Sirmione has been settled since the Stone Age, with early finds showing that it was probably a small village of fishermen living in houses on stilts on the banks of Lake Garda.Its strategic position near the southeastern "corner" of the lake and the defensive qualities of the peninsula meant that it was of military importance over the years. But the beauty of the setting also meant that it was - and still is - a popular place for people to visit.As an important strategic point, Sirmione was continually engulfed in the turbulent history of northern Italy, whether it was through the waves of invasions following the fall of the Roman Empire, the expansion of the Lombards, or the intricate struggles between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines in the Middle Ages (essentially between a political grouping supporting the Pope and one supporting the Emperor).
Those last struggles bequeathed Sirmione its major landmark, the Scaliger Castle (or, to give it its proper name, the "Rocca Scaligera")