Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan on the edge of the Dolomites. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Verona, Brescia (south-west), and Trento (north). The name Garda, which the lake has been referred to in documents dating to the 8th century, comes from the town of the same name. It is evolved from the Germanic word warda, meaning "place of guard", "place of observation" or "place of safety".
