Riva del Garda


Riva del Garda is a town and comune in the northern Italian province of Trento of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It is also known simply as Riva and is located at the northern tip of the Lake Garda.

History

Riva del Garda belonged to the Republic of Venice, the Bishopric of Trent, the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and later to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the Third Italian War of Independence, Riva del Garda was an important supply base for the Austrian navy and was the only town on the lake captured by Italian forces.
In 1918, after the end of World War I, Riva del Garda, with the rest of the Trentino, became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
Riva was the terminus for the long :de:Lokalbahn Mori–Arco–Riva|Mori–Arco–Riva railway line, opened in 1891. However, the railway line closed in 1936 and the railway terminus has been converted into a restaurant.

Geography

Riva del Garda is located at the north-western corner of Lake Garda, approximately above sea level. The town is located at the southern edge of the Italian Alps near the Dolomites. It is bordered by Monte Rocchetta to the west and Monte Brione, above sea level, to the east. East of Riva del Garda is the village Torbole, bordered by Monte Baldo.

Climate

Winters are chilly and quite sunny; snow isn't rare, although since the late 1980s, Riva has seen a sharp decrease of yearly amounts due the warming trends of the winter in the past 30 years.
Summers are warm but rarely hot and/or muggy, mainly thanks to the local lake breezes through the day and some scattered thunderstorms in the late afternoon.
January averages are –1 to 6 °C, while July 17 to 28 °C.
The average of the yearly precipitations is 1.064mm / 42in, while the yearly snow averages 27 cm / 11in, with a record of 124 cm / 49in in the winter 1984–1985; the highest snowcover on the ground has been about 70 cm by the Christmas of 1938 and about 60-65 cm during the famous snowfall between January 13th and 17th, 1985.

Economy

is the most important activity of the town. The town is also home to industries such as paper manufacturing.

Main sights

The Museo Civico is located in the Rocca, a medieval fortress with quadrangular bastions, placed on the lake, bounded by a canal with drawbridge. It was the fortress of the noble family Scaligeri, who became the Lords of Verona. It was rebuilt several times and it was used by the Austrians as barracks in the 18th century. It is frequently the seat of cultural activities, especially during the summer months.
The medieval Torre Apponale was is a medieval tower first mentioned in 1273, but probably older. It belonged to the first fortress of Riva, that no longer exists. Modifications were made in 1555 and it was raised to. The Piazza III Novembre is situated between the tower and the harbour. The city hall comprises the Palazzo Pretorio from 1375 and the Palazzo del Provveditore, built between 1472 and 1485.
The city gates Porta San Marco, built by the Venetians, and Porta San Michele, at the Piazza Cavour, are remnants of the medieval city walls. The Porta San Michele has a small battlemented belfry for the parochial church of Maria Assunta. This church was originally a romanesque-gothic building from the 14th century, but was rebuilt in baroque style in 1728. It has a single nave and nine baroque altars. The altarpieces were made by local artists, such as Ignazio Martino Oliari da Riva, Giuseppe Craffonara da Riva and Giovanni Caliari da Verona. The fresco in the dome is by the 17th century Baroque painter Giuseppe Alberti.
The church Chiesa dell'Inviolata, dominating the Largo Marconi, is considered among the most beautiful baroque churches in Trentino. It is an octagonal building with the belfry next to it. It contains the altarpieces "San Carlo Borromeo" and "San Gerolamo" by the Mannerist painter Palma il Giovane. In the middle of the octagonal dome is a Baroque fresco "The coronation of Maria in Heaven".
Places of geological interest in the vicinity include Tenno Lake, Lago di Ledro, and the Varone falls.

Sport

With its two harbours, Riva del Garda is equipped for sailing and windsurfing. Rock climbing and mountain biking are also practiced.
Basketball is a beloved sport in the town; there are two teams in the regional league, Virtus Riva and GS Riva.
Skiing is also quite practiced, with a couple of ski-resorts located just 20-30 driving minutes from the town and other 3-4 about 45-60 minutes away.
Via ferrata for rock climbing Via dell´Amicizia, which is 650 meters high, ends at the height of 1200 meters and lasts about 2:40 hrs. on average.

Sister cities