History of Lonato

An area nestled between lake and plain

Lonato del Garda is located in a large area of morainic origin, on the south-west shore of Lake Garda, in a splendid position that allows you to dominate the lake and the Brescia plain.
Among patches of greenery, ancient walls and silent gardens protected by wrought iron gates and half-open doors, Lonato del Garda – surprising for its ancient village appearance and its architectural beauties – has a rich variety of very well preserved monuments, the first of which all the complex owned by the Ugo Da Como Foundation.
Lonato del Garda proves to be suitable both as a tourist destination and as a point of reference for the demanding visitor in search of discoveries capable of arousing wonder.
It offers unexpected answers to interests of all kinds with its delightful and well-equipped beach on the lake (Lido di Lonato) and with its countless leisure opportunities: sports facilities, opportunities for horseback riding, cycling, or more simply walking among the hills or the cobbled alleys of the Venetian “Cittadella” in the historic center.
The cuisine is excellent in the numerous farmhouses, local restaurants, pizzerias, as well as the many food and wine events organized in the hamlets of Campagna, Esenta, Sedena and Centenaro.

History

Traces of human presence in the Lona area can be found starting from the Mesolithic age (10,000 years ago); However, it is the Bronze Age (second millennium BC) that has yielded the most important evidence of Prehistory. It is enough to remember the pile-dwelling settlement of Polada, discovered in the second half of the 19th century, whose importance meant that the Lonato area gave its name to a specific prehistoric phase that developed in Northern Italy: the so-called Polada Culture. From this period, the discovery of another village is very important, that of Lavagnone, whose excavations are still underway.

In the 4th century BC Celtic tribes from central Europe definitively settled along the territory. Lonato probably owes its name to a Celtic term lona which means lake, marsh, wetland. The subsequent Roman period is testified by the discovery of the archaeological remains of some important villas, near which in subsequent times (11th and 12th centuries) some Romanesque churches which still exist were built: the small church of S. Martino, that of S. Cipriano and above all the Parish Church of San Zeno, around which the first residential area of Lonato gathered. The ancient people of Lona had fortified their village, but this did not prevent its destruction in 1339 by Lodrisio Visconti. In the meantime, for some centuries, another fortification had arisen two kilometers further south (the one that would become the fortress) at the foot of which another small settlement was established corresponding to the current Citadel, the first residential settlement of what would be the current Lonato. Also in the 1300s, the construction of the churches of Corlo and S. Antonio is hypothesized, which however found their current architectural structure in later times. A few centuries earlier in Maguzzano, near the ancient Roman road, a small abbey was founded which was enlarged and completely reformed towards the end of the 15th century.

The continuous expansion of the town made it necessary to build a wider and safer city wall. The fortification was built starting in 1376 on the orders of Regina Della Scala, wife of Bernabò Visconti, who had realized the strategic importance of Lonato. The inhabitants of Calcinato were also involved in the construction of the imposing works, which also included the strengthening of the fortress. The domination of the Viscontis over Lonato ended in 1404, when the town, together with other territories, was ceded to the Gonzagas of Mantua. Their dominion, however, will not last long because in 1441 the Republic of Venice will extend its sovereignty over our territory. Among other important interventions, it expanded and equipped the castle with new defenses. The government of the Serenissima remained for over 350 years, except for a brief interruption between 1509 and 1516 which saw the temporary return of the Gonzagas. In the 16th century Lonato witnessed important events. In 1553 the English cardinal Reginaldo Pole found hospitality in the important religious and cultural center of the Abbey of Maguzzano, who stayed there for a few months. He was then commissioned by the Pope to go to England for an important diplomatic mission. In the meantime, the public administration took charge of the construction of an important monument, the Civic Tower, whose construction began in 1555. Also in that century was the birthplace of an illustrious native of Lonato, Camillo Tarello, a renowned agronomist who was among the precursors of modern agriculture.

The 1600s began with the foundation of a hospital to welcome the sick and pilgrims; the initiative was promoted by the Confraternita dei Disciplini which had its headquarters in the Corlo church, which they expanded and equipped with precious furnishings and works of art. The extension and arrangement of the Town Hall also dates back to this period with the construction of the new council hall and the entrance hall on the ground floor. Unfortunately, the 17th century was also a century of serious calamities: the devastating plague of 1630 reduced the population of Lona to a third and compromised the country’s economy for years. In memory of this mournful event in 1692 the Venetian artist Andrea Celesti produced, on behalf of the Lonatese administration, the grandiose canvas that adorns the Council Hall of the municipal palace. In the meantime, the sanctuary of S. Martino had been inaugurated in 1675, work on which had begun a few decades earlier.

In 1705, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Lonato saw the two belligerent armies, the imperial army and the Franco-Spanish troops, camping near its walls, which fortunately spared the town. In 1738, based on a project by Paolo Soratino from Lonate, a Camaldolese friar and architect, construction work began on the current parish church which was inaugurated in 1780. Inside you can admire important paintings and frescoes from the 16th – 19th centuries. A few years later, on 31 July 1796, Lonato was the scene of a bloody battle between the French army of General Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian troops. The fight, which then also took place in Castiglione delle Stiviere, took place north of the town, on the slopes of Monte della Rova. With the new century, Lonato was equipped with a new road system through the demolition in 1827 of part of the western walls and the construction of the long artificial embankment on which Viale Roma runs today. Thus the old route that entered the town via Via Regia Antica and the Corlo was abandoned. In 1854 the new railway was inaugurated which affected the territory to the south and east of the town. About sixty years after Napoleon’s battle, two armies faced each other again in our areas, this time in battles for Italian independence. In fact, on 24 June 1859 the Franco-Piedmontese troops clashed with the Austrian ones in the famous battle of San Martino and Solferino. Lonato, which was affected by the fighting in its eastern territory, in Madonna della Scoperta, was the seat of the Piedmontese command, housed in Palazzo Zambelli. Here for a few hours the commanders in chief of the two allied armies, Vittorio Emanuele II and Napoleon II, held council.

In 1880 the copper dome of the Civic Tower was replaced with the current crenellated structure. At the beginning of the 20th century, a lawyer from Brescia, Ugo Da Como, purchased what remained of the old Casa del Podestà and after careful restoration made it his home. The house and the fortress are today managed by the Foundation of the same name, desired and established by the same illustrious figure. The Castiglione-Lonato-Desenzano steam tramway was inaugurated in 1911. In our territory it came from Esenta, passed through Lonatino and passing through Via Montegrappa, where the Lonato station was located, it entered the state road in Desenzano. It was closed in 1935.

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