Sirmio

Not to be confused withSirmium.

Sirmiois apromontoryat the southern end ofLake Garda,projecting 3.3 kilometers (2.1 mi) into thelake.It is celebrated in connection with the Roman poetCatullus,as the large ruins of aRoman villaknown as theGrottoes of Catulluson the promontory have been supposed to be hiscountry house.Catullus, upon his return home from a long voyage, joyously describes Sirmio asPaene insularum, Sirmio, insularumque ocelle( "Sirmio, jewel of peninsulas and of islands" ) in his Carmen XXXI,Ad Sirmionem insulam. A post station bearing the name Sirmio stood on the highroad between Brixia (modernBrescia) andVerona,near the southern shore of the lake. On the shore below is the village ofSirmione,withsulfurbaths.

In 1880, the poetAlfred, Lord Tennyson,visited what he called "Sweet Catullus's all-but-island, olive-silvery Sirmio" in his poem "Frater Ave Atque Vale", the title referring to the last line of a famouselegyof Catullus, on the death of his brother.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Sirmio".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 157.