There is something deeply ancient about gazing across the lake and feeling the urge to cross it. The waters of Lake Garda have served as a communication route since the earliest times — the Romans themselves established nautical guilds along its shores and built working boats to carry goods, grain and wine between the two banks. The lake was never a barrier; it was a road. And Torri del Benaco, sitting at a strategic midpoint along the Veronese shore, was one of the most important hubs in this ancient network — a natural stopping point for anyone crossing the Benaco from east to west and back again.
From Oar to Steam: The Birth of Modern Navigation
For centuries, the two shores were connected by sailing boats and rowing vessels, at the mercy of the lake’s fickle winds — the Ora and the Pelér — and the strength of the oarsmen’s arms. Everything changed in the first half of the nineteenth century, when in 1827 the first steam-powered vessel was launched on Lake Garda: the Arciduca Ranieri, made possible by an exclusive concession granted to the Milanese Society for Steam Navigation on the Lakes of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom. It was a true revolution: crossing times shortened, connections became regular, and the lake ceased to be a seasonal obstacle, becoming instead a reliable route all year round. Piece by piece, the public navigation network that still crosses the waters of Garda today was born.
1933: The Car Ferry Changes Everything
The turning point came in 1933, when the first ferry designed to carry automobiles entered service on Lake Garda. It was a watershed moment: for the first time, not just passengers but vehicles too could cross the lake, opening the door to a completely new kind of mobility between the Veronese and Brescian shores. The Torri del Benaco–Toscolano Maderno route quickly became one of the most important on the lake — and it remains so today, the only ferry on Garda to operate all year round, twelve months out of twelve, in every season.
Thirty Minutes Worth the Journey
Today, taking the ferry from Torri is much more than simply getting from one place to another. It is thirty minutes in which the lake opens up around you in all its vastness, with the silhouette of Monte Baldo behind you and the villages along the Brescia shore slowly drawing closer.
A slow, quiet journey that invites you to pause and take it all in.
If you are staying with us and have not done it yet, this is one of the experiences we truly recommend you not miss: take the ferry, cross the lake, explore Toscolano Maderno or Gardone Riviera, and return in time for sunset. Ask at reception — we will be happy to help you organize the crossing in the best possible way.
