On the last Saturday of August Riva del Garda traditionally celebrates its "Notte di Fiaba" (Fantasy Night) with music, dazzling lights and the magical colors of the spectacular fireworks display over the lake garda. With this evening, the town commemorates an important historical event. In 1439 Venice and Milan, with whom Riva del Garda was allied, were engaged in a bloody war. To attack the troops of Milan from behind, Venice sent a fleet of galleys and other ships from the Adriatic Sea up the Adige River, across Lake Loppio and the San Giovanni Pass to Torbole sul Garda.
That incredible exploit set the stage for the battle, which took place offshore Toscolano Maderno on September 29, 1439. The ships of Milan commanded by Nicolo' Fortebraccio, known as Piccinino, were the victors. To choose a crew to take part in the battle, a contest is held on Fantasy Night between the various neighborhoods of the town in which participants are required to prove their seafaring skills. The team of the winning neighborhood, accompanied to the port by a procession in costume, symbolically boards the galley, carrying flags displaying the emblems of Riva on lake Garda.

Built in 1159 and renovated in 1540, the church was recently restored. A war memorial and the Alpine troops monument are in the garden.

Built in 1603, the church has an octagonal layout. Baroque in style, it is decorated with gilt plaster. Frescos are by Pietro Ricchi and Teofilo Turri, while the dome was decorated by Martino Teofilo Polacco. Works by Palma il Giovane and Guido Reni are displayed on the altars. The high altar is covered with antique green and French red marble, while the wooden choir stalls are exquisitely carved with Bible scenes. The church is considered the finest example of Baroque architecture in the Trentino region.

Among the many distinguished guests visiting Riva del Garda between the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century were Franz Kafka and Heinrich and Thomas Mann. Franz Kafka (Prague 1883 - Kierling 1924), the author of novels and many stories, vacationed in Riva del Garda in 1909 and also returned there in 1913. Heinrich Mann (Lubecca 1871 - Santa Monica 1950), the author novels, short stories and plays, visited Riva on lake Garda about twenty times over a period of about two and a half years. In a letter dated October 1893, he wrote: "It is quite peaceful here...The lake Garda is marvelous; there are boat trips, excursions, waterfalls, a charming old city, a good hotel and excellent lodgings: things that give you an indescribable sense of security."

He was amazed at the "perfect blue" of the lake and the light:
"I am able to blind myself with the line of dazzling silver reflections which the midday sun throws across the entire length of the lake garda, just to seek a small boat that seems lost within, and I think this -- as impossible as it might seem because it is practically invisible -- is what I should paint: this army of silver stars within which the black dot moves."
Thomas Mann (Lubecca 1875 - Zurich 1955), winner of the Nobel for Literature in 1929, stayed in Riva on many occasions between 1901 and 1904. Here is what he wrote in a letter:
"In the morning I always row for several hours on the lake garda and, particularly at the beginning, I am quite fascinated... There is something extraordinarily poignant when, after a long period of restlessness, for the first time one returns and glides in this sunny, hushed, stirring stillness surrounded by austere mountains..."

His impressions at the Varone waterfall are also noteworthy.
"The Varone waterfall: at the back of the narrow, deep chasm formed by bulging rocks, slimy and bare like the huge stomachs of fish, the water poured down with an overpowering noise. The incredible, powerful pounding of the water deafened you, arousing fear and causing auditory hallucinations. Behind and above, from all around, threatening and menacing sounds, trumpets and rough male voices could be heard. From the gallery above you could peer down into the incredible chasm at the bottom of which an electric light glowed a deep red: it was the entrance to the Inferno, to Vulcan's forge."