19-Jun-2018:: Exploring Lake Garda Day 2
After breakfast, we once again headed into the old historic centre of Sirmione. The castle was closed yesterday so we determined to see it today. It looks huge from the outside and even bigger from within. Construction was first begun in 1277, but it has had various refurbishments and make overs through the centuries, due to various reasons – wars, fires, upgrades etc. There are many interesting facts about the history of this place, but one that sticks in my mind is that in certain areas, they used substandard masonry to build it and the used plaster on the outside walls to give approaching prospective attackers the impression that this was a very solid, impenetrable structure. The Castle towers provided some great views of Sirmione, old and new, and the surrounding landscape. From here you can get a very clear understanding of the shape and size of the promontary of Sirmione city and its surrounding coastline.
A tad more browsing through the old city of places we had not seen previously and then it was back to our hotel to pick up the car and head out for more adventures.
We ventured north on lake Garda on the western flank to a place called Limone Sul Garda, about 75kms away from our hotel. The drive was again mostly on lake side road, so the interest level was fairly high, one might say. We went through scores of tunnels gouged into the rock lining the coast; some of the road was actually constructed in man made tunnels, so as to mitigate any rock fall issues. The town itself had a particular feel all of its own, like most of the lakeside towns we have visited over the last 10 days. I’m guessing this comes about due to a number of factors, such as geographic location, landscape, times of settlement and by whom, principal industries, weather, and so on. In the case of Limone Sul Garda, I suspect the topography had a lot to do with establishment of the old city, as it’s all clustered around a port area, but opposite the coast side, there is almost a sheer, high rock cliff which provides a physical boundary to the area. In the historic centre you find the usual collection of souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants, hotels, and many arts and crafts and local produce stores. The lemon seems to be a popular local product around here (hence the name) as you’ll find many items for sale, comprising some sort of lemon input. Limoncello abounds here, as does lemon scented soap, lemon sweets, lemon fragrant saches, lemon biscuits etc.
We spent a few hours there, had a drink at a cool lakeside bar and then headed back to Sirmione and our hotel for dinner.
