Description of the attraction
The municipality of Toscolano Maderno, located in the province of Brescia on the shores of Lake Garda, consists of three small settlements: Toscolano, which lies in the center of the so-called Lemon Riviera, Gargnano and Maderno.
The earliest archaeological finds made in the territory of Toscolano date back to the era of Ancient Rome - these are the ruins of an antique villa of the 2nd century BC, which can be seen today, and a temple dedicated to Apollo. It is reliably known that already in the 10th century the city existed and even flourished - it enjoyed many advantages granted to it by King Otto I, and later by Frederick Barbarossa. At the beginning of the 14th century, the first paper mills were founded in the Toscolano Valley. Then Toscolano became the main city of the entire western Riviera - it retained this status until 1377, when many administrative institutions were transferred to Salo.
Today, the economy of Toscolano Maderno is based primarily on tourism, which is typical for most coastal cities. In addition, paper factories continue to operate here, as well as produce wine, grow olives and citrus fruits.
The ruins of one of the ancient citrus greenhouses can be seen next to the city's harbor. There are also two important buildings - the parish church and the temple of Madonna del Benaco. The church, erected at the end of the 16th century, is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. And the temple was built even earlier, in the 15th century, - its name comes from the name of the ancient town of Benacus, which went under water as a result of an earthquake in 243 BC. They say that the temple was built from the stones left over from the city. It is also worth seeing the 16-century house in which Paganino and Alessandro Paganini founded the first printing house.
In Maderno, attention should be paid to the Palazzo Nuovo, built in the 17th century by order of Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga of Mantua, as well as the Romanesque church of Sant Andrea, the first mention of which dates back to the 12th century.
