By Cristian Coletti
OUR TERRITORY
La Battaglia is the right place to discover the delights of our territory. Born with the desire to celebrate the authentic roots of Cycling and Cycle Tourism, it then found its identity in the enhancement of the territory and the local Eno-Gastronomic sector, which is unrivaled!
TOWNS INVOLVED IN THE EVENT
DESENZANO DEL GARDA
Desenzano del Garda (Desensà in Brescia dialect) is an Italian town of 29 215 inhabitants in the province of Brescia in Lombardy. It is the most populous municipality on Lake Garda and the second in the province of Brescia.
Only a hundred years ago the municipality was much smaller, in fact the hamlets of Rivoltella sul Garda and San Martino della Battaglia were autonomous municipalities.
Curiosity: The first settlements date back to the Ancient Bronze Age. In the local Archaeological Museum there are, in addition to various objects, the oldest wooden plow in the world, dating back to about 2000 BC.
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SAN MARTINO D/B
San Martino della Battaglia (San Martì de la Batàia in Brescia dialect) is a fraction of Desenzano del Garda, until 1926 belonging to the suppressed municipality of Rivoltella.
The toponym San Martino della Battaglia derives from the small church of San Martino, used in 1870 as an ossuary, and from the battle that took place on 24 June 1859 in the countryside surrounding the church, in which the forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by Vittorio Emanuele II, allied to the French of Napoleon III, they defeated the Austrians, led by the Emperor Franz Joseph.
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SOLFERINO
Solferino is an Italian town of 2 644 inhabitants in the province of Mantua in Lombardy.
It is particularly known for the battle (June 24, 1859) that took its name, fought between the Austrian-Venetian and Franco-Sardinian armies as the final and conclusive act of the second war of independence. The battle ended in Solferino with the capture of the Rocca, better known as the "Spy of Italy" for its dominant position.
Curiosity: In 2011 this area was included among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites (in the supranational site called Ancient settlements on the Alps).
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POZZOLENGO
Pozzolengo (Posolengh in Brescia dialect) is an Italian town of 3 557 inhabitants in the province of Brescia in Lombardy.
It lies among the morainic hills on the border between the provinces of Brescia, Mantua and Verona and is the last balcony on the expanse that houses the “Lugana” wine-growing area.
Curiosity: It seems that the ancient name of the town ("Pocelengo") meant precisely "village of wells".
Characteristic also for its food and wine productions including Pozzolengo biscuits, De.co morainic salami, Lugana Doc wine and last but not least the Pozzolengo Saffron production of niche and very high quality.
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CAVRIANA
Cavriana (Cavriàna in the upper Mantuan dialect) is an Italian town of 3 754 inhabitants in the province of Mantua in Lombardy, part of the municipalities of Alto Mantovano.
The Municipality is part of the Città del Vino Association and its territory is included in the food and wine itinerary Strada dei Vini e dei Sapori Mantovani.
Curiosity: On May 12, 1957 on the state road 236 Goitese in the section between Cerlongo and Guidizzolo, during the Mille Miglia the Spanish driver Alfonso De Portago went off the road with his Ferrari launched at a speed of over 250 km / h and was killed together with his navigator Edmund Gurner Nelson, overwhelming 10 people who watched the famous car competition on the side of the road. This accident, caused by a flat tire, marked the end of the Mille Miglia.
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CASTIGLIONE DELLE STIVIERE
Castiglione delle Stiviere (Castiù in upper Mantuan dialect) is an Italian town of 23 450 inhabitants in the province of Mantua in Lombardy, located in the Po Valley, on the morainic hills of Lake Garda, in the Alto Mantovano, on the border with the province of Brescia.
An industrial center in a pleasant position, it has had a great economic and demographic development since the 1950s.
Castiglione delle Stiviere is the homeland of St. Luigi Gonzaga (world patron of Youth) and of the Red Cross. Here, in fact, the Swiss Henry Dunant appreciated the courage of the local women in giving the first attention to the soldiers after the bloody Battle of Solferino and San Martino in 1859, maturing the idea from which the Red Cross would be born.
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MONZAMBANO
Monzambano (Mosambà in the upper Mantuan dialect) is an Italian town of 4 860 inhabitants in the province of Mantua in Lombardy.
Its territory is mainly hilly, in fact it is a town located among the morainic hills south of Lake Garda, in the Alto Mantovano area. The local parish was part of the Diocese of Verona until 1977, testifying to the Venetian roots of the town.
The Municipality is part of the Città del Vino, Città dell'Olio associations and is included in the food and wine itinerary Strada dei Vini e dei Sapori Mantovani, also adhering to the “Po di Lombardia Tourist System”.
Curiosity: In 2011 this area was included among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites (in the supranational site called Ancient settlements on the Alps).
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CASTELLARO LAGUSELLO
Castellaro Lagusello (Castlàr in the upper Mantuan dialect) is a fraction of Monzambano.
The village stands on a small hill overlooking a heart-shaped lake.
The lake and the castle, dating back to 1100-1200, give the name to the small village that is part of the association of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Since 2011 the Fondo Tacoli locality of Castellaro Lagusello, being one of the 111 pile-dwelling archaeological sites located in the Alps and in the contiguous areas, has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site within the supranational site called Ancient settlements on the Alps.
The name of Castellaro Lagusello derives from "castellaro" (fortified enclosure) and "lagusello" (small lake).
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VALEGGIO SUL MINCIO
Valeggio sul Mincio (Valés sul Mèns in the local dialect, Valéso sul Menso in Veneto) is an Italian town of 15 617 inhabitants in the province of Verona in Veneto. The birth of the urban centers of Valeggio and Borghetto is attributable to the Lombard period, since the same toponyms derive respectively from a flat place and from a fortified settlement.
During the Risorgimento era Valeggio was at the center of the battles of the First, Second and Third War of Independence which led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.
Valeggio is part of the Bianco di Custoza and Bardolino and Garda wine production areas. On its territory there are more and more wineries and artisan pasta factories that exploit the name of the products of the area.
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BORGHETTO SUL MINCIO
Borghetto is certainly the best known hamlet of Valeggio sul Mincio for several reasons - historical, scenic and monumental - that make this place so interesting that it boasts its recent inclusion in the Club of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.
This small village, born in symbiosis with the Mincio river and characterized by ancient fortifications dating back to the medieval period, owes its charm to the harmonious relationship that history and nature have preserved almost intact over the centuries and today represents an urban "unicum" to visit at least once in a lifetime.
The oldest center of the hamlet still maintains the characteristic aspect of the "medieval village" intact, underlined by the presence of the bell tower, the wheels of the water mills and the fortresses of the Visconteo Bridge.
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LONATO DEL GARDA
Lonato del Garda (Lonato until 2007, Lunà del Garda or Lonàt del Garda in the Brescia dialect) is an Italian town of 16 887 inhabitants in the province of Brescia in Lombardy, on the lower Lake Garda.
The name "Lonato" is believed by some scholars to derive from "Lona", a Celtic term with the meaning of "lake".
Traces of Roman settlements exist in the localities of Monte Mario and Pozze. Here the first human settlements dating back to the Bronze Age (1800 years BC) settled on stilts. This presence is documented by the finds found in the Polada Lavagnone and Palude Lunga area, during some excavation campaigns.
With the victory of the Franco-Piedmontese over the Austrians at Madonna della Scoperta, in June 1859, the town became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
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