The site has been continuously inhabited for millenia, the narrow pennisula makes for good defenses. As much as today it was a popular tourist spot during Roman era, the remains of a vast Roman villa, the Grotto di Catullo, sit at the Northern end of the penninsula. The fortifications in the picture, the Scaligero Castle, are the gateway to the town, and date from around the 13th century. The castle has an unusual fortified port which housed fleet of the De Scalla family.