Borghetto - The Picturesque Village of Borghetto sur Mincio in Lombardy, Northern Italy - Italy Attractions

The Village of Borghetto on the River Mincio

The Visconti Bridge 'Ponte Visconteo' at Borghetto

The Village of Borghetto sur Mincio, Lombardy
The small, picturesque hamlet of Borghetto (Borghetto sur Minico) is a beautiful medieval village in the Valle de Mincio in Lombardy, northern Italy and is dominated by a large Scaligero castle (Castello Scaligero ) and the Visconti Bridge (Ponte Visconteo) - a 65 metre long bridge and fortified dam over the river Mincio. The bridge connected the lands of the Lords of Verona and Mantua.

The bridge over the Mincio river, which was built in 1393 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, was intended as an advanced defence of the castle. Of the original structure, only both the entrances at each end survive. Borghetto is a hamlet of Valeggio sul Mincio, voted one of Italy's 50 most beautiful locations, and owes its wealth to the old activity of a number of mills, three of which have now been restored. Borghetto was also the site of the first toll crossing of the river Mincio south of Lake Garda. Borghetto and Valeggio sul Mincio are 16km from Lake Garda are both easily reached in a short while from the southern shores of the Lake.

Borghetto seen from the Visconti Bridge

River Mincio and the Village of Borghetto

The Feast of the Love Knot (Festa del Nodo d'Amore)
Every year in the second half of June a long table is laid out from Borghetto along the length of the Ponte Visconteo where the renowned tortellini can be tasted. This is an annual parade and a celebration of the 700 year old legend about the doomed love affair between the nymph Silvia and a Captain Malco. She gave him a knotted handkefchief as a symbol of their love, which is forever remembered in the shape of tortellini, before throwing themselves into the river Mincio.