus. Precious fragments of XIV Century frescoes by the Veronese school are preserved inside the Church of San Nicolò in Lazise, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona.
MALCESINE
Hermitage of Saints Benigno and Caro
The Hermitage of Saints Benigno and Caro in Malcesine on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, stands on the slopes of Monte Baldo at a height of 800 metres. To reach the Hermitage of Saints Benigno and Caro in Malcesine on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, you have to go up on foot for about 3 hours along a very steep mule track, which begins in Cassone. The two hermits Benigno and Caro are well known and venerated in the zone of Lake Garda and Verona. They lived as hermits here between the VIII and IX centuries AD and are remembered in ecclesiastic history mainly by their translation of the corpus of San Zenone, which took place in Verona in 807. The remains of hermit Saints Benigno and Caro, who are also patrons of Malcesine on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, are however stored in the parish Church of S.Stephen, as ever in Malcesine on Lake Garda in the province of Verona.
PESCHIERA DEL GARDA
Convent - Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree
The Convent Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree in Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is situated near the Ash lake. The Convent and Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree were built in Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona in 1514 in the place where, according to popular legend, in 1510 a statue of the Madonna appeared between the branches of an ash tree to save a farm hand attacked by a viper. According to legend, on 11 May 1510 a farm hand named Bartolomeo Broglia, on his return to his field which had just been freed from the French troops still stationed outside Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, was bitten by a viper and through his fright, invoked the Virgin. When the farm hand gazed at the sky, he saw, through the leaves of an ash tree, a statuette of the Madonna with the Infant Jesus in her arms, completely enveloped by the light, which made the viper escape.
Happy about the danger he had escaped from, the farm hand brought the statuette home to show to friends and relations, and shut it in a box. However, the statuette disappeared from this box, and was miraculously found on the ash tree where it had appeared for the first time. The Mayor and Archpriest of Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, came in person to see the miracle and decided to take the statuette to the Church of Discipline, in the centre Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona. However the statuette once again disappeared from there and returned to the ash tree. So, on 12 September 1510, with the contribution of the inhabitants of Peschiera del Garda, a small chapel managed by the Serviti Fathers was erected near to the ash tree. Some years later, the Minor Francisan Friars were called to Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, and on 18 June 1514, they began to build the present day Church of the Madonna of the Ash Tree; in 1518 Pope Leon X permitted the convent to be built as well.
The miraculous apparition was interpreted at the time as a sign sent by Divine Providence to console the city of Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda, in the province of Verona, for the devastations of war and the suffering caused by the plague. Inside the sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree in Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, this episode is remembered by a canvas inside the Church, together with many other very beautiful paintings. Since then the Franciscan friars have looked after the Church. Today it is one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations of the lower zone of Lake Garda. The Franciscan House is situated beside the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree in Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda, in the province of Verona. The House offers a bar-restaurant service and accommodation for devoted people, either single or in groups. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree in Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is located at the end of a broad avenue of cypress trees (the symbolic plant - together with the olive tree - of Lake Garda), at the foot of the green hills of Lake Garda. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Ash Tree in Peschiera del Garda, on Lake Garda in the province of Verona, is a place of peace and spirituality, although it is rich in art and history. Every year, the Minor Franciscan Friars welcome thousands of pilgrims.
Verona Apartments, Farm Holidays, Bed and Breakfast, Country House Hotels, Residencies in Verona, Valpolicella, and Lake Garda,
advise all those wishing to explore the religious itineraries on Lake Garda to find accommodation in the following structures:
San Ciriaco Relais Country House Hotel and Bed and Breakfast for Farm Holidays in Verona Valpolicella (Italy):
the ideal place for those wishing to stay in a completely relaxed and reserved manner, in a hilly zone immersed in greenery.
Residenza San Tomaso furnished apartments for rent B&B in central Verona for those looking to go to the opera or cinema, or to go shopping on the streets of central Verona, walking around in comfort.