Sommacampagna, Italy: travel guide to the Custoza wine town in the hills near Verona

Sommacampagna is a town in the province of Verona, in the Veneto, set at around 120 metres among the morainic hills that ripple south from Lake Garda towards the Po plain. With about 14,700 inhabitants spread over some 41 square kilometres, it lies just 15 kilometres west of Verona and only a few kilometres from the city's Villafranca airport, in gentle wine country shaped by the last great Ice Age.

For travellers searching for Sommacampagna, Custoza wine, the Battle of Custoza or things to do near Verona and Lake Garda, the town offers vineyards, Risorgimento history and easy access to the region's main sights.

History

Founded in Roman times under the name Summa Campanea, Sommacampagna grew as an agricultural community on the Verona plain. Its hamlet of Custoza became famous in the 19th century as the scene of two major battles of the Italian Wars of Independence, fought in 1848 and 1866 between Austrian and Italian forces. The dead of those campaigns are remembered at the great Ossuary of Custoza, a monument that crowns one of the hills and draws visitors interested in the story of Italian unification.

Wine, sights and landscape

The mild climate brought by nearby Lake Garda makes this excellent country for vines, and the hills around Custoza produce the well-known Bianco di Custoza, a fresh white wine celebrated in the area's many cellars and country inns. In the town itself the Romanesque parish church, the Pieve di Sant'Andrea, and the elegant Villa Venier recall its older history, while cycle routes wind through vineyards and morainic ridges.

Practical information

Sommacampagna lies about 15 kilometres west of Verona and close to Villafranca di Verona, with Lake Garda, Valeggio sul Mincio and the historic centre of Verona all within a short drive. Its position by the A4 motorway and the airport makes it a convenient and scenic base for exploring eastern Lombardy and the Veneto.