Desenzano del Garda. Desenzano del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda. It borders the communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda and Sirmione. Sometime in the first century, the area around lake Garda, including what is now Desenzano del Garda, became a favourite vacation spot for the Veronese élite, Verona being one of the largest Roman cities in northeastern Italy. On 24 June 1859, four divisions of Sardinian infantry fought a gruesome battle with elements of the Austrian Eighth corps, under Feldzeugmeister Ludwig von Benedek, in an engagement encompassing Madonna della Scoperta, Pozzolengo, and San Martino. This action was part of the greater battle centered on Solferino, during the Second Italian War of Independence, and was a vital step in achieving Italian unification-unification that was gained only eleven years later. During the Third Italian War of Independence, Desenzano was bombarded by the Austrian navy. The Italian poet and librettist Angelo Anelli, who collaborated with Rossini in revising L'italiana in Algeri from an earlier text by Luigi Mosca, and whose libretto, originally set by a different composer, became the basis for Donizetti's Don Pasquale, was born in Desenzano del Garda in 1761. The Cathedral of St Mary Magdalene. The House of St Angela Merici. The Tower of St Martin. An archaeological museum. Several old-style villas and a castle. The city is a popular holiday destination in Southern Europe. It attracts myriad tourists from the immediate area owing to its beautiful view of the Alps from the southern shore of Lake Garda, its three large beaches, and its 27 major hotels. Desenzano is the heart of nightlife on the southern shore of Lake Garda, with several discos and pubs. In the summer, its main squares, Piazza Malvezzi and Piazza Matteotti, are crowded all night with young and partying people. At the heart of the city is a series of interconnected piazze that house numerous open-air cafés, various shops, gelaterie, and bars. The city has a main port near the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, from where several ferries operate. On the south-western outskirts of the city is a large railway station, the Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione railway station, which connects the city to the European railway system. Desenzano also has its own exit from the A4 motorway, the main road between Milan and Venice. It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements, which are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO World Heritage Site. Desenzano is headed by a mayor assisted by a legislative body, the consiglio comunale, and an executive body, the giunta comunale. Since 1994 the mayor and members of the consiglio comunale are directly elected together by resident citizens, while from 1946 to 1994 the mayor was chosen by the legislative body. The giunta comunale is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called assessori. The offices of the comune are housed in a building usually called the municipio or palazzo comunale. Since 1994 the mayor of Desenzano is directly elected by citizens, originally every four, then every five years. The current mayor is Guido Malinverno, elected on 26 June 2017.