The old town of Sirmione is guarded by a 14th-century fortification, built by the Della Scalia family. It is known as Scaligero Castle, although it is smaller than imagined a castle to be. It is in the middle of the town. If arriving in Sirmione by boat on Lake Garda, a short walk through the old town will take you there.
The central courtyard has four sides, but they are not all the same length, so does not form a square. There are walkways along the top of each wall which connect the three towers and the keep.
Its central location allows guards to see both sides of the Sirmione peninsula and provides protection from attacks from Lake Garda.
It has an enclosed harbour which can be reached from inside the castle. Once inside the harbour, boats were likely to be safe. How well others could be attacked from there was unclear to me.
One of the land entrances is managed by two drawbridges. A narrow one for people and a wider one for horses and carts. They lead into a narrow corridor with a further door into the central courtyard. That way goods could be delivered without opening the final gate to the secure centre. Alternatively, people could be attacked if they turned out not to be friendly after crossing the drawbridge.
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