The Lessinia highland is a geographical area of the Venetian Pre-Alps, located for the most part in the province of Verona, and partially in Vicenza and Trento. The presence of man in this area dates back to prehistoric times, here were discovered finds from the lower Paleolithic.
Later, between the third and second centuries BC, the Romans arrived and Lessinia of the time was entirely occupied by woods. The Veronese mountains subsequently suffered the barbarian invasions and until the communal age was under the control of the ecclesiastical bodies.
Towards the end of 1200 the mountainous lands of Lessinia were granted to a group of settlers of German origin, which constituted the first nucleus of the Cimbri.
The passage of Verona under the domination of the Serenissima, early 1400, also included the mountain area north of the city, and in the following years Lessinia passed through French domination by Napoleon, then Austrian and finally annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
In the years following the two world wars, which spared the highland from any serious incidents, there was a progressive depopulation of Lessinia in favour of emigration to the city. But in recent years the territory has seen a gradual development and repopulation, in contrast with other mountain services.
