The old village of Garda, situated directly on the Lake, still keeps its medieval urban plant unchanged, with the two entrance doors, the clock tower and the palace of the Fregoso. 
The name of this small town of 3.700 inhabitants comes from the germanic term warda - guard, lookout - which is indeed the function of the fortress, built on a rock above Garda. 
It has its origins in the Roman age, was destroyed and rebuilt several times and it is now in ruins. 
The human presence is witnessed since Antiquity, and the marks of the Roman period are numerous: gravestones, epigraphs, coins and graves. During the barbaric invasions, Garda belonged first to the Goths, then to the Longobards and the Franks. 
 

The name of Garda extended to the surrounding area, reaching, around the 11th century, also the Lake, which from that moment changed its name from the Latin name Benàco into Lake Garda. 
Then came the Scaligeri from Verona, the Visconti di Milano and from 1405 Venice with the Captain of the Lake representing the Serenissima. 
In 1848 at the Villa Alberini, Carlo Alberto, King of Sardegna, accepted the request to be annexed to Piemonte; Austria followed and finally the annexation to Italy.s to ensure you of a pleasant stay.