Castelnuovo del Garda

Castelnuovo del Garda is the town in Verona’s hinterland that everyone knows for Gardaland: Italy’s most visited theme park stands in the hamlet of Ronchi, on the only stretch where the municipality touches the lake, between Peschiera del Garda and Lazise. The real village, though, sits a few kilometres inland on the morainic hills at 130 metres: about 13,400 inhabitants, a 14th-century tower, Venetian villas, Bardolino and Custoza vineyards, and two hamlets, Oliosi and Cavalcaselle, that tell the story of Italian unification.

Why visit Castelnuovo del Garda

It is the ideal base for families who want to be close to the parks without sleeping in the crowds: Gardaland is 5 minutes away, Movieland and Caneva are in nearby Lazise, Parco Natura Viva in Bussolengo and the Sigurtà Garden Park in Valeggio sul Mincio, all within a 15-kilometre radius. Those looking for wine, hills and history will find a quiet town with lower prices than the lakeshore, 18 kilometres from Verona and 6 from the A4 motorway exit.

The town and its hamlets

Torre Viscontea. The town’s landmark: built in 1387 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti after the fall of the Scaligeri, it was the castle keep, at the centre of a double ring of walls, on top of a 12th-century fortification. Almost 30 metres high, it received its bell chamber between the late 1700s and early 1800s, housing one of the most complete sets of Veronese-style bells. It stands in Via Castello, at the top of the old town, next to the parish church of Santa Maria Nascente.

The Venetian villas. Between the 15th and 17th centuries Verona’s noble families built their country residences here: Villa Cossali-Sella, Villa Arvedi d’Emilei and Villa Negri-Mosconi are the best known, together with Palazzo Angelini in the centre. They are private, but can be admired from the roads winding through the hills.

1848 and 1866. Castelnuovo paid dearly for Italian unification: on 11 April 1848 Austrian troops set fire to the town and killed dozens of civilians, remembered by the Monument to the Martyrs of Castelnuovo. Eighteen years later, on 24 June 1866, the Battle of Custoza was also fought on the hills of Oliosi, where a grenadier saved his regiment’s flag, the “Tricolore di Oliosi”; today the hamlet has an exhibition space dedicated to those days.

Colle San Lorenzo in Cavalcaselle. The hill with its small church is the hamlet’s landmark and one of the widest viewpoints over the morainic amphitheatre and, on clear days, the lake.

Wine, bikes and seasons

The gravel lanes between Sandrà, Oliosi and Cavalcaselle are perfect for a bike ride through vineyards and olive groves; from Peschiera, a few kilometres away, the Mincio cycle path runs to Mantua. At the table, wine rules: the area belongs to both the Bardolino DOC and the Custoza DOC, and local wineries open for tastings. In summer the hamlet of Ronchi revolves around Gardaland and the lakeside campsites; in autumn and spring the hills go quiet again.

How to get there

By car: A4 Milan–Venice, Peschiera del Garda exit, then 6 km. By train: Peschiera del Garda station (Milan–Venice line), then bus or taxi. By plane: Verona Villafranca, about 20 km away. On Gardaland opening days the road to Ronchi gets busy: arrive early or use the shuttle from Peschiera station.

Useful information

Municipality of Castelnuovo del Garda, Piazza degli Alpini 4, tel. +39 045 6459920. The DIM Teatro Comunale hosts the theatre season. For park opening hours and tickets, always check each park’s official website.