Not far away we also find the wonderful Lake Garda, with its holiday atmosphere and its typical products, an ideal destination to disconnect from routine and daily stress. A territory of considerable historical, artistic and cultural interest, which leaves room for local traditions and testimonies related to its unique products known all over the world.
To encourage the development and beauty of these places, are the colorful hills, able to astound visitors as the same inhabitants, who have been patiently worked for many centuries. We begin to find the first testimonies, concerning the wine, since Roman times, on which it is said that the Rhaetian wine was born right here, ancestor of today's Valpolicella, celebrated in numerous praises by some of the most historians and Latin poets famous of the time.
The area of San Pietro di Cariano is very rich in Roman evidence, with several finds of remains of rustic houses found throughout the municipality, which was probably a residential area. Definitely not to be missed is one of the oldest and best preserved parishes in the area, namely the Romanesque parish church of San Floriano, dating back to 900 AD, which stands in the homonymous hamlet and which is considered one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in the province.
Today it has an imposing tuff facade and a traditional structure with three naves, inside it preserves magnificent works, including a sculpture of the Madonna in adoration of her son and the canvas of the Madonna del Rosario from the 16th century. In addition to the church, the complex has a seventeenth-century kiosk and an important bell tower.
A territory to be discovered, where once the Veronese nobles competed to build ever more luxurious and showy buildings, on the sunny hills of Valpolicella, enriched by enchanting parks all decorated and embellished with marble statues and fountains gushing with water. Among the many we point out the Villa Serego, located in the locality of Santa Sofia di Pedemonte, in fact it is also called Villa Santa Sofia, it is one of the spectacular Venetian villas designed by the great architect Andrea Palladio in 1565, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The building has two floors in the shape of a horse, with Ionic-style columns inspired by ancient Roman villas, surrounded by a large park and an English-style garden. Another important Venetian villa is Villa Giona, which dates back to the late fifteenth century and is located on the slopes of the Castelrotto hill.
