Castles, water, views and Mussolini
A great day in Italy’s north. Temp around 30 degrees. Back down to the Old Harbor area late morning. Brilliant light. Brilliant views and a fair bit of lake activity. A couple of swans and their family descend into the area in front of where we are sitting. Pretty unique. Watched a family rent a boat to go out to the lake, apparently no prior experience required. Are you kidding me? Public liability insurance? Dogs everywhere which is great for us. A visit to the Castello Di Desenzano del Garda, a castle tower that overlooks the town. Built in the 11th Century for defence reasons, it’s been rebuilt, bombed and overtaken many times. Managed to sneak in a cheeky swim in the largest lake in Italy (third biggest in Europe, behind Lakes Geneva and Constance). Magnificent. A beautiful outdoor dinner, again in the Old Harbor zone capped off a great day. Yeah the Mussolini story is intriguing. After joining the Germans in 1940 the tide eventually turned and Il Duce was deposed by the King in 1943. With the assistance of the Germans he set up an Italian Social Republic (a German puppet state) on the shores of Lake Garda north west from here. Desenzano was designated the Department of Defence. Apparently all went well until 1945 when Il Duce was executed near his shore enclave while trying to escape to Switzerland.
gazlington 
Hey Gary, I didn’t realise that you took your own license plates “BAD 089” with you for that hire car in your pics. Or is it the vespa you hired?
All looks awesome Gary.
Hey J, yes a pretty savage looking vehicle. Nice of you to pick up on my license plates. Just handed it back after blasting around the town. Now for the Vespa. Seriously…………alot of motor bikes buzzing around.
The Lakes are amazing, however, I’m not sure I’m happy with how you parked your Merc!
Yes, need to look at that parking issue Lo. The car reappeared this morning. I think it belongs to one of the owners of our venue. Yes the lake is extraordinary. Alot of sailing. Alot of ducks.