In the province of Trento, Nago-Torbole is a typical municipality of the district of Upper Garda and Ledro. It is the union of two different settlements: Nago, located in a higher position along the road to Val d'Adige, and Torbole, located on the north-western slopes of Mount Baldo, near Lake Garda, at short distance from the mouth of the river Sarca.
The area was inhabited since Neolithic times. Among the most significant historical events worth of mention, is the one known as "Galeas per Montes", the passage by land, in 1439, of an entire Venetian fleet which consisted of six galleys and 25 smaller boats, through the Valley of the Cameràs, after having sailed towards the source of the river Adige. An epic military achievement, if one considers the difficulty and that it took 2000 cattle and 15,000 ducats, which, in 1440, permitted the Venetian fleet to defeat the Visconti in the waters of Lake Garda.
On September 12th, 1786 arrived on the shores of Lake Garda, J. Wolfgang Goethe, who truly amazed by the beauty of the area and the Mediterranean climate, pronounced the famous phrase: "How I wish that my friends were with me for a moment and could enjoy the view that extends in front of me".
Now, thanks to winds Ora and Pèler, Torbole has become an important climatic resort, particularly popular to windsurfers.
Sites of Interest:
- the Fortress of Nago, beautiful and well preserved example of "Castrense" architecture, built by the Austrians after the battles of Solferino and San Martino;
- the few ruins of Castel Penede, built on a rock spur which overlooks the entire valley of Saint Lucia, and that evidence what remains of an imposing fortress, mentioned since the beginning of the XIII century;
- the Parish Church of San Vigilio in Nago, of ancient origins, as already mentioned in documents dated 1194, has been subject to several renovations and expansions in the following centuries (the last, chronologically, just after the Second World War);
- the Church of the Holy Trinity, in which houses a wooden statue of God the Father who sustains the Crucified Son;
- the Church of Sant'Andrea in Torbole, although mentioned since 1175, presents a late Baroque style. Inside it preserves an altarpiece, depicting the Martyrdom of St. Andrew, painted by the artist Giambettino Cignaroli of Verona;
- the Church of Santa Maria al Lago (1939);
- the Church of San Zeno (XII century);
- the XVI century Church of San Rocco;
- the small Port of Torbole;
- the old Custom's Toll;
- the post-glacial phenomenon of the Marmitte dei Giganti, huge cavities of 4 or 5 feet in diameter, which arise from the waters of thaw;
- the "Sasso dei Bimbi" (the Children's Stone), called so for the noise made by the waters of the lake that break on it, similar to the cry of a newborn child;
- the Lake of Loppio.