Dolcè

The district of Dolcè is 30 kilometres apart from Verona and it includes the community of Casa Sparse, Ceraino, Colombare, Ossenigo, Passaggio Napoleone, Peri and Volargne. Until 1915, in the Ossenigo district, there was a border with the Austro – Hungarian Empire.

In the village of Dolcè there are some buildings of historic and artistic interest, like Villa del Bene, Palazzo Salgari, Palazzo Mondini, Palazzo Guerrieri-Rizzardi, Palazzo Ruzzenenti, also called the “Casermaggio” and Palazzo Tommasini.

In the center of Volargne, there is the beautiful Villa Del Bene. It is the most eastern of the villas in the Valpolicella and is one of the best complexes of the sixteenth century in the entire Veneto region.

After the bomb disaster on November 24, 1944, caused by an explosion from a train loaded with explosives, the villa was involved in a lengthy campaign of restoration. Thanks to the acquisition of the property by the Italian State in 1956, it was possible to completely recover and restore the villa.

A large cycle of 1500 frescoes decorates the staircase, the balcony above the porch, the living room and some rooms on the first floor of the building. The authors are the most prominent artists working in the middle of the sixteenth century in Verona: Giovan Francesco and Giovanni Caroto, Domenico Brusasorzi, Bernardino India and Nicola Crollalanza. In the private chapel there are six ovals of painter Marco Marcola.

Near Ceraino, the Adige flows through a narrow valley between Monte Pastello and Monte Moscal, creating a very picturesque natural landscape. This area, known as 'Chiusa Ceraino', extends for about 2.5 km.

The specific geographic structure gave some strategic military importance to this area. Near the lock, just in Rivoli Veronese, Napoleon led a major battle against the Austrians (1797). During Austrian domination, around 1850, four forts were built in the area to defend the lock. These four forts still exists.

Another point of interest is the Spurga delle Cadene or Peri, located between the villages of Peri and Fosse. The Spurga delle Cadene is a cave, made of little rooms. The most attractive one is the White Room, full of mineral, very similar to the Carso's grottos.