Malcesine is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) on the eastern shore of

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

in the Province of Verona in the Italian region

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, located about northwest of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and about northwest of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

Geography and divisions

The comune of Malcesine consists of (from north to south) Navene, Campagnola, Malcesine proper, Val di Sogno and Cassone. It stretches along the ''Via Gardesana Orientale'' (Strada Statale 249) and is nestled between Lake Garda and the slopes of Monte Baldo. Malcesine is the northernmost comune on the Veneto shore of the lake, immediately to its north lies Trentino Alto Adige. Two of the largest islands of Lake Garda are located in Malcesine: The ''Isola di sogno'' and the ''Isola dell'olivo'' (or ''Isola degli olivi'').

History

The first recorded inhabitants of the area were

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

dating to around 500 BC. After 15 BC, with

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

' victory over the Rhaetians, the area came under the control of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. After the fall of Rome, the area was ruled in turn by

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

and then the Langobards. Between the 5th and 6th centuries the Langobards built a castle on the rock where the ''Castello Scaligero'' stands today. It was destroyed in 590 by the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. They subsequently rebuilt it and in 806 hosted King Pepin. After attacks by

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

the castle became part of the holdings of the Bishop of Verona. In 1277, the castle fell to Alberto della Scala and until 1387 remained in the possession of the della Scala family, whose name it still bears. Over the next centuries, castle and town were ruled in succession by the

Visconti of Milan The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the V ...

(until 1403) and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

(1405-1797). The control of Venice was only interrupted by a brief period (1506–16), when the area was under Imperial rule during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I. In 1797-98, the area was occupied by the forces of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

after which the Veneto became part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. In 1866, Malcesine became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

Origins of the name

The first appearance of the toponym dates back to 9 September 844, when the term Manessicelles results in the testament of the Archdeacon Pacific with the meaning, according to Borsatti, of the tombs of the dead: this meaning would be corroborated by the discovery of some Etruscan-style burials in the surroundings up area. Over the centuries there are many documentary variants: Manascicines (932), Malesicine (1023), Malesisicis (1154), Malesisinum (1159), Malasilice (1225), Malsexeno (1422), Malsesene (1611) to name but a few of the Maffezzoli. The etymology of the toponym is however uncertain, revolving around the interpretation of Malae silices or Mala silex as "Stone hostile" or "Bad stone", probably referring to the morphology of the territory characterized by steep mountains rising on the lake, or as "Bad paved road" of Roman origin.

Main sights

Castello Scaligero

Malcesine's most prominent landmark is the ''Castello Scaligero'', which has 13th-century fortifications and an older medieval tower in white natural stone. Like the castle of Sirmione at the southern end of the lake, it is named for the della Scala family of

who ruled the region in the 13th and 14th centuries, and has the characteristic swallow-tail Ghibelline

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

crenellations. Remnants of an Etruscan tomb have been found within the castle walls. Most of the structures visible today date to the period of the della Scala. The bell of the castle was cast in 1442 and it is still in service. In September 1786,

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, and philosoph ...

was questioned by the local magistrate on suspicion of being an Austrian spy after drawing sketches of the castle, and recalled the incident in his published travel report ''Italienische Reise'' (

Italian Journey ''Italian Journey'' (in the German original: ) is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's report on his travels to Italy from 1786 to 1788 that was published in 1816 & 1817. The book is based on Goethe's diaries and is smoothed in style, lacks the sponta ...

). During the period of Austrian rule, which ended in 1866 after the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence () was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria giving the region of Venetia (p ...

, major renovation work took place inside the castle. The Austrians turned it into a military garrison and the munition store they constructed was later used by the ''Guardia di Finanza'' of the Kingdom of Italy as a prison. Since 1902, the castle has been a national monument. Today, the castle contains a small museum on the natural history of Lake Garda (Museo del Garda) and Monte Baldo (Museo del Baldo). One room in the Austrian powder magazine is dedicated to Goethe and his visit.

Palazzo dei Capitani

Located on the lake shore is the ''Palazzo dei Capitani''. It was constructed by the Scala family between the 13th and 14th centuries on older

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and Romanesque remains. After being reduced to a simple shell, possibly in an earthquake or by a fire, the building became the property of Francesco Mercanti, from Verona and he passed it on to his heirs. On 18 December 1473, it was sold to Alessandro Miniscalchi. By 1477, the building was already remodelled in the Venetian style. In 1618, Verona purchased the building on the behest of the Republic of Venice for use as the residence of the official called ''Capitano del Lago''. Various further remodelling work followed. The ''Capitano'' was the head of the ''Gardesana dell'Acqua'', a regional autonomous territory under Venetian rule. On 20 March 1854, the comune of Verona effectively ceded the property to the comune of Malcesine and in 1897, Malcesine became the sole owner. It has been a national monument since 1902. Today, it is used for exhibitions and events and also houses the public library. File:Malcesine Castello 2.JPG, Castello Scaligero, Malcesine. File:Malcesine Goetheherme.jpg, Goethe Memorial, Malcesine. File:Malcesine 061014 - Palazzo dei Capitani 03.JPG, Garden of the Palazzo dei Capitani, Malcesine. File:Malcesine-Palazzo-dei-Capitani-CTH.JPG, Palazzo dei Capitani, Malcesine.

Monte Baldo

Behind Malcesine rises the high Monte Baldo. A two-stage cable car ride—the second leg using one with rotating cabins—takes passengers to

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. From there the highest point can be accessed by walking a few kilometres to the south along the ridge. File:Funicular, lake garda, malcesine to monte baldo.jpg, Cablecar from Malcesine to Monte Baldo. Top Station, ca. 1700m File:Die Nordseite des Hafens von Malcesine.jpg, Malcesine harbour. File:Gustav Klimt 042.jpg, Painting of Malcesine harbour by

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...

, 1913. Destroyed by fire at Schloss Immendorf, 1945. File:Malcesine from south.jpg, Malcesine from the south.

Churches

Pieve In Italy in the Middle Ages, a ''pieve'' (, ; ; : ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. ''Pieve'' is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/a ...

di S. Stefano'' (or parish church of St. Stephen), first mentioned in the 9th century. Today's

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church dates to the early 18th century and contains several works of art including the altars of ''SS. Benigno e Caro'' (Saints Benigno and Caro, 1769) and of the ''Beata Vergine delle sette allegrezze'' (Virgin of the Seven Joys, 1771), as well as a

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

and the painting ''Deposizione'' attributed to Girolamo dai Libri. ''Santa Maria di Navene'' is yet another notable church in the town, dating back to the 17th century).

Economy

Transport

Whilst Malcesine is not connected to the railway, the town is served by buses. Moreover, there is public transportation by boat, including express

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

s, on the lake for passengers as well as a car ferry.

Climate

References

External links

Town websiteTourism website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Veneto Populated places on Lake Garda Borghi più belli d'Italia