Gardone Riviera. Garda Island (aka Isola del Garda)

From embankment of the expensive four-star Grand Hotel Gardone opens great view over the Garda Island, which is the largest island of the Lake Garda.

This island has a very interesting history. Once used as a Roman burial ground, it later became a pirate lair. After 1429, when a Franciscan monastery was built on the island, it became one of the important religious centers of the country. In 1798 it was requisitioned by Napoleon Bonaparte and many years after came under private ownership.

In the end of the 19th century, the Russian Archduchess Maria Annenkoff became island’s new owner. She constructed here a park with gardens, as well as the famous Venetian Neogothic palace.

From 2002 Isola del Garda is open for public.