Roman Ardelica was a town of
Gallia Transpadana that occupied the site of the modern Peschiera del Garda, at the southeast angle of the Lacus Benacus (
Lago di Garda), just where the Mincius (modern Mincio) issued from the lake. The name is found under the corrupted form Ariolica in the
Tabula Peutingeriana, which correctly places it between Brixia and Verona; the true form is preserved by inscriptions, of which one says that it was a trading place, with a corporation of ship-owners,
collegium naviculariorum Ardelicensium. (Orell. Inscr. 4108.) The town is mentioned as Arilica in
Pliny the Elder's
Naturalis Historia. The fortress at Peschiera played a prominent part in most military campaigns conducted in northern Italy after 1400, especially during the
Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars and the
Napoleonic Wars. At the Battle of Peschiera fought on 6 August 1796, the day after the major French victory at the
Battle of Castiglione, a French force commanded by general
Masséna drove out the Austrians. After the Siege of Peschiera, during the
First Italian War of Independence, it was taken by the
Piedmontese from the
Austrians, following a gallant defence by general Rath lasting six weeks, on 30 May, 1848. During
World War I, the
Peschiera conference between the British and French premiers and the Italian king took place on 8 November 1917. Peschiera del Garda was also known for its
military jail, which closed in 2002. The commune is part of the Associazione Città del vino ("Association of Wine Cities"). In winter, the nearby Laghetto del Frassino is the most important habitat for
tufted ducks in Italy (Morbioli & Sighele 2006). ==World Heritage Sites==