Peschiera del Garda is a beautiful town on the Lake Garda in Northern Italy. Its pentagon shaped fortress is surrounded by water from all sides and connected to the mainland only by bridges. Its obvious military purpose faded over the time and the town became one of the main tourist attractions on the Lake Garda, visited by thousands of tourist each day.
Peschiera del Garda is located in the southern area of the lake Garda in the place where river Mincio exits the lake. According to the archeological findings, there were numerous settlements in this area during the Bronze Age. From its foundation Peschiera inhabitants were fishermen, which is why the town is called Peschiera-fishery.
For the military and economical reasons this area of the lake became of interest of the ancient Romans, who soon included it in their empire. The importance of this settlement grew over time, especially after the Roman road was constructed, connecting Bergamo, Brescia and Verona.
In the 13th century, even Peschiera fell under the rule of Verona together with other areas of the Lake Garda. Soon afterwards, according to the wish of Mastino della Scala (Lord of Verona), the construction of a fortress on already existing fortifications from the ancient Roman period began. In 1439, Peschiera fell under the rule of the Venetian Republic, which commissioned additional changes to the fortress in 1549.
During the French period in Italy, Peschiera was to become a heavily fortified town with a crown-shaped system of towers which would immensely increase Peschiera’s defensive capabilities. Even though this project had been commissioned it was never finalized.
In 1815, Peschiera passes into the hands of Austrians. Austrians hurried to finish the project started by the French and built a total of 14 external fortresses and numerous tranches. Just a few of these towers are still visible today.
