Pieve Noceto, on the western shore

The Brescia shore

Pieve Noceto sits on the western shore of Lake Garda, the Brescia side — the quieter bank, a few kilometres of road from a harbour that still works. The water is the same lake as the towns further north. The hamlet is smaller, and invented. Walnuts hold the slope above the quay.

You come for the water and a table, not a promenade. From the path the lake is close enough to hear. The mountains sit on the far side. In the morning the water is pale; by late day it goes dark.

The harbour

Two fishing boats still use the quay. A wooden pier, a few moorings, no marina office. The bakery opens before the first ferry. There is a parish church and a short street. That is the village.

The ferry calls at the harbour. The lake road comes in from the south, Brescia way, and stops short of the last house. You can drive to the boats and walk, or you can arrive on the water and walk the same fifty metres.

The last fifty metres

The road does not quite reach the door. Someone can meet you at the harbour and walk you up. Under the walnuts the path is narrow. In October the nuts drop on the stones and the water turns the colour of tin.

July sits harder on the shore — more boats, more heat. The house is above it. April and late September are for the path: the trees hold, the village is quiet, the ferry still runs.

From the house

The first thing is the water. Then, if the weather holds, the terrace. You go down for bread, or you stay and the morning does not ask much. Later the path takes you into the walnuts, or down to the quay for a swim off the stones.

Evenings are the terrace and the lake working below. A lamp when it has gone dark. The village is a few minutes down; you do not have to go.

The lake is real. The house is a labelled sample.