Salo, Lake Garda

Sirmione in mid-Summer is far too crowded to work as a base for exploring Lake Garda, but Salo is a different proposition altogether. 

For just 19 months between 1943 and 1945, this small town on the western edge of Lake Garda, roughly midway between Milan and Venice, was the defacto capital of the Italian Social Republic. 

The republic was always going to fail because it was entirely artificial, a last-gasp fiction created by Italian fascists and nominally led by an ailing Mussolini.

The Nazis installed Mussolini as head of the republic, and they used a gorgeous art nouveau villa in Salo to house the republic’s foreign ministry. 

It ended badly, as we know. Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, fled the Allied advance in April 1945 but were captured and executed at Lake Como. Their bodies were taken to Milan and left to hang upside down outside a petrol station. 

There are few visible traces of this violence.

In the decades since WW2, Salo has got back to doing what it’s always done since Rome was a child: turning on the sunshine and dialling-up the charm. 

The villa that housed Mussolini’s foreign ministry changed hands in the ‘60s and opened as the Hotel Laurin. 

Breakfast on the hotel’s terrace overlooking Lake Garda is a splurge to remember.

Day-trips from Salo are easy to organise. We caught a hydrofoil to Sirmione (about an hour each way), enjoyed the sights, and were glad to escape the crowds at the end of the day. 

Local ferries also connect Salo with several of Lake Garda’s other charming towns, including Bardolino and Gardone Riviera.

On Sundays, the villa on the privately-owned Isola del Garda opens (some of) its doors and gardens to paying guests, who are collected from Salo and ferried over on a little boat. It’s a half-day guided excursion into a Venetian Gothic fantasy that’s well worth the 31 euro entry fee.  

CASE NOTES 

Where to stay

Hotel Laurin ticks all the boxes. Great location and atmosphere, friendly and professional staff, swimming pool, terrace and views. Coffee is fantastic, too. The only drawback is the road that runs between it and lake’s edge, which means a bit of traffic noise if you  opt for windows open instead of air-con. 

Also worth considering: Hotel Bellerive and Salo du Parc Hotel, both of which are waterfront and enjoy good word of mouth.

Where to eat

We skipped the fine dining at Hotel Laurin and instead tried Osteria dell Oologio on Via Butturni, 26 in Salo (one street back from the waterfront). It was so good we went  back a second time. Standout dish was the grilled sardines, sourced from Lake Garda. The local white wine, Lugana Bianchi, works a treat. Plenty of fruit with a crisp dry finish.

What to do 

Catch the ferry that connects Salo with other towns around Lake Garda, hop on and off as you wish. Sirmione is the big ticket item because of its Roman ruins and castle. 

Explore Salo on foot. It’s a small town, very photogenic. Be sure to include an evening stroll along the waterfront promenade, gelato compulsory. 

Getting around 

Lake Garda Transfers offers private transfers and taxi services. Pickup and drop-off to/from airports, railway stations, hotels etc. It’s a family business, highly recommend.