On the origins of the toponym two hypotheses have been put forward: the first leads him back to the Como local "Lomaniga" (of which it would be apheretic), which derives from an ancient personal "Lumena", in which the addition of the suffix -ICA indicates membership; the second one wants it deriving from the Latin personnel AMMONIUS (the added suffix would be the same). Its ancient origins are attested by the findings (the remains of a palafitta) dating back to the Early Bronze Age (1800-2000 BC). An altar of the IV-V centuries BC witnesses a subsequent presence of the Romans, who built the union between Brescia and Verona. During the Middle Ages its events did not have to be different from those of the other localities of Valtenesi: witness of the medieval clashes and those of the following times is the castle, still well preserved. Among the important elements of its historical and artistic heritage are: the church of San Michele, the Romanesque church of San Sivino and the parish church dedicated to San Martino. For civil architecture the most important testimony is certainly the late-Romanesque castle (one of the best preserved in Valtenesi). Very suggestive are some houses of the fifteenth century and the Villa Brunati, dating back to the seventeenth century.
Among the fortified villages built on the Garda hills in the 10th century, the castle of Moniga is one of the best preserved, both for what concerns the plant, both for the wall structures. Since there has never been the presence of a noble palace and never a local lord has lived there, it is correct to call it a castle-shelter (from the Latin receptum = shelter): a simple aggregation of houses where the population of the surrounding village took refuge in case of danger, bringing with it what is necessary for its livelihood. It is therefore a municipal defensive construction, very similar to that of Padenghe and the others present in Valtenesi. Not only that: it is precisely among the various castles of the area that, during the period of the barbarian invasions, an ingenious connection system developed thanks to which, through the use of precise signals, it was possible to warn of the danger from here to the city of Brescia. The castle is located in the western part of the town, on a slight rise cultivated with vineyards; it is not, like other similar buildings, on the edge of an escarpment, but on the road that connects some of the castles we have mentioned. And it is precisely his position that is not very strategic, thanks to which he has never suffered significant assaults and conquests, which has guaranteed him such a good preservation, preserving it from profound architectural transformations. It was built, like the others, to cope with the 10th century Hungarian invasions; then, now ruined, for a while the castle was abandoned. Later they began to settle there pastors and peasants who owned lands nearby: so, from these impromptu camps, the idea of permanently living the castle was born. The materials used in the reconstruction suggest that the walls are from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a period to which all the structures visible today can be traced.
The church dedicated to the Madonna della Neve is a small building that stands isolated in the countryside of Moniga and not far from Lake Garda. The church is surrounded by tall cypress trees and a stream; behind it we find the municipal cemetery while the façade faces east, towards the lake. The church is built in Romanesque style and was presumably built around the second half of the sixteenth century: its name refers to the miracle that took place on the Esquiline Hill in Rome on August 5, 352. The church of the Madonna della Neve is one of the most recent events of the whole Valtènesi. The façade is now without plaster and is precuda by the pronaos, that is, the square-shaped loggia where you find yourself after facing three steps. This protects the entrance door, around which there are three windows that illuminate the interior. The interior of the church has a single nave that flows into an apse: entering, one perceives the harmony that governs the spaces. From the presbytery we pass, on one side, inside the bell tower and on the other we go to a large sacristy. The floor, ancient and very simple, is in terracotta; that of the apse, on the other hand, appears to be more recent. The paintings we find on the walls are recent and contrast with the style of the authentic parts that still exist. Probably this church was frescoed, but these were presumably lost in the nineteenth century, when the church was used as a hospital during a cholera epidemic. Once the epidemic had passed, the church was painted in lime for disinfection. The altar of the church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, protector of pestilences, once very feared. Today the country church of the Madonna della Neve - also known as San Michele - is usually closed to worship and in summer it is used as a church of the adjacent cemetery
Rebuilt almost entirely during the eighteenth century and now adhering to the baroque styles, the church of San Martino dates back to 1454, during which time he obtained independence from the parish church of Manerba. Externally the building, preceded by a stone staircase, is elegant and not excessive. A series of white pilasters leaning against the yellow wall frame the wooden entrance door and the window at the top. The scrolls and curls on the sides and on the upper part of the building are also very beautiful, which frame the church without weighing it down. The interior of the single room is very bright, fully demonstrating the will to act as a sounding board for some stylistic aspects of the Baroque. This is clear play and play in the dialogue that is created between the numerous pilasters, composite capitals, jagged frames, the use of marbles and stuccoes present in large quantities in the church, and around the masterfully inlaid altars, five in everything, of which the apse is the major one.
Discover all the points of interest in the city.
Monday
Festa di S. Martino 11th November
Ospedale di Salò - Piazza Sergio Bresciani, 5 Ospedali di Desenzano del Garda - Località Montecroce
FARMACIA – ZOETTI DR.A ISABELLA Via Magenta, 14
SPIAGGIA PORTO SPIAGGIA PREARA, attrezzata per cani SPIAGGIA SAN MICHELE SPIAGGIA LINER
PORTO – Via del Porto