On the quieter, less picturesque northern shore of the lake, it was the fort and naval base of the adventurer II Medeghino (born 1498) who played off the Lombard warlords against each other and made himself master of the region.

Another adventurer, Benito Mussolini, escaping from the ruins of his SaIò Republic (see Garda) in April 1945, was caught with his mistress Clara Petacci hiding in a truck at Dongo, 4 km south. Further south, at Azzano, while en route to partisan headquarters, he and La Petacci were shot. Their corpses were displayed Milan’s Piazza del Duomo and in an outbreak of vindictive fury more appropriate to the Middle Ages than the 20thC, were mutilated by the mob. Well-dressed women hoisted up their skirts and urinated on the remains.