Our own Desenzano : a walk in the historic centre

Diary from Park Hotel

There are days when I wake up with a thousand thoughts, I don't know if it happens to you too.
I get up in the morning with hundreds worries around in my head and I just want to wash them away.

On days like this, I take time for resetting myself. After a warm cappuccino&brioche, I go through the doors of the hotel, cross the street and reach the lakefront promenade : the Peler, the wind coming from North, blows in the morning and often blows hard.
And right those waves rippling the lake water seem to catch my thoughts and carry them away.
Usually I walk towards the harbour, along the row of trees, which like metronomes punctually beat the changing of the weather and the seasons.

From the Venetian-style white bridge I turn into the Porto Vecchio, where I always find quietness. Here the light is always amazing: soft and golden in the morning, warm and cheerful from noon to sunset. Sometimes I can see the last fisherman returning with his small wooden boat full of nets.

In front of the old little harbour is Piazza Malvezzi with its long portico: you can smell the scent of coffee and croissants in the air and hear the voices of those working in the shops of the center, greeting each other before starting the day. On the right there is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Maddalena, with paintings by Andrea Celesti and Tiepolo,inside the church on the left there is an apse with a Madonna: she has such a kind and sweet face…when it happens to me to enter, it is always in front of her that I stop for making a wish.

Around the main square there are a few narrow streets to go up to the Castle, the most popular is via Castello with its colorful houses and its shops. But the most secret is the one that begins where La Stella Restaurant is located.

That is for true Desenzano locals: it is steep path and reaches the Castle in a moment but you can’t miss it.

From the terrace in front of the Castle, the view on the lake is wide : from the Sirmione peninsula up to the western coasts descending to the lake. It is a impressive view !

Then I go back down to marina and to the lighthouse, giving a glance to the the boats ready to leave : there is always an atmosphere of joy and euphoria when the captain docks and the sailor pulls the gangway to pick up the passengers!

My need for positive energy and broader horizons has been regenerated even today. I enter the hotel, ready to start a new day, a day in which the desire for letting you discover our Desenzano is always strong, because its beauty, its history and its life are truly able to take your mind off the things and to get you ready for a perfect start of the day.

PS: Just behind the Hotel, you can visit the Roman Villa, with its wonderful colored mosaics, which are a rarity for that historical period. Every time I go there I think that yes, that Roman Lord who had built this beautiful villa had just guessed it: in Desenzano you live well ... the Romans grasped this truth many centuries ago!

Request Informations

Lungolago Cesare Battisti, 17 - 25015 Desenzano Del Garda (Bs) Italy
T.+39 030/9143495 - reception@parkhotelonline.it
P.Iva 03167750987 Privacy & Cookie Policy - Cookie preferences