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In a superb setting on the north-eastern shores of Lake Garda, around 40km north of Verona and 120km north west of Venice, the little town of Malcesine is an extraordinary lovely little place. Malcesine, which sits ringed by hills and mountains, with the blue waters of Lago di Garda at its feet is dominated by the Castello Scaligeri, the castle soaring over the little town of three and a half thousand people. Behind, the massive bulk of Monte (Mount) Baldo looms, rising to 1750 metres. The cable car (or funivia) will whip you up to the summit of Montebaldo in double quick time, and the mountain is a venue for skiing and other winter sports, mountain biking and paragliding. Malcesine itself has an ancient history, back to at least 500BC, with the settlement of the region by the Etruscans. The Romans came next of course, and then the Barbarians. Then, towards the end of the first millennium came the first fortress, on which the present castle stands. The Della Scala family built Castello Scaligeri in the 14th century on an earlier medieval core. And from the 15th century, the mighty Republic of Venice took control (Malcesine remains in Veneto province to this day). It's very peaceful today, that's why people come here, including many artists, though an amusing historical footnote saw Goethe arrested as a spy for drawing pictures of the castle in 1786. The indignant writer was promptly released. Gustav Klimt made a set of paintings of Malcesine in 1913, now on show in Vienna's Lederer collection.
To the left you'll find a selection of hotels, to get you in the mood
- see also our full listings of Malcesine hotels.
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