San Felice del Benaco

An agricultural and tourist town built on the hills dominating the south-western side of Lake Garda, San Felice provides an ideal opportunity to spend a few days in beautiful scenery, with vineyards and olive groves.
The magical atmosphere of Garda Island and San Felice can be enjoyed in numerous hotels and tourist facilities.

The area was settled in prehistoric times, with three separate raised housing settlements in Casone. Until 1928 the town was called S.Felice di Scovolo (from the latin scopulus meaning cliff). It was important in Roman times; recently the remains of a necropolis have been found in S. Fermo. The archaeological dig of 1971 brought fragments of walls, mosaics and other Roman remains to light. The first reference to the town was in 1155 in the reign of Federico I. In the twelfth and thirteenth century the area was granted a number of privileges by the German rulers.
In 1227, after the peace of Montichiari, the fortress of Scopolo, built on the remains of a Roman fort, was destroyed by Brescia taking Valtenesi from Verona. The population moved to Portese and San Felice, where they built the Castle of San Felice. From 1427 to 1797 San Felice was part of the Venetian Republic.
It has frequently been a theatre of war and has been settled by the French and Germans. During the Spanish war of Secession at the beginning of the eighteenth century it was forces to provide visiting armies with timber and other supplies, undergoing a form of pillage. S. Felice was the birthplace of the sculptor Angelo Zanelli (1879-1942), whose works include the famous statue of the goddess Roma and the engraving on the Altar of the Homeland in Rome.