Castelletto di Brenzone
The starting point is Castelletto di Brenzone, a delightful village located between the lake and the mountains, characterized by cobbled streets, medieval courtyards and colorful houses, which give it a characteristic and very suggestive atmosphere.
Castelletto is a famous location for windsurfing and sailing enthusiasts, but it also offers the possibility of following various more or less demanding paths surrounded by greenery.
The path that we suggest in this article starts from Castelletto and, passing through the olive groves, reaches the small medieval village of Campo, which is absolutely worth visiting even with children.
VISIT TO CAMPO DI BRENZONE
There are many paths that lead to Campo di Brenzone (it can only be reached on foot) and we choose the one that starts from Marniga (a small village located next to Castelletto), which leads from there to the destination, along an ancient mule track.
It is a constant climb, not very easy and not suitable for strollers, but at the same time very pleasant because it crosses romantic olive groves and offers truly wonderful panoramic views of the lake and the Lombard shore.
The climb is quite short and well indicated, in about an hour you will reach Campo di Brenzone.
The ancient village looks like a grouping of stone houses surrounded by olive groves and can be visited by walking through the narrow streets and admiring every corner that characterizes it, discovering unique glimpses between gates and windows of abandoned houses that can be immortalized and, immediately behind the corner, the village offers beautiful views of the lake.
Even children will be involved in the charm of this village suspended in time, an almost uninhabited village that hides ancient secrets here and there: small nativity scenes still set up and abandoned in the rock or in the crevices of walls and trees, on the windows and under the porches... the remains of a famous event that every year, during the Christmas period, involves the installation of nativity scenes in every corner of the district of Campo.
It is also worth visiting the delightful small church dedicated to San Pietro in Vincoli, inside which there are precious frescoes completed in 1358 by the painter Giorgio da Riva. Absolutely unmissable!
Children will love this small village where they can walk free, play hide and seek among ancient houses and, if they are lucky enough to meet one of the two inhabitants who still live in the village, they will certainly appreciate their stories that will make the place even more magical.
The return from Campo to Castelletto takes place along the same mule track traveled previously and, in about 30 minutes, you reach Marniga.
And once back on the lakeside?
FROM BRENZONE TOWARDS MALCESINE
We suggest you to walk north from Brenzone towards Malcesine, along a stretch of the beautiful cycle/pedestrian path that runs along the lake and which is ideal for families. Younger visitors can travel on foot, by bike or with roller skates, stopping from time to time to play on the small beaches on the lake until they reach another characteristic little hidden village on Lake Garda: Cassone, a small hamlet of Malcesine.
Here is the shortest river in Italy - Aril, which flows through the village for all its 175 meters - and the Museum of the Lake, for which information is available at this link.
