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The Dürer Promenade in Arco

Arco

Category
Difficulty
Easy
Duration
2:21
Duration in hours
Distance
7.6
Distance in km
Status
open
Suggested period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

A walk from the centre of Arco to Varignano, in the footsteps of the painter Albrecht Dürer who at the end of the 15th century was inspired by these places to paint the castle and town.

This itinerary follows in the footsteps of the Nuremburg artist Albrecht Dürer through the olive groves of Arco to the point where he painted his famous view of the town, immortalising the castle surrounded by the medieval village and olive groves.

Dürer visited this town on Lake Garda on the way back from his first Italian journey (1494), which he embarked on in order to get to see the artistic innovations introduced during the Renaissance. His destination was Venice and he probably moved around from there to other towns in northern Italy where he could examine the works of masters of the period such as Mantegna, Carpaccio and the brothers Giovanni and Gentile Bellini.

The path is accompanied by some of the writings of Italian authors of the period (Nicolò d’Arco, Jacopo Vargnano), which give us an idea of the amazement felt by a traveller from the North looking for the first time on a country with a Mediterranean atmosphere and landscape.

Further information and useful links
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details
  • Scenic
  • Round trip
  • Refreshment stops available
  • Cultural/historical interest
Route info
Easy
Route number
Distance
7,6 km
Duration
2 h 21 min
Altitude difference (+)
212 m
Altitude difference (-)
212 m
Physical effort
Scenary
Highest point
236 m
Lowest point
79 m
Suggestions

Curious fact: in the rock of the cliff in the painting, the profile of a human face can be seen. Can you make it out?

The view of the castle of Arco appears in Dürer's watercolour “Venediger Klausen”, today housed in the Louvre. This “portrait” captures the rock of the cliff, the fortified town and the silvery hue of the foliage of the olive trees in quasi-photographic detail. The composition is an ideal one however, bringing together on a single canvas elements of the landscape and views which are actually quite far apart from one another.

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