Initially the lake was called Benąco, the name Lake Garda was given later when, in the 8th century Charlemagne created the county of Garda. It was conquered by the Romans and with Augustus it became part of the 10th region. All around the lake there are traces of the passage of the Romans, above all to the south, but traces can also be found of the Longobards and of the fighting between the Visconti and the Venetians. Between 1915 and 1918 there was fighting around the northern area of Lake Garda and during the Second World War, from Desenzano to Gargnano, the ministers of the Italian Social Republic and the commands of the German army settled here.