USEFUL INFORMATION
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MARKET DAY: Monday
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PORT: Porto - Lungolago Barbarani
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PHARMACY: Madonna del Soccorso - Via Gardesana, 1205
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HOSPITALS: Pronto Soccorso Malcesine - Via Gardesana, 37; Ospedale Orlandi di Bussolengo - Via Ospedale, 4/6
HISTORY
Torri del Benaco is a small pearl of the lake. It is a village surrounded by walls and medieval towers on the north-eastern shore. There were settlements here from 2000 B.C., as shown by the findings of pile dwellings. Due to the Quaternary glaciations that smoothed the mountains, many rocks in this area became natural slates. Engravers, probably shepherds or soldiers passing through, immortalised over time illustrations of weapons, crosses, geometric and human figures, warriors, games and animals.
The Romans first built the town centre here, which was continually enlarged by later conquerors such as the Goths, the Lombards and at the beginning of the 10th century the Hungarians.
In the 12th century the Scaligeri realised how strategic Torri was for control between Malcesine and Lazise and enlarged the castle by Antonio della Scala in 1383. On the small harbour is the 15th-century Palazzo del Consiglio della Gardesana, where the federation of the 10 Veronese municipalities once met. The Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower) also stands out. In medieval times, it housed all the heads of families to discuss the affairs of the community. The Torri parish church was mentioned in a bull as early as 1145 and today houses beautiful marble altars and paintings by Cignaroli, Cappelletti and Rotari. But there are other solitary churches from the 13th-14th centuries, hidden here and there in secular alleys among olive groves, such as the Church of San Giovanni, built on an ancient cemetery, the Church of the Trinity, the Church of Sant'Antonio and the Church of Saints Faustino and Giovita.
