Garda

Garda, Lago di, between Lombardy and Venetia, is the largest of the Italian lakes,'being 35 miles long, with an average of 7 broad, and containing 115 square miles. It is more than 200 feet above sea-level, and is almost a thousand feet deep. The rivers Sarca and Ponale flow into it, and the Mincio drains it into the Po. The upper end (Riva) is Austrian and the rest Italian. The district is a favourite health-resort for its fine climate, the neighbourhood of the lake containing many villas. The Alpine spurs in the N. are interspersed with pretty valleys, and the southern slopes grow citron, figs, grapes, myrtles, and mulberries. The principal productions are olives and fish, which are abundant. On a peninsula jutting from the south shore is Sermione, mentioned by Catullus, with Roman remains.