Riva del Garda - Culture
The church of the Inviolata, situated in the inner part of the town, was designed in the Baroque style by a Portugeuse architect. Moving on to Piazza Tre Novembre you can admire the surrounding buildings which were built in the Lombard-Veneto style due to the occupation of the town of Riva del Garda in the past, amongst these is Palazzo Pretorio (1375), under the loggia there are tablets of medieval, Roman and modern origins, on the façade is a fresco of the coat of arms of Bishop Prince George III of Neideck. Next to Palazzo Pretorio stands the Town Hall which bears the municipal coat of arms and was restored between 1475 and 1482. Nearby you can visit Piazza S.Rocco, which still shows the old style of the town surrounded by the ruins of the old town walls and those of the towers and the Church of Saints Rocco and Vigilio which was partially destroyed during the First World War. At the eastern most corner you can find the Apponale Tower with its bell and clock, originally built in 1200, it is currently 34 m tall. Firstly built as a prison and later used as an observation point in the First World War, at the top of the tower there is a small angel, called the Anzolim de la Tor. In various spots around the town stand its entrance ways, Porta San Marco, rebuilt by the Venetians in the second half of the 15th century and Porta San Michele. The Rocca was built in 1124 to defend the town and over the years became more and more important from a military point of view, in actual fact, it was turned into a barracks by the Austrians and at the moment there is a civic museum housed within it. Piazza Catena, Piazza C. Battisti and Piazza Garibaldi are all worth a look. From the latter Via Maffei begins, once the well-to-do street of the town, now you can admire its palazzi, Lutti, Armani, Martini and Clari. If you follow this road you will reach Piazza delle Erbe where you can find Palazzo Bettinazzi and Casa Menghin. If you walk for about 30 minutes you’ll reach the Bastion, a Venetian stronghold built in 1508, if you continue your walk you can visit the small church of Santa Barbara, built in 1935 and located halfway up Monte Rocchetta, it offers a breathtaking view of the entire area. In the eastern part of Riva you can find Monte Brione which is considered a biotope and is dotted with forts that were built between the end of the 1800s and the early 1900s. And last, but by no means least, Lake Tenno about 6 km from Riva, with its azure waters, the Varone waterfall (3 km), and Lake Ledro (5km), where the paleoethnography museum is situated, are all worth a visit.