Lake Garda

Lake Garda (Italian Lago di Garda or Benaco) is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Venice and Milan. It is in an alpine region and was formed by glaciers at the end of the last ice age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Verona (to the south-east), Brescia (south-west), and Trento (north). Being easily accessible from the north via the Brenner pass, the lake is a major tourist destination, including a number of exclusive hotels and resorts along its shore.
The northern part of the lake is narrower, surrounded by mountains, the majority of which belong to the Gruppo del Baldo. The shape is typical of a moraine valley, probably having been formed under the action of a Paleolithic glacier. Although traces of the glacier's actions are evident today, in more recent years it has been hypothesized that the glacier occupied an already existing depression, created by stream erosion 5 to 6 million years ago.
The lake has five islands, the largest being Isola del Garda. Nearby is Isola San Biagio, also known as the Isola dei Conigli ("Island of the Rabbits"). Both face San Felice del Benaco, on the Brescian side. The three smaller islands are Isola dell'Olivo, Isola di Sogno and Isola di Trimelone.
The main tributary is the Sarca river, while the only emissary is the Mincio River.
Wildlife include the "Trota del Garda" or "Carpio", a species of salmonid living exclusively in the Garda and in some Swiss alpine lakes, usually caught in fine nets since it is a deep-water zooplankton eater.
Popular activities include windsurfing on nearby Lake Garda, and rock climbing. World Cup climbing competitions are held on the towns outdoor artificial wall of Arco. Mountainbiking is popular and international bikers flock to the towns around Lake Garda.

The Dolomites

The Dolomites (Italian: Dolomiti; German: Dolomiten) are a section of the Alps. They are located for the most in the province of Belluno, the rest in the provinces of Bolzano-Bozen and Trento (all in north-eastern Italy). Conventionally they extend from the Adige river in the west to the Piave valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east, the northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley (Val Pusteria) and the Sugana Valley (Val Sugana). But the Dolomites spread also over the Piave river (Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave) to the east; and far away over the Adige river to the west is the Brenta Group (Western Dolomites); there is also another smaller group called Piccole Dolomiti (Small Dolomites) located between the Provinces of Trento and Vicenza.
One national park and many other regional parks are located in the Dolomites.
During the First World War the line between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces ran through the Dolomites. There are open air war museums at Cinque Torri (Five Towers) and Mount Lagazuoi. Many people visit the Dolomites to climb the Vie ferrate. These are protected paths which were first created in the Dolomites during the First World War. A number of long distance footpaths run across the Dolomites, which are called "Alte vie" (i.e., high paths). Such long trails, which are numbered from 1 to 8, require at least a week to be walked through and are served by numerous "Rifugi" (huts). The first and, perhaps, most renowned is the Alta Via 1.
The region is commonly divided into the Western (Dolomiti di Brenta) and Eastern Dolomites, separated by a line following the Valle dell' Adige. The range includes more than forty glaciers.
The name "Dolomites" is derived from the famous French mineralogist Drodat Gratet de Dolomieu who was the first to describe the rock, dolomite, a type of carbonate rock which is responsible for the characteristic shapes and colour of these mountains.
A tourist mecca, the Dolomites are famous for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing (mountaineering), daily excursions, trekking, climbing and Base Jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding in summer and late spring/early autumn. Rock climbing has been a tradition in the Dolomites since 1887, when 17-year-old Georg Winkler soloed the first ascent of the pinnacle Die Vajolettuerme. The main centres include: Rocca Pietore alongside the Marmolada glacier, which lies on the border of the Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto regions, the small towns of Alleghe, Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the villages of Arabba, Ortisei and San Martino di Castrozza, as well as the whole of the Fassa, Gardena and Badia Valleys.

About Marmolada (m. 3.343)

Marmolada (the Italian name; also Ladin: Marmoleda, German: Marmolata) is a mountain in northeastern Italy (just east of Trento) and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps).
The mountain is located about 70 miles north-northeast of Venice, from which it can be seen on a clear day. It consists of a ridge running west to east. Towards the south it breaks suddenly into sheer cliffs, forming a rock face several kilometres long. On the north side there is a comparatively flat glacier, the only large glacier in the Dolomites (the Marmolada Glacier, Ghiacciaio della Marmolada).
The ridge is composed of several summits, decreasing in altitude from west to east: Punta Penia (3,343 m), Punta Rocca (3,309 m), Punta Ombretta (3,230 m), Monte Serauta (3,069 m), and Pizzo Serauta (3,035 m). An aerial tramway goes to the top of Punta Rocca.
Paul Grohmann made the first ascent in 1864, along the north route.
Before World War I, the border between Austria and Italy ran over Marmolada, so it formed part of the front line. Austrian soldiers were quartered in deep tunnels bored into the northern face's glacier, and Italian soldiers were quartered on the south face's rocky precipices. As glaciers retreat, soldiers' remains and belongings are occasionally discovered.