There are places difficult to forget.
There can be several reasons if a location remains inside you in a special way, mine reason was a silent and slow return to normality after the Pandemic situation.
It’s the beginning of June 2021, the world has passed one of the most difficult historic period, the uncertanity is still present everywhere… but on the other hand the feeeling of Hope starts to come back all around people and somehow I realized it was the right moment to turn back travel with my family.
Is Friday Afternoon, we are finally ready for a Weekend out-of-town and our first direction is Borghetto sul Mincio.
Borghetto sul Mincio is an old medieval village close to Valeggio sul Mincio, in the province of Verona, which has managed to preserve its appearance of a fortified station on the river. In fact, in this small reality you feel like you have turned back to the past, since a far-sighted policy of conservation of the ancient buildings has ensured that the unique aspect of the village has not been lost, but that, indeed, the ancient structures have remained in operation.
For almost 1000 years, this small village was a must for those who wanted to move from south to west in the Venetian lands, and over the centuries even great armies such as the French army of Napoleon in 1796, or the Piedmont troops, during the Second War of Independence in 1859, crossed its fortified bridge.
view of Ponte Visconteo
Once you arrive in Borghetto sul Mincio, you are immediately attracted by the Visconteo Bridge, also called Pontelungo by the inhabitants of the area, a bridge-dam of 650 meters built in 1395 over the river with the intention of diverting the Mincio from its bed that leads up to Mantua. The construction consists of a long dam and an imposing central fortress where the surveillance garrison resided.
We park our car in the parking immediately out of the old Center of Borghetto sul Mincio ( the major part of the park places are pay and display parking, but we are lucky and we find a free one !
Then, by feet we start to discover this little Venetian pearl!
The village is really small, and in general you would need not more than 1 hour to visit it, but, due its beauty you are obliged to stop yourself in every corner to take a pictures and admire what you have in front of your eyes, so you can count not less than 1 hour and half to see it.
During the Venetian domination (1405 – 1796) Borghetto begins to lose its function as a military garrison and to transform itself into a milling center; at that time, in fact, the Mincio Valley was much disputed among the Veronese patrician families, who competed for the hydraulic power of the river, building dozens of wheel mills that are still visible today; three of these mills are in perfect working order and it is possible to visit the inside to see the gears that transfer the strength of the river to the large stone mill.
Mills in Borghetto
Walking through the narrow streets of Borghetto we come to the small Church of San Marco Evangelista (dating back to the 18th century) inside which there is the statue of San Giovanni di Nepumoceno : according to the tradition, this Saint should protect from drowning, those who fall inside the river.
The awasome houses builded with ancient stones have as background flowerbeds and
Trail that bring you uphill to Castello Scaligero
colored gardens everywhere and there are several Restaurants and Bars in which you can taste the savory specialities of this area. But we have decided to do something different: immediately out of the old Center of Borghetto, there is a wild uphill trail, that through big steps bring you at the bottom of Castello Scaligero of Valeggio sul Mincio.
Scaligero Castle
We arrive in the center of Valeggio sul Mincio hungry and a bit tired for the walk in the woods… so even it’s around 7 Pm… we decide that it’s time for dinner !
In Valeggio the Restaurants are cheaper than in Borghetto, but nice anyway.
We discovered ” il Re del Tortellino” where we had the chance to taste the famous Tortellini di Valeggio. https://www.alredeltortellino.it/
Entrance of Restaurant “Il Re Del Tortellino”
This traditional Pasta is so famous that every year, on the third Tuesday of June in Borghetto sul Mincio, along the Ponte Visconteo, takes place the Festa Del nodo d’Amore.
In this incredible evening, more than 3.300 people have a dinner together, sitting at a table more than 1 km long to celebrate the Knot of Love, the real Tortellino from Valeggio sul Mincio.
Now in its 24th edition, the record dinner is inspired by the story of the contrasted love between the nymph Silvia and Captain Malco, whose passion is symbolized by a lovingly knotted yellow silk cloth. And this love knot is inspired by the 13 quintals of tortellini, strictly handmade, which are served during dinner.
To take part at this event is required to book in advance: the ticket can be bought at the Touris’t office of Valeggio sul Mincio, costs around 120€ pro person and includes: the Aperitif on the square, the entrance to the party and a small traditional souvenir. In case of Bad weather the party is developed inside the several restaurants present in Borghetto.
You can find all the updated information at the official website: https://festanododamore.it/
Borghetto and Valeggio sul Mincio are the perfect stop If you are directed to Garda Lake, but are as well a strategic point to stay if you plan to visit the Middle-North Area of Italy between Mantova and Verona.
If you like to ride a bike, I suggest you to traverse the Ciclovia del Mincio that pass from Borghetto : is a 45 km trail that connect Mantova to Peschiera del Garda in a green and beautiful landscape. http://www.parcodelmincio.it/itinerari-dettaglio.php?id_iti=3139
Another unmissable location in this area is Parco Giardino Sigurtà https://www.sigurta.it/ which extends for about 50 hectares at the back of Villa Maffei. The park can be visited by foot or by bicycle, along a route of 7 km, among meadows, woods and lakes, in an enchanting botanical and landscape setting.
Last but not least… despite the extremely romantic atmosphere, Borghetto sul Mincio is not really economic … for that reason we preferred to stay in a farm holiday, 3 m far from Borghetto, where we had a really nice time with a competitive price: Its name is Corte Morandini https://www.cortemorandini.com/eng/index.php?lng=en_ENI suggest it very much! 🙂
