The Iseo lake is in a particular shape of “S”, in Lombardy between the two bigger and better known Como and Garda lakes and more specifically its shores divide the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, with a total perimeter of around 65 kilometres. It is situated between mountains to the North and hills and plains to the South, with an average altitude of 180 meters above the see level. For its surface of around 60 square kilometres it is the sixth lake of Italy, while for its depth it's the fifth with its 250 maximum meters and it is fed principally from Oglio river, which proceeding on its way after the lake continues drawing the border between the two provinces and goes on through the Po Plain till reaching the Po river, the first Italian one. The lake hosts the Italian biggest lake island, which is also the highest in Europe: Montisola, with its smaller satellite islands, the one of Loreto to the North and San Paolo to the South. On the lake regular and constant winds are blowing, which support the navigation: the Ora which blows in north-east direction from around 11 in the morning till sunset, and the Vèt that during all night and until around 10 in the morning blows in south-east direction.
The origin of the lake is glacial and fluvial. In the ancient times, between central Europe and central Africa there was a huge see. Between 230 and 70 millions of years ago, in the floor of it a lot of mud and sand settled and stratified getting more and more solid and it emerged following to the orogeny, becoming therefore the mountains of northern Italy. Watching the sides of these mountains and also of Montisola you can still find some stratified rocks which were pushed above the water surface during orogeny.
After many millions of years the glaciers started to melt and this created many rivers which started eroding the soil. This has definitively moulded the territory, leaving hills where the moraine grounds were present, sideways and especially in front of the glacier.
Here, in the southern area of the lake, we find in fact the Torbiere and hills area which is called Franciacorta, where the wine taking the same name was born. This area is limited to the south from Monte Orfano, a rocky formation around 450 meters high isolated from all the other nearer hills. It is interesting to notice how these big natural events occurred millions of years ago have left traces we can easily recognize in the landscapes around us and how it influenced the birth of the gastronomic excellences of this territory.
The human presence has always be favoured on the lake. We find traces of the prehistoric age both in the mountains of Camonica Valley with engravings in the rocks until the southern end of the lake in Sarnico with the ruins of pile-dwelling.
