Yellow ochre walls, red flowers and green shutters: the colourful Casa or Casetta del Dazio, an early-18th century former Austrian toll house or customs post, seen against the ruffled blue water of Lake Garda and white limestone mountain slopes opposite Torbole sul Garda, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.
Torbole sul Garda, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy: splashes of colour beside Lake Garda ... red geraniums decorate a dark wooden balcony and a barred stone window below green shutters that contrast with the yellow ochre walls of the Casa or Casetta del Dazio, a former Austrian customs post or toll house. The colourful building stands alone at the entrance to the harbour of this small but once strategically important frontier port near the northern tip of the lake. In this early morning image captured in July, the Casa stands out against rippling blue water and the wooded limestone slopes of pre-alpine peaks on the opposite shore. Torbole sul Garda was owned by Venice in the 15th century, but was later incorporated into the Austrian Empire. The customs house was built by Hapsburg Vienna in the early 18th century to deter smuggling and to levy duty or tolls on goods crossing the border. It lost its role after the 1914-18 First World War, when Torbole reverted to the Kingdom of Italy, but more recently has been taken over by Tonelli Hotels, which has carefully restored it and opened it to the public. After periods as a fishing, farming and mountaineering community, Torbole sul Garda, part of the Nago-Torbole comune or municipality, now thrives as an international water sports centre, with sailors, kiteboarders and windsurfers taking advantage of winds that blow at different times of day up and down the northern reaches of the lake. The Peler north wind starts blowing before dawn and continues until late morning, while the Ora south wind starts at noon and blows until early evening.
Size: 2000px × 3008px
Location: Torbole sul Garda, Lake Garda, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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