This village was the first of the Garda lake to become a free commune during the Middle Ages. Still now you can observe the original medieval aspect and its perimeter, even if the walls that protected the ancient military port underwent a lot of changes.
The castle dates back to the first half of the XVth century thanks to the Della Scala family, but the first construction may be before of the XIth century.
Three gates mark the entrance in the medieval village: Superior Gate, Lion Gate, now called Southern Gate and the New Gate well known as Cansignorio Gate.
It is strange that a place like this, that is in the middle of wine areas (Bardolino doc and Bianco di Custoza), was ruled by Bevilacqua who disliked wine.
Next to the port it was built in XIIth century a romanic church dedicated to Saint Nicolò, the patron of waters and of sailors. Inside there are a lot of important frescos of the Veronese Picture dating back to 1300. In the north external side you can notice the cheering visage of “Madonna con il Bambino” that looks like a Byzantine iconography.
From the pier several boats leave every day and link other villages on the lake.