"Prepare to be intigued with more historical Lake Garda facts"

Gasparo De Salo was born at Salo on Lake Garda in 1540. It is claimed that he developed the violin and gave it the shape it has today. So Lake Garda is the birthplace of the violin!


Medical - Lake Garda facts

Limone (a town on the west coast near the top of Lake Garda) made international medical history with a discovery made in 1979. A study undertaken at this time showed that the local inhabitants of Limone carried a unique protein in their blood which eliminated arteriosclerosis and heart disease. This was proven to be an accurate test of the locals as up until 1931 Limone could only be reached by boat and therefore they remained in the same place and ate the local lemons, which were grown on terraces above the lake. This was responsible for their unusual blood results and the incredible breakthough has lead to the Limone becoming well known in the medical world. It has given hope to many medical scientists in the fight against heart disease.

Catullus was born in Verona in 84BC. He had a affair with a married woman and became obsessed with her. When she broke off contact with him he is supposed to have died of a broken heart in his early thirties. During his life he wrote his feelings in much poetry and is claimed to have invented the love poem. In Sirmione the hugely impressive Roman villa and spa (at the end of the peninsula) are named after this famous Roman poet, who had a villa in Sirmione.