Limone sul Garda was very close to Riva so we decided to visit and took the early morning ferry. I feel we could do this every day and never get bored, the views are magical. It's a beautiful charming little town, surrounded by olive gardens and lemon terraces. The small harbour looked beautiful as we approached. It was very busy in the little historic alleyways but somehow it was easy to find some quiet spots where you could just take in the atmosphere and gaze over the lake.
The tiny lanes are full of shops selling everything lemony that you could think of. It is quite cute at first but then it just feels very touristy. But that said it is still a beautiful place to visit and the little lanes have some incredible houses to look at .
We made our way up to the Castle. There were definitely not as many visitors up here and that seemed to make it feel cooler as it was yet another really hot day. It was a great place to stroll around you get to see all sorts of citrus fruits growing and you get an insight to the watering systems as well. Limone was a big producer of lemons for Germany, Poland and Russia bringing in a much needed income for the area but sadly this declined due to a fruit disease in 1855. In 1861 they began to prefer lemons from the southern part of Italy. These also became less profitable by the end of the century with the availability of a synthetic citric acid. The lemon houses were rows of stone columns that were first built in the 17th century. These had wooden frames and in the harsher seasons ?????? would have been slid into them to protect the lemons. In WW1 this materiel was needed by the military and the harsh winter of 1928/29 finished of the lemons. Luckily one of the wealthy families that acquired this place gave it to the City council who transformed it back to its former glory. As you walk around taking in the scented fruit trees and the tranquil air you forget all worries and become totally relaxed and as you look over the lake at the magnificent views from the lemon house you feel true happiness. I can see why people love this little town .
We ambled around the winding lanes till we came back down to the harbour. Lunch was at a delightful little restaurant right on the waters edge with their own lemon trees
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