The ruins of a vast Roman villa stretch across the northernmost tip of the peninsula, covering more than two hectares. Most of what you see is the service substructure — enormous vaulted corridors that once supported the residential floors above — but the scale alone is impressive. There is also a small on-site museum with finds from the excavations, including mosaics and fresco fragments. The walk through the olive groves from the old town takes about 20 minutes and is worth doing slowly.
Grotte di Catullo
Vast Roman villa ruins at the tip of the Sirmione peninsula
A story
The site is named after the Roman poet Catullus, who wrote repeatedly about his beloved Sirmione — "gemmarum omnium quot in mari Adri-atico sunt, quot in Pontico mari" — though whether he actually owned this villa is disputed. The ruins are those of a first-century AD structure, built after Catullus's death, but the name stuck.