The territory of San Feìice, Portese and Cisano is a morainic promontory leaning forward on Lake Garda between the gulf of Manerba and the gulf of Salò. Three hills delimit the land of San Felice: "Monte della Croce", "Monte Campagnolo" and "Monte Santa Caterina". The town is 35 km far from Brescia, the county town of the province, and 55 km far from Verona.
Since 1927 San Felice, Portese and Cisano belong to the same town council. The roots of it's settlements go back to rather ancient times. In fact, pile-dwellings and roman tombstones have been discovered in this area.
The small quiet town of Portese is 1 km far from the centre of San Felice. Once it was a fishermen's village unlike San Felice where the supporting activity was farming. In ancient times and in the Middle Ages the historical events of Portese and San Felice were connected, until the destruction of Scovolo (1279) when a fortress was erected in the territory of Portese and the town of Portese and Trevignane was founded. Only in 1927 both towns were united once and for all.
Immediately after the Punta del Corno, sheltered by hills and thick vegetation, the boat enters the narrow gulf of Salò.
Here you come ashore in Portese - with its beautiful view of the Brescia shore from Salò to Gargnano.
A ten-minute ride from Portese brings you to the well frequented resort of Salò. Enclosed at the end of the inlet, this town was the center of the western shore during the 16th century, evidence of this may be found in the architectural level of the center.
The Duomo (Cathedral), in late Gothic style (XV) with a rich Renaissance portal, contains three naves decorated with works by Romanino and other 16th century painters.
The modern Salò may be found on the Zanardelli lake-front opened in 1906 following the reconstruction of buildings destroyed during the 1901 earthquake. Along this strip of coast rises the 16th century palace Magnifica Patria, the meeting-point of the communites of the Brescian Riviera and part of the Val Sabbia, of which Salò was the seat of the council.
Inside of the palace you can find the Ateneo library (1560) and the museum "Nastro Azzurro", with its collection of historical documents and relics from the "Risorgimento" (Italy's movement for political unity during the 19th century) to the Second World War. During this latter period, from the middle of 1943 to April of 1945, Salò was also the seat of the "Repubblica Sociale Italiana" (Italian Social Republic).
The Rock of Manerba is located on a rocky outcrop overlooking Lake Garda very easy to reach by car from the center of Manerba . Parking is a few meters from the top, on which, in a spectacular position, you will find the remains of the castle known as " the Rock ", surmounted by a large cross . You can enter the fortress through the path through the park , cut to the plateau of the "Rock " and climb up to the ruins of the castle.
In this case you can park close to the Bar of Via Agello.
Sirmione, a Lake Garda Community of 8,159, stands on a peninsula jutting into Lake Garda for about four kilometers and dividing the South Lake shore into two parts. The inland extends in the direction of the hills that surround the southern part of the lake and includes part of the production area of the famous grape of Lugana.
Tourism is the main industry, both for the presence of Roman and medieval ruins and for the thermal waters renowned in the Roman and Renaissance eras for the presence of a "sulfur hot spring source welling up from the bottom at 250 meters from the eastern shore."
It starts from the Rocca Scaligera, symbol of the country, followed by the Catullo Caves and beautiful churches scattered throughout the territory.
The Scaligero castle is a fortress guarding the only southern access point to the old town. It was built by the Scala family, from which it took its name.
Surrounded by the waters of Lake Garda, it is defended by three towers and by the keep, forty-seven meters high.
The term "Grotte di Catullo (Grottoes of Catullus)" identifies a Roman house built between the end of the 1st century BC and the 1st century A.D. on the tip of the peninsula of Sirmione. The archaeological complex, studied since the beginning of the nineteenth century and unearthed in stages, is the most important of the Roman period in the municipality and is considered the most prominent example of the Roman Villa in Northern Italy. The term "Grottos" comes from a fifteenth-century tradition, when the ruins, before excavation, appeared in the form of caves.
Tradition identifies the Villa as belonging to Gaius Valerius Catullus, who claimed to own property in Sirmione. There is, however, no guarantee that this was the same villa where the Latin poet lived, even with the established presence of other villas along the peninsula.
Brescia
The city of Brescia, capital of the province, is the second largest municipality in the Region by population after [words missing]
Founded by the Gauls over 3200 years ago at the foot of the Alps, Brescia was the capital of the celtic gauls and later became a Roman colony under the name of Brixia. For about 400 years, from the early 15th century until the end of the 18th century, it was part of the Venetian Republic.
From 1815 to 1859 it became Austrian, then part of the Kingdom of Italy.
The city of Brescia is also referred to as the "lioness of Italy" for ten days of resistance against the Austrians during the Italian Risorgimento.
UNESCO declared the monumental area of the Roman Forum and the Longobard monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia world heritage sites; within the latter is the Museum of Santa Giulia, the main Museum of Brescia.
The complex, built by King Desiderius in Lombard times was variously enlarged and changed over a thousand years of history.
Numerous archaeological finds from various periods are housed in the area below the museum.
The monumental area of the Roman Forum is the archaeological complex that contains some of the largest and best preserved Roman public buildings existing in Northern Italy, such as the Capitolium built in 73 A.D., which was the most important Temple of ancient Brixia, where the Capitoline triad was venerated (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva). It consists of three cells, a central, larger one and two smaller ones that retain much of the original multicolored marble floor.
In the spring of 2013, after new archaeological excavation and structural consolidation, it was reopened to the public.
Verona
The city of Verona, known as setting of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO due to its urban structure and its architecture.Verona is a clear example of a city that has developed gradually and continuously over two thousand years, integrating high quality artistic elements of several successive periods.
The Roman era is represented by two monuments:
The most famous, symbol of the city, is the Arena, the third Roman amphitheater in Italy in size after the Colosseum and the Capua amphitheater.
The Roman Theatre, from 1st century BC, returned to light only in 1834, when the buildings covering it were torn down.
It is an outdoor theater located on San Pietro hill, on the left bank of the Adige River inside the perimeter of the Roman walls of Verona.
The structure, in addition to being one of the most important archaeological monuments of Verona, is still used as a theatrical space during the summer months.
Castelvecchio, a castle currently housing the Civic Museum, is the most important military monument of the Scala lordship of Verona.
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