Tuesday 14 December 2010

Lonato


Lonato is a lovely little town south west of Lake Garda. The narrow streets are dominated by the castle, with its impressive views of the coast and surrounding area.

In 1796 it played an important part in Bonaparte's Italian Campaign. During Wurmster's First Advance the castle was taken by the Austrian army. On 3 August it was retaken by the French, and Bonaparte established his headquarters there.

On 4 August Bonaparte was present in the castle which was held by 1000 men. An Austrian force of 2500 approached and demanded that the castle surrender. Bonaparte bluffed that the Austrians were in the middle of his whole army and gave the eight minutes to surrender of be destroyed. They surrendered!

On 4 September 2000 we spent a very enjoyable day exploring the town and castle. You can read about our visit at

http://napoleoninitaly.blogspot.com/

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