Parich Church of Santa Maria

Located in a rather secluded area near the lake, at the centre of its vast territory in which many of its auxiliary churches are situated, the church was built in the 7th/8th century on top of a pagan temple and an older building from the 5th/6th century. Beside it are ancient remains, possibly from a Roman villa. Rebuilt in the 9th century, the church has three aisles divided by three rectangular pillars supporting round-headed arches. The parish church is the most important medieval monument in the area also in view of the decorations and artwork inside. Stupendous frescoes include the 12th century The Martyrdom of Sant’Ursula and Companis, which is considered an extremely rare example of Romanesque art, the 14th century Annunciation, and the Madonna Enthroned between Saints Sivino and Rocco.
(credits www.gardalombardia.com)

Parco Archeologico Naturalistico

Imagine walking on a fine spring day, bathed in a pleasant warmth and pervasive smell of freshly bloomed flowers. Contemplate the rocky profile of the Rocca, distinguish the flora and fauna in the woods, admire the colours of the dry meadows of the Sasso and the animals that inhabit them, the rare orchids, shrubs and herbs of Mediterranean nature, then the cultivated land and its history, the water fowl and fish that inhabit the lake. This is the Visitor Centre of the Rocca Natural Archaeological Park of Manerba del Garda that houses in the exhibition venue the Civic Archaeological Museum of Valtenesi. The exhibition is spread over two levels simultaneously and it highlights the archaeological reality and the aspects of nature and landscape of the Manerba area, stressing how the Parco della Rocca is in fact the original museum, while the Visitor Centre constitutes the entrance and the place of study of its special features. Educational workshops, audio guides and guided tours along the scenic trails of the park round off the range of services available to guests. In the vicinity of the Visitor Centre there is a food court and a picnic area where you can stop for a relaxing break, overlooking a real picture postcard that no photographer will ever be able to capture in all its dazzling beauty.
(credits www.gardalombardia.com)

Museo archeologico

Manerba, along the road leading to the Rocca fortress, located in the Civic Archaeological Museum of Valtenesi. It collects landscape and archaeological evidence that has characterised the region of Manerba, but also more generally the whole of Valtenesi, through the artistic and historical events that took place in three locations: the Rocca, the Sasso and the church of Santa Maria. The visitor is thus given a comprehensive overview of the many historical circumstances that have affected the area under study; it goes in fact from the remains of a settlement from the Neolithic period once present on the slopes of the Rocca, to the materials of the necropolis built in the village of Sasso dating from the Copper Age, up to the remains of Roman houses found at the feet of the Rocca near the church of Santa Maria. The museum, where you can follow many explanatory pathways, is also enriched by the presence of fibulae, pins made of bronze from the early Iron Age, fragments of medieval artefacts that complete the exhibition program and enhance the sections.
(credits www.gardalombardia.com)