GARDA, LAKE

Italian Lago Di Garda, also called Benaco, the largest (area 143 square miles [370 square km]) of the Italian lakes, bordering Lombardy (southwest and west), Veneto (east and southeast), and Trentino-Alto Adige (north). It is surpassed in area in the Alpine region only by Lakes Geneva and Constance. Lying at an elevation of 213 feet (65 m), the lake is 34 miles (54 km) long and 211 miles (318 km) wide, with a shoreline of 77.5 miles (125 km) and a maximum depth of 1,135 feet (346 m). Separated from the Adige River valley by the narrow ridge of Mount Baldo, the lake is fed by the Sarca River at its northern end, while the Mincio flows out toward the Po River at the southern end. Narrow at the northern end, between towering cliffs, the lake widens gradually southward into a nearly circular basin, with rich vegetation on the southern and western shores. The predominant winds (which may swell into violent storms) are the sover from the north in the morning and the ora from the south in the afternoon. The lake was called Lacus Benacus by the classical writers Virgil, Horace, and Catullus; its name was changed when the city of Garda, elevated to a county in the early 9th century by the emperor Charlemagne, acquired dominion over the lake. The northern end belonged to Austria until 1919. The lake is encircled by the magnificent Gardesana scenic route (89 miles), opened in 1931. Well sheltered by the Alps to the north, Lake Garda has a temperate Mediterranean climate, which makes it a popular resort area. Citrus fruits, olives, vines, laurels, oleanders, cypresses, and palms are grown on the southern and western shores, and there is fishing for eels, carp, and trout. Small steamers ply between the principal lakeside towns of Riva, Gargnano, Desenzano del Garda, and Peschiera del Garda.