LAKE GARDA
GETTING AROUND
Lake Garda (Italian: Lago di Garda) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan on the edge of the Dolomites. The name Garda, comes from the town of the same name. It is the evolution of the Germanic word warda, meaning "place of guard" or "place of observation."
Climate
The particularly mild climate favours the growth of some Mediterranean plants, including the olive tree. Citrus (lemon) trees can also be found, which are extremely rare at this latitude (46° North). This greatly favoured the development of tourism since the end of the second world war. In ancient times, poets like Catullus wrote about "Lacus Benacus" with its mild climate vivified by the winds. The lake is oriented from north to south towards the Po Valley, so many winds typical of the lake are the result of a difference between lower and higher altitude temperatures. Due to this, winds are generated that descend from the mountains to the plains in the morning and go back to the mountains in the afternoon. The bottleneck formed by the lake basin affects the timing of the winds, many of which happen on a regular daily basis. The winds are all named, most in regional Italian dialect so a single wind may have different names.