Manerba del Garda is a town and ''

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 ...

'' in the

province of Brescia The province of Brescia (; Brescian: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia.With an area of 4,785 km2, it is the ...

, in

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. It is located at the southwest side of the

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 ...

. It is bounded by the comunes of

San Felice del Benaco San Felice del Benaco ( Gardesano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. The name derives most likely from the Latin ''sinus felix'', meaning "pleasant harbour". It is located on the western shore of the Lake G ...

, Puegnago sul Garda, Moniga del Garda, Polpenazze del Garda and Soiano del Lago. Manebra del Garda is divided into the seven hamlets of Solarolo, Montinelle, Balbiana, Pieve, Trevisago, Campagnola and Gardoncino.

History

Manerba was founded, according to the legend, in devotion to the goddess

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

. Other historians trace the name to the Gauls Cenomani, stemming from the union of the terms ''mon'', leader, and ''erb'', a military zone, identifying Manerba as residence of the chief of the tribe. A charter of Frederick II dating from 1 November 1221 mentions the territory surrounding the ancient Church of Manerba as ''Tenense'', whence its current name, Valtenesi.
Manerba turistic site. The presence of man in the Garda area goes back to prehistoric times: in the Manerba area are remains of a Mesolithic village, while under natural terrace located in the foothills of the '' Rocca (architecture), Rocca'' (castle) are traces of a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

settlement from between 4,500 and 4,000 BC, and an important necropolis dating from the

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

. The Valtenesi saw the construction of several castles starting from the 13th century AD, some of which erected on the ruins of Roman forts. The tower of the castle in the center of Manerba represents the convergence point of a radial pattern that connects the towers of all the municipalities around. This is the oldest castle in the Valtenesi, built in the 12th/13th centuries on the ruins of a medieval fortress and of a settlement dating to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, and is firmly anchored on the Manerba cliffs hanging over the southern basin of Lake Garda.

Main sights

Manerba is home to several prehistoric pile-dwellings (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

.UNESCO World Heritage Site - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
/ref> Manerba houses the

Rocca di Manerba del Garda The Rocca di Manerba del Garda (fortress of Manerba del Garda) is a rocky promontory, that extends along the southwestern coast of Lake Garda, in Lombardy, Italy. The site, named after its medieval fortification period, is archaeologically sign ...

which is characterized by several archaeological sites.

Municipal government

Manerba is headed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(') assisted by a legislative body, the ', and an executive body, the '. Since 1995 the mayor and members of the ' are directly elected together by resident citizens, while from 1945 to 1995 the mayor was chosen by the legislative body. The ' is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called '. The offices of the ' are housed in a building usually called the ' or '. Since 1995 the mayor of Manerba is directly elected by citizens, originally every four, then every five years. The current mayor is Flaviano Mattiotti ( FI), elected on 26 May 2019 with the 53.4% of the votes and re-elected on 10 June 2024 with 74% of the votes.

Gallery

File:Solarolo vista da Balbiana Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Chiesa Assunta facciata Solarolo Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Chiesa San Giovanni Battista Decollato a Sorarolo Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Chiesa della Santissima Trinità Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Chiesa di Santa Maria in Valtenesi facciata Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Chiesa di San Giorgio Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria facciata Est a Balbiana Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Arco a a Balbiana Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Torre del castello lato Est di Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Ruderi della Chiesa San Siro e Chiesa Santa Maria Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Punta Sasso a Manerba del Garda.jpg File:La Rocca Punta Sasso oliveto a Manerba del Garda.jpg File:Lake Garda - Solarolo, Brescia, Italy - October 18, 2019 01.jpg File:Chiesa di Santa Maria in Valtenesi lato Ovest Manerba del Garda.jpg File:La Rocca di Manerba del Garda con croce.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manerba Del Garda Cities and towns in Lombardy Populated places on Lake Garda