Salò

The ancient capital of the Magnifica Patria (Magnificent Motherland) is today the capital of the Park, a comprehensive point of reference for services and shopping. Among the noble palazzos and the lively streets of the center, these remote witnesses to prosperity and wealth guide the visitor in a winning journey through history.

Salò is the "city" of the Park, its most populous center. Centrally located with regard to the Alto Garda, Valsabbia and Valtenesi, Salò always holds a primary role at a comprehensive level for the services it offers: health, legal, financial, academic, and public safety.

The territory, urbanized in the level areas along the gulf coast, is substantially intact in the hill and mountainous areas. Arranged on the shores of a vast inlet, exposed to the sun and sheltered from the wind, Salò is one of the most desirable places in Garda with its mild climate and its lively commercial district.

The historic center is located among the mountain San Bartolomeo and the lake. The city, over the centuries, is developed along diverse routes that characterize the attractive quarter sheltered by the center.

It is the most important Municipality of the Park, and for historic, economic and commercial reasons, it is the main center of the Shore. The town is full of buildings of great artistic value. In first place, the Duomo, designed by Filippo delle Vacche da Caravaggio (1453) and expanded with the lateral chapels at the end of the 1500’s. 
 

For the wealth of the works that it holds within, the Duomo is a true fine arts museum.
Visitors can admire masterworks as the wooden crucifix by Giovanni Teutonico, the impressive altarpiece with statue of the Bussolo, and paintings by Romanino, Malosso, Palma il giovane, and Andrea Celesti.

The ancient Palazzo Comunale (town hall) is of special historic interest, with its loggia dating back to the late 1300’s. Facing the city course, between the two Venetian port, is the ancient church of San Giovanni, with two canvases by Zenon Veronese, and various small Renaissance buildings. Palazzo Fantoni is the site of the ancient Ateneo, with an extraordinary historic library, and the Nastro Azzurro Museum.

The church of San Bernardino is also noteworthy, with canvases by Zenone Veronese, Farinati and Celesti, as is the church of the Visitazione, from the 1700’s.

Villa Simonini stands out among the lordly residences; today called Hotel Laurin, it is one of the most fascinating Gardesan examples of the new Liberty style. Heading toward Gardone, the State highway is overlooked by the sharp outline of Palazzo Martinengo, built by Sforza Pallavicino (1566), across from the Capuchin monastery with its late Gothic door.