Manerba del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is located at the southwest side of the Lake Garda.
It is bounded by the comunes of San Felice del Benaco, Puegnago sul Garda, Moniga del Garda, Polpenazze del Garda and Soiano del Lago.
Manerba del Garda is divided into the seven hamlets of Solarolo, Montinelle, Balbiana, Pieve, Trevisago, Campagnola and Gardoncino.
History
thumb|left|250px|Cliff of Manerba.
thumb|left|250px|Bay of Manerba with San Biagio Island well known as the Rabbits' Island.
Manerba was founded, according to the legend, in devotion to the goddess Minerva. Other historians trace the name to the Gauls Cenomani, stemming from the union of the terms mon, leader, and erb, a military zone, identifying Manerba as residence of the chief of the tribe. A charter of Frederick II dating from 1 November 1221 mentions the territory surrounding the ancient Church of Manerba as Tenense, whence its current name, Valtenesi.
The presence of man in the Garda area goes back to prehistoric times: in the Manerba area are remains of a Mesolithic village, while under natural terrace located in the foothills of the Rocca (castle) are traces of a Neolithic settlement from between 4,500 and 4,000 BC, and an important necropolis dating from the Copper Age.
Manerba houses the Rocca di Manerba del Garda which is characterized by several archaeological sites.
Municipal government
Manerba is headed by a mayor (') assisted by a legislative body, the ', and an executive body, the '. Since 1995 the mayor and members of the ' are directly elected together by resident citizens, while from 1945 to 1995 the mayor was chosen by the legislative body. The ' is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called '. The offices of the ' are housed in a building usually called the ' or '.
Since 1995 the mayor of Manerba is directly elected by citizens, originally every four, then every five years. The current mayor is Flaviano Mattiotti (FI), elected on 26 May 2019 with the 53.4% of the votes and re-elected on 10 June 2024 with 74% of the votes.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Mayor
! Term start
! Term end
! colspan=2 | Party
|-
|Isidoro Bertini
|align=center|24 April 1995
|align=center|14 June 2004
|bgcolor=|
|FI
|-
|Maria Speziani
|align=center|14 June 2004
|align=center|8 June 2009
|bgcolor=|
|FI
|-
|Paolo Mariantonio Simoni
|align=center|8 June 2009
|align=center|26 May 2014
|bgcolor=|
|LN
|-
|Isidoro Bertini
|align=center|26 May 2014
|align=center|27 May 2019
|bgcolor=|
|FI
|-
|Flaviano Mattiotti
|align=center|27 May 2019
|align=center|incumbent
|bgcolor=|
|FI
|}
Gallery
thumb|center|600px
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Solarolo vista da Balbiana Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Chiesa Assunta facciata Solarolo Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Chiesa San Giovanni Battista Decollato a Sorarolo Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Chiesa della Santissima Trinità Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Chiesa di Santa Maria in Valtenesi facciata Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Chiesa di San Giorgio Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria facciata Est a Balbiana Manerba del Garda.jpg
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Arco a a Balbiana Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Torre del castello lato Est di Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Ruderi della Chiesa San Siro e Chiesa Santa Maria Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Punta Sasso a Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:La Rocca Punta Sasso oliveto a Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:Lake Garda - Solarolo, Brescia, Italy - October 18, 2019 01.jpg
File:Chiesa di Santa Maria in Valtenesi lato Ovest Manerba del Garda.jpg
File:La Rocca di Manerba del Garda con croce.jpg
</gallery>