There are many reasons to go to the Rocca Scaligera in Sirmione. Mainly because it is a rare example of marine lake fortification. A unique show, worthy of a film set. Added to this is the thrill of the legend of Ebengardo and Arice. A sad and painful story, which still lives in the local memory today.
The splendid Sirmione rises on the Brescia side of Lake Garda. It is here that it is possible to locate and admire the Castle and its fourteenth-century dock. An excellently preserved place, among which spaces the memory of a damned love still finds space, which relives through a legend narrated for generations.
The legend of the Rocca Scaligera
Ancient Italian history leads such places to be shrouded in ancient legends. The Rocca Scaligera in Sirmione is no exception. A ghost would roam the halls of the castle, choosing stormy nights to give vent to its pain. The legend tells of Ebengard, a young man who lived happily inside the castle, as well as of Arice, his wife. Their existence was turned upside down during a terrible night of rain and wind. A knight was housed within the walls. A man who introduced himself as Elabert, Marquis of Feltrino.
He was kidnapped by the disarming beauty of Arice, to the point of deciding he wanted to own it at any cost. He entered her rooms in the middle of the night, but her cries woke the bridegroom, who rushed. He arrived too late, finding her lifeless. Elabert had killed her with his own dagger.
A painful fate also for Ebengardo, who hurled himself against the aggressor but, in the struggle, was pierced by his own dagger. Thus it is told of his tormented ghost, ready to wander around the rooms of the Castle on nights similar to that of the death of his beloved. Her torment was infinite, not having saved or avenged her. A sad fate, for two so in love that they were unable to reunite in peace even after death.
The history of the Rocca Scaligera
The Scaligero Castle of Sirmione is a sight not to be missed. Located in the final part of the spit of land that goes from the hinterland to Lake Garda. The mainland is divided from the island, defended by the Rocca, by an arm of water crossed by a drawbridge.
It was a fortification designed for port use, which explains the reasons for its excellent conservation. Work created at the behest of the mayor of Verona, Leonardo della Scala (Mastiff of the Scala). A family that obtained the dominion of Sirmione in the thirteenth, when it was already a free municipality.
The function was the defensive one, placed to protect the village and the port, over which it would have had total control. About a century after construction, two courtyards and an independent element were added. All united by a barbican. A further strengthening was carried out in 1405, when Sirmione came under the control of the Republic of Venice. A splendor that lasted until the sixteenth century, when a slow decline began, coinciding with the increase in the political weight assumed by the nearby citadel of Peschiera del Garda. The fortress was used as a military garrison until the fall of Venice in 1797. It was transformed into a barracks for the French and Austrians, until the unification of Italy.
What to see in the Castle
Access is via a stone bridge, once a drawbridge. It is still possible to see the holes for housing the beams. In the portico there are three early medieval pirogues, recovered in the waters of the Oglio river. The former parade ground, or the central courtyard, is still protected by three towers and the keep.
The walkways were made of Verona stone, characterized by battlements made up of Ghibelline dovetail battlements. You can access the Keep, once the home of the castellan. A 37 meter high structure, decorated with the Scaligero coat of arms. There Dock it was the then port. It is the oldest that has come to us in almost completely intact conditions. Characterized by an irregular trapezoid shape, with a slightly inclined external wall. Measures studied at the time to protect the internal body of water from the north wind.
