Lombardy itinerary
Iseo Lake and Franciacorta

Lake Iseo

Sunken into the mountain slopes which are sometimes steep, Lake Iseo reflects the greenery of the surrounding Pre-Alps and of the island in the middle. It offers, from many easily reached elevated points, a view of a fiord among the olive trees.

Photo © renatela

Here passes the access route to the Camonica Valley, well travelled for centuries by armies, turmoiling faith and the riches of commerce. Churches and castles dominate every wave and every road, witnesses to the age old pride and faith which still breathe here.

Today still, fishermen fruitfully let down their fishing nets, nourishing an original gastronomic tradition that renders the taste and the purity of the depth of the lake.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Lake-dwelling villages have flourished around Lake Iseo since the Stone Age; the Rhetic, the Camun and Cenoman people found a meeting place here for their businesses.

After the domination over the people of the Camonica Valley (16 BC), the imposed Roman republic, with its chief town at Cividate of the Camonica Valley, extended as far as Pisogne and Sulzano.

In Montisola, fishing gave rise particularly to the production of nets, launched, according to tradition, by the monks on San Paolo Island. Wool was already being spun since the XV cent.; the lake craftsmen created a "universitas". The passing through the lake area of iron and semi-finished metals coming from the Camonica Valley gave birth to blast furnaces and workshops especially in Marone.

In 1510, Pisogne was also interested in witch hunting which raged for decades in the Camonica Valley and numerous burnings at the stake were seen.

The opening of the coastal road (1850) and of the railroad (1907) reduced the commercial importance of the port of Iseo
Text Courtesy of APT Provincia di Brescia, Brescia Official Tourist Board www.bresciaholiday.com

© 1997-2010 Enrico Massetti
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