In late July I crossed another place I had been dying to visit of the list, the Grotte di Catullo a Roman Villa on the Sirmione Peninsula that juts out into Lake Garda.
We are in peak tourist season so a really early start to beat the crowds meant that at 6.30 in the morning I arrived in a still deserted Sirmione. I even managed to find a free parking space which was nice because the parking charges here are horrific.
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| Sirmione, BS. Entrance to the town |
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| Sirmione, BS. Entrance to the town |
I had time to explore the peninsula before the archaeological site opened at 8.30. The weather did not look too promising although the sun was supposed to come out later. I found some nice moody views of the lake.
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| Lago di Garda, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, BS |
The Villa takes up a huge area right on the tip of the peninsula. not much remains, but it is easy to see how massive this villa must have been. It covers an area 167m x 105m. The huge central courtyard was covert with a massive canvas tent structure. These Roman Engineers never cease to amaze me.
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
The Villa dates from the fist century before Christ and fell into ruin in about the third century AC. It was said to be the home of a famous Roman poet called Catullo.
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
There is a small museum with some artifacts excavated at the site. To enter costs €6 still quite reasonable to enter and try to immagine what this villa must have been like in Roman times.
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
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| Crotte di Catullo, Sirmione, BS. |
The Villa never really got crowded whilst I was there. I was lucky that the grey start to the day developed into a cloudless blue sky meaning I was able to take a more varied set of photographs.
When I left the villa and hit the main town at lunchtime it was another place to what I had found when I arrived. It was packed. Luckily I found a nice restaurant on the lake where I eat some lake fish called "Sardine" which are a freshwater parent of sea sardines.
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| Lago di Garda, Sirmione, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, Sirmione, BS |
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| Lago di Garda, Sirmione, BS |
After lunch I decided to take the Alfa switched to sport mode for a spin around the lake. But everywhere was to crowded to even think about stopping apart from a little village called Cassone with a splendid little museum dedicated to the lake side occupations such as fishing.
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| Cassone, Malcesine, VR |
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| Cassone, Malcesine, VR |
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| Cassone, Malcesine, VR |
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| Cassone, Malcesine, VR |
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| Cassone, Malcesine, VR |
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| Cassone, Malcesine, VR |
Must visit Lake Garda in a less busy time of year.
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