It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east.

[1] The classic toponym of the lake, or Benācus lacus (Benaco), is almost certainly of Celtic origin, therefore prior to romanization, and should derive from bennacus, comparable with the Irish bennach, which means "horned".

The subdivision is created by the presence of a fault submerged between Sirmione and Punta San Vigilio which is almost a natural barrier that hampers the homogenization between the water of the two zones.

The oldest known earthquake that struck the Garda region seems to have occurred in 243 (or perhaps 245): it was so disastrous that the city of Benaco, located where Toscolano Maderno stands today, suddenly disappeared.

In 1866 a rather long period of seismic agitation began in the Baldo area, with earthquakes of varying intensity, tremors, shaking and other phenomena of lesser importance, which saw as the most important event the earthquake of 5 January 1892, which shook the entire Garda region with extraordinary violence, causing the fall of chimneys and walls.

[6] Areas around Lake Garda, inhabited since prehistoric times, are an environment of great naturalistic value, with vegetation typical of the Mediterranean climate such as olive trees, vines, lemon trees, agave and other plants, which thrive thanks to the microclimate created by the Garda basin, which makes winter particularly mild.

During the spring wildflowers such as primroses, iris, violets and red lilies are born, while in summer some bloom varieties of wild orchids.

In the Neolithic the populations that inhabited the lake came into contact with the square-mouthed vases culture, as evidenced by the objects accompanying some tombs from this period found near Arco.

Also plausible is the presence of the Cenomani, who would have settled in the area between Brescia and the lake around the 6th century BC, leaving their traces mostly in the Lombard toponymy.

In 89 BC the rights of Latin cities were granted to the Garda areas by the will of the Roman consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, while forty years later Roman citizenship was finally granted to Brixia (whose countryside included the western and northern banks of the Benaco) and Verona (which instead included the eastern shore).

In 268 AD the Battle of Lake Benacus was fought between the army of the Roman Empire, commanded by the future emperor Claudius Gothicus, and the German federation of the Alamanni.

The overwhelming victory obtained by the Romans allowed the expulsion of Alemanni from northern Italy, due to the very serious losses they suffered during the battle.

Suso in Italia bella giace un laco, a piè de l'Alpe che serra Lamagna sovra Tiralli, c'ha nome Benaco.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Garda region witnessed the passage of numerous Germanic populations, but the first one that settled there, after a long migration, was that of the Lombards.

Their testimonies are mostly present along the southern and eastern shores, preferred to other areas due to their strategic importance: from here it was possible to control both the waterways of Garda and Mincio, and the Adige valley.

During the Lombard hegemony, there was a first administrative reorganization, as well as the definitive Christianization of the area, begun in the previous centuries by Vigilius of Trent and Zeno of Verona.

The first documents that testify the presence of a Fines Gardenses, an entity with its own officials for the administration of justice, even if not autonomous with respect to the Count of Verona, date back to 825, while after the year 1000 county of Garda was established by the emperor Henry II.

These possessed comfortable economic conditions compared to the inland countries and a strong social awareness and sense of community.

This fortified system, completed by Cangrande II in 1355, included isolated castles in Ponti sul Mincio and Monzambano, serious continuous and uninterrupted castles and towers connected by defensive walls starting from the fortress of Valeggio sul Mincio and then continuing up to Nogarole Rocca.

In 1516 emperor Maximilian I came to Italy and the lake returned to German hands again, allowing the Serenissima to recover the lost territories.

In 1796 the territories of the Serenissima were involved in the Napoleonic wars: at the end of May, the French advanced to the lake and defeated the Austrians at Borghetto sul Mincio, conquering Peschiera.

In 1797 the French occupied Mantua, while Brescia valleys and towns on the lake rose up against the Napoleonic forces, even if the Republic of Venice maintained its neutral status and did not send aid to rescue.

In 1815 following the definitive defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, during the Congress of Vienna it was decided to create the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia: in this way, the whole Garda region returned to Austrian hands.

In 1859 the Second War of Independence began; on 18 June the Hunters of the Alps managed to enter Salò, from where Giuseppe Garibaldi wanted to leave to continue the advance towards Veneto crossing the lake with some boats, but new orders forced him to move the troops in the Brescia valleys.

With the armistice of Villafranca the war was put to an end: Garda returned to be a land border, on this occasion between Italians and Austrians.

Despite the humiliating Italian defeat, in 1866 Veneto was finally handed over to the Kingdom of Italy, except for the northern part of the lake which still remained under Austrian control.

In the period between the two wars the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio settled in Gardone Riviera, where the "Vittoriale degli Italiani", his residence and now a museum, would later be built.

The award-winning documentary film The Lost Mountaineers looks at the tragic events that happened in the last days of the war in northern Lake Garda.

[13] Back to Roman times, especially from the early imperial age, magnificent villas were present on the shores of the lake, conceived as places dedicated to otium, an activity actually reserved for the ruling classes.

In its vicinity other small hotels and villas slowly arose and, after the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio had the Vittoriale degli Italiani built here, the fame of the place grew further.