Although this territory, which comprises the municipalities of Villafranca, Castelnuovo, Valeggio sul Mincio, Sona and Bussolengo, is part of the Lake Garda district, its historical and cultural characteristics deeply differ from the other areas around the lake. The landscape is characterised by a series of gentle morainal hills that render this territory particularly suitable for the cultivation of vines. This is, in fact, the land of the Custoza wine.
Peach growing is another major local activity. This is the heart of the peach and nectarine production area in the Verona province.

In addition, this area has abundant historical and archaeological reminders. During the Risorgimento, it was the site of many major battles, so much so that one of the strongholds of the Austrian quadrilateral, Villafranca, became the capital of the Italian Risorgimento.
And Villafranca is certainly still the major centre in the area. It is overlooked by the 14th century Veronese castle whose donjon was built on a monumental Roman inscription of the 1st century AD, at the time of the Emperor Tiberio. This town still preserves the signs of its growth throughout the centuries, from the Roman era to the Veronese domination, from the wealth of the Repubblica Serenissima to the flourishing Risorgimento.
Valeggio sul Mincio is another major historical centre, having always been disputed by the Della Scala and the Gonzaga Families. The historical centre dates back to the Longobard period (8th century AD), while the first settlements in the Valle del Mincio date to the Bronze Age (1500 B.C.) when some populations belonging to the Veneto stem (or Rhaetian) built a village of pile dwellings in the middle of the lake, near the present Borghetto.
Two monuments seem to dominate the landscape, as if fighting an architectonic challenge: the Castello Scaligero and the Ponte Visconteo that overlooks Borghetto – a wonderful medieval village by the river Mincio. Every year Valeggio celebrates the tortellino – traditional local flagship product– in the second half of June. At the “Festa del Nodo d’Amore” (feast of the love knot) a long table is laid that starts in Borghetto and crosses the entire Ponte Visconteo where the renowned tortellini can be tasted.
Valeggio remained under the Venetian land domination from 1405 to 1797 and became a flourishing agricultural and milling centre.

Among the local attractions, it is worth mentioning the Parco-Giardino Sigurtà that covers an area of fifty hectares. It is part of the "brolo cinto de muro" (1617) in the Villa Maffei (designed by V. Pellesina, one of Palladio’s students) that was the headquarters of Napoleon III in 1859.
Carlo Sigurtà took advantage of his century-old right to take water from the river Mincio and after forty years of scrupulous attention, he managed to turn the dry hilly vegetation into a flourishing garden. Subsequently, his grandson Enzo created a prototype of a park-garden.
It was open to the public in 1978 and since then the conservation of this ecological area has been entrusted to the admiration of the visitors. It has been defined a real Temple of Nature and today is considered one of the five most beautiful park-gardens in the world.
For further information: tel. ++39 045 6371033.