Sirmione - History
Sirmione has ancient origins and owes its popularity to the poet Catullus, who lived there and wrote of it in some of his verses. Like all the towns on Lake Garda, Sirmione could not escape the rule of the Longobards, who were expelled by the Veronese in 1197. In 1220 Emperor Frederick II allowed the people of Sirmione to fish freely in the waters of the lake. Following the rule of the Scaligeri, Sirmione surrendered to the Republic of Venice in 1405. In 1452 the ‘Cooperazione degli Antichi Originari di Sirmione’ or Cooperative of the Ancient Natives of Sirmione, was founded which, together with that of Torri del Benaco and Garda, managed the rich fish market of San Vigilio.
