Calvagese della Riviera

Lake Garda does not touch this municipality at any point, and yet the Riviera is in its name. The suffix was added by royal decree in 1925, at the request of the town council, and the likely reason is that from the hills east of the hamlet of Carzago the lake can be glimpsed: the peninsula of Sirmione in particular stands out. A hill village, two hundred and twenty-five metres up on the left bank of the Chiese, took its surname from a view.

In 1387 Calvagese counted eighteen hearths and Carzago six, while Desenzano had only eight: on the lower Garda the balance of forces was still the reverse of today's. Carzago remained an independent municipality until 1928, and its old coat of arms bore three thistles, since the name is thought to come from the thistle; of its castle the four towers can still be seen. Today the municipality has three thousand four hundred and sixty-one inhabitants in the province of Brescia, with vineyards of Groppello, Riesling and Chiaretto, and in the parish church a Madonna and Child by Girolamo Romanino.