In Arco there were finds from the Neolithic, Bronze and Roman ages. Over the years it suffered invasions by the Goths and Lombards, until when in the XI century it became a free municipality and from the following century Arco was part of the Counts of Arco. The disputes between Guelphs and Ghibellines, burned the city of Arco several times, in 1579 intervened the Count of Tirolo, who held the county until Arco became a fief of the Roman Empire. In 1703 the French irreparably destroyed the castle, in 1804 Arco passed to Austria, there were other passages owned by the city of Arco, until the final in 1918 that became part of Italy. Arco hosted the humanist Nicolò d'Arco, the painter Giovanni Segantini and the industrial Gianni Caproni.
The sanctuary and the adjoining convent were built between 1475 and 1492 at the behest of the local count. In the following centuries the building underwent several renovations, but still visible in the cloister are the sixth-lower arches and some columns with smooth capitals dating back to the original fifteenth-century building. Inside the sanctuary there is a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary probably dating back to the fifteenth century.
The church of Sant'Anna is located near the Collegiata dell'Assunta. It was consecrated in 1652 by an Albanian bishop and in 1900 it was, in addition to a place of worship, also a winter cure center. The bell tower was damaged by the bombings of the Second World War. The paintings in the sacristy represent St. Andrew and other saints and the whole church was painted by the local painter Antonio Zanoni. Inside the church many baptisms are celebrated and it is an important point of reference for people who seek a daily contact with God. The collegiate of the Assumption is instead dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and is located in the main square of the city, piazza 3 November. The building dates back to the seventeenth century and took place on the remains of an ancient and former church of Romanesque origin, whose foundation is between the fourth and the ninth century, but nothing has been preserved of the old building. The façade of the church faces the 3rd November square. In the last years of the nineteenth century the body of Francis II of the Two Sicilies, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Naples, who died in Arco in 1894, was buried here - provisionally.
The construction dates back to the last decades of the seventeenth century and its construction was commissioned by Count Gianbattista d'Arco; the strong testimony of the noble Arcense family is still visible on the portal where stands the noble coat of arms of Andrea's branch. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the building was bought by Giovanni Battista Marosi, a priest of Bolognano, who transformed the structure into a woolen mill from which it would derive the name "dei Panni". The decision to convert the noble palace into a small wool industry was desired by the priest to face the severe crisis of unemployment and misery that raged in the country. The wool mill was in operation for a few years and once closed it became, throughout the nineteenth century, seat in the following years of various municipal bodies such as firehouse, nursery school and city theater. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the building hosted several boys from the Institute of Providence and with the advent of Fascism changed its name to "Palazzo del Littorio". The building - which has taken on the old name - is home to the Bruno Emmert Civic Library, bibliophile of Arco, and the Atelier Giovanni Segantini. The Segantini sculpture is dedicated to the inner courtyard of the palace by the local sculptor Renato Ischia. The halls of the atelier are used by the Municipality of Arco as a venue for cultural conventions and exhibitions of artistic and historical interest. The Palace also houses the Arcense headquarters of the MAG Museum Alto Garda.
Discover all the points of interest in the city.
the 1st and the 3rd Wednesday of the month
Festa di Maria SS. Assunta 15th August
Pronto Soccorso Malcesine Via Gardesana, 37 Località Val di Sogno Ospedale di Arco Viale dei Capitelli, 48
FARMACIA R. & T. PHARMA – BETTINAZZI Via Bruno Galas, 49-51 COMUNALE OLTRESARCA – Via della Stazione, 6 FARMACIA R. & T. PHARMA – REDI DR.A LUCIA Via Nas, 3 FARMACIA – VENEZIAN DR.A PATRIZIA Via Luigi Negrelli, 20/D