A journey through the countryside and hidden views of Lake Garda to the discovery of a village of mills on the Mincio.
We recommend a day of typical local tasting while visiting two towns: Borghetto, a '"fortified settlement", is the name of the first town built near the point of crossing of the river Mincio and Valeggio the "Valley of the Gods".
The journey starts from A4 exit of Peschiera and continues through the hills and vineyards to Borghetto. The landscape is still, perennial, timeless and brings us back to our sources, as in any myth river in which water and dreams are confused.
Borghetto is this handful of houses, an ancient village of mills in complete symbiosis with its river. An idyllic river, with the three old mills that seem to arise from the water.
To enjoy a moment of calm and refreshment we recommend the Antica Locanda Mincio restaurant. The restaurant serves traditional and refined cuisine that focuses on the authenticity of raw materials. You can enjoy dishes such as butter and sage Ravioli, salt cod, cakes and homemade bread.
La Bottega Osteria al Ponte is another picturesque place. A 130 years old shop that provides all those products that once were in the grocery stores or delicatessens. Typical and genuine products of this land that the Carli family combined with the joy of eating on the spot or in the rooms of an old farmhouse, located in the charming "Borghetto" on the river Mincio.
The Visconti Bridge, an extraordinary fortified dam, built in 1393 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, was called a "checkpoint of the old regime." 650 m long. and 25 m wide, was completed in 1395 and was connected to the overlying Medieval Castle by two high battlemented curtains and integrated into a fortified complex that stretched for about 16 km.
The Castle from the top of the hill continues to dominate with its towers the valley of the Mincio.
The oldest part is the Tonda tower, an unusual structure dating back to the twelfth century, with three drawbridges, of which only one has been preserved.
Finally, in the village, the Church of St. Mark the Evangelist is a neoclassical reconstruction (1759) of the Romanesque church dedicated to Santa Maria, of which there are two valuable frescoes.
The Legend of Love Knot was born at the end of the fourteenth century. It is said that the captain of the soldiers Malchus fell in love with a beautiful nymph, Silvia. After a first attempt to Silvia to live among mortals, they decided to seal their love in the Mincio river as Silvia was accused of being a witch. It is said that soldiers found a golden silk handkerchief knotted by two lovers to seal their love in the river. Even today we remember this legend with the famous tortellini of Valeggio, made of a dough as thin as silk and knotted as the seal of their love.
The pastificio Remelli is a renowned fresh pasta shop that was born in 1988. A store that specializes in ravioli, fresh pasta, but also special fillings, baked pasta, dumplings, cakes and chutneys. A taste of the territory that you can carry with you. A pasta like a gossamer thread of wisdom passed down from generation to generation passing that tells us today a story of quality, tradition and hospitality.