After breakfast we had planned to go up the funicular in Riva Del Garda which takes you up to the Bastion. It gives brilliant views of the town from up there, as well as Lago Di Garda.

Unfortunately, we got there to see a sign telling us that the funicular was temporarily closed. I think JC was secretly pleased as I may have also persuaded him to walk up to the Church of Santa Barbara which is accessible from the bastion. This small chapel was built into the rocks of Monte Rocchetta in 1927, by miners who were working on the Ponale Hydroelectric Power Plant. Apparently it takes about an hour to walk to it from the bastion, and is worth it for the views. Maybe another time…

We needed to do something else so decided to walk up to the top of the Torre Apponale. This tower is thought to have been constructed in the early 1200s, by the Bonvicini family of Riva. The Prince-Bishop Federico Wanga was not happy about this and ordered them to destroy it. Eventually they were permitted for it to remain as long as ownership was transferred to Wanga.

The tower looks towards the town of Ponale, which is how it got the name. It controlled Riva’s west port and defensively it prevented attacks due to the entrance being eight metres from the ground. It later became a prison when it was no longer needed in a defensive capacity.

There is a clock on the tower, and a bronze bell, the ‘Renga’, which was only rung on special occasions, summoning the citizens to public meetings. There is also a weathervane on the top, the Anzolim de la Tor. This is an angel, which is a popular symbol of the city.

The tower is 34 metres high and the top terrace is accessible by climbing up the wooden stairs. It cost only €2, which is cheap considering the amazing views of Lago Di Garda and the town of Riva Del Garda itself that can be seen.

Back on terra firma, it was time to eat. Many restaurants shut at 2pm for part of the afternoon, so it is always busy before this time. We found La Caneva Bistrot down one of the back streets, Via Fiume . This was a lovely traditional bistro that served Mediterranean cuisine. It was a lovely place with great food, highly recommended.

https://www.lacanevabistrot.it/index-en.html

We did a bit of shopping for the usual fridge magnets etc, then headed back to the hotel with our purchases. After a quick freshen up, we then walked back down to the waterfront to enjoy the weather. The wind had really picked up in the afternoon, which had brought out lots of windsurfers on to the lake.

We walked back towards the old town again and stopped at Busat, the bar which serves local wines. After a cheeky Lugana wine we had a leisurely walk back to the hotel. We had time to chill out on our little private balcony with beautiful views of the mountains. It was so peaceful.

For our evening meal, we were dining at the hotel, at a their intimate restaurant called Vecchio Pozzo.

The restaurant is situated in an original part of the building in a cellar type room that has its own well. It can accommodate four tables only, which makes it very special. On Wednesday night, we had the whole room to ourselves. There are two set menus, one is meat and the other fish. The hotel receptionist had already been to our room earlier that day to show us the menus as they had to be pre-booked. We both chose the meat option.

All I can say is that the whole experience was brilliant from start to finish. The best part was watching our waiter create the crêpeflambé at the end. He set up the whole cooking area in front of us on two tables. He then prepared the dessert in an old frying pan, using a bronze gas cooking stove and lots of flames. He served it to us with some lovely vanilla gelato and dark berries. It was fantastic and a wonderful way to end the day.

https://www.hotelvillanicolli.com/en/hotel/vecchio-pozzo/pm-1065-1101