Parco di Punta Grò

At the quiet eastern end of Lugana, where Sirmione's lakefront runs out towards Peschiera del Garda, Punta Grò Park pairs a bathing beach and century-old poplars with the Fisherman's House and installations devoted to Dante.

Why it matters

Punta Grò Park marks the eastern end of Sirmione's Lugana lakefront, near the border with Peschiera del Garda. Its poplars, lakeshore, former fishing structures and literary installations reveal different strands of the area's history.

What to notice

Century-old poplars give the park's lakeshore its defining scale. Wooden stakes remain in the water near the Casa del Pescatore, recalling fishing practices on Garda. The house presents the lake's fishing culture, while six installations dedicated to Dante Alighieri, created in 2021, connect the park with Sirmione's literary heritage.

Context and history

The fishing house at Punta Grò was built beside a "magra" — a stretch of low, rocky lakebed — where conditions converged to make this one of the richest fishing grounds on Garda. As recounted by local fishing historian Filippo Gavazzoni on the municipality's news pages, fishermen slept in the little house during night-fishing sessions so as to be ready, emptying nets and cogoli whenever they filled too heavily. The catch went into live tanks, some built into the adjoining channel, others as a pen out in the lake; on good days, hauls of alborelle — Garda's small silvery bleak — and eels could be measured in tens of quintals. The house later fell out of use and the stake system in front of it decayed, its remains still readable in the water.

The municipality restored the buildings as the Casa del Pescatore, presenting the fishing economy of the Sirmione community. In 2021, six installations for the literary project dedicated to Dante were placed in the park, adding a modern counterpart to the classical poetry associated with Catullus.