Malcesine’s Della Scala castle, on the Veronese side of Lake Garda, is one of its best known symbols, and not just in Italy. Well known Austrian artist Gustav Klimt painted it in 1913 when he was staying right opposite it, in Tremosine, on the Brescia side.
Some believe he used a telescope for it. Legend has it that King Pepin of Italy (son of Charlemagne) stayed at the castle in 806 and it then spent many centuries in the hands of the aristocratic Della Scala family who began work on this important architectural work in the 13th century for defensive purposes. They lived in it for more than a century, from the 1200s to the 1300s. It was then occupied by the Viscontis, an aristocratic family from Milan, who lost it in 1403. The castle was then the centre of an around ten year territorial dispute between the Republic of Venice and the Holy Roman Empire. In 1797, under Napoleon, it passed into French and then Austrian hands, until 1798. A few years later, German writer Goethe described it in his Italian Journeys (Italienische Reise, 1813 – 1817) and a museum and bust mark the occasion. The castle’s irregularly shaped main tower (keep) is perched 70 meters over the lake.
The name Corrado II and the date 1131 AD was engraved into the highest but one level of the tower, implying that this may be the completion date. There are five rooms in the tower, the last of which is called the watchtower room.
Water sports and even skiing
There are plenty of sports with local traditions in the natural environment to do in Malcesine. The most characteristic of these, and the most frequent, is sailing, because Lake Garda’s winds, especially in its northernmost part, are ideal for it. But Malcesine is also Italian capital of paragliding, with its high altitudes making it the ideal place for totally safe acrobatics over the lake. In fact Monte Baldo dominates the lake from behind the town.
There are mountain biking routes and more relaxing coastal cycle tracks in the area. Walks of all difficulty levels are available in and around the town. The best known of these is the panoramic footpath which links up Tempesta and Parco delle Busatte, the first of which is around 7 km from Malcesine while the second is further north, less than 2 km from Torbole town centre. It is a linear footpath which traverses the upper Garda mountains. Much of it is on specially made flights of a total of 400 exposed steps.
Malcesine is also one of Lake Garda’s few ski resorts. The Monte Baldo ski slopes include beginners and intermediate pistes and a couple of more demanding descents. The slopes accessible from Malcesine are those of Prà Alpesina, at Passo Tratto Spino, while the highest skilifts are in Ortigaretta alla Costabella, at an altitude of 2053 metres.
