Roman ruins near Lake Maggiore

The Grottos of Catullus at Sirmione are the best Roman ruins in Northern Italy. They are closer to your Baveno location than Verona, but it would be an all-day trip. We happily spend hours here when we go.

https://lakegardatravel.net/grottoes-of-catullus-sirmione/

Scroll through the photos here:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grottoes-of-catullus

Depending on when in September you go, however, it could be a long journey with one or more bus transfers involved, due to ongoing construction on the tracks. You need to get from Baveno to Desenzano on Lago di Garda, then take the ferry 40 minutes from there to Sirmione. The “normal” journey (without track closure issues) would be a regional train from Baveno to Milano Central, changing there to a fast train to Desenzano. However, until September 9 there are no trains running between Baveno and Milano Centrale; you have to take a bus. After that date, there is still only limited train service; morning journeys still involve a bus.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kfVcJmRtxNZbgPCq9?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZiDyeguoe6JWqvfE7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

Abbey,
Not a Roman ruin, but you may be interested in visiting Santa Caterina del Sasso, a Roman Catholic Monastery built on the rocky cliffs across the lake from Stresa. It can be reached via ferry, or car

I took the ferry from Stresa and enjoyed the beautiful panoramic views across the lake.

There’s also a small Romanesque church, behind the Hotel Eden in Baveno, with beautiful frescoes within.

Enjoy your time in beautiful Lake Maggiore!

Still a bit far for a day trip, but closer than Sirmone or Verona, the Roman ruins at Brescia are underrated and really worth seeing.

You can actually enter Roman era temple of a (probably) Celtic goddess that stood alongside the Roman temples and tour the remains of those temples as well. Their arena is a complete ruin - compared to the standing arena in Verona or the standing shell in Arezzo - but you can still wander through it.
https://www.bresciamusei.com/en/museums-and-venues/brixia-roman-archaeological-area/

You are only allowed in small groups through "man trap" doors to maintain the humidity and temperature so buy tickets ahead of time. There is a combo ticket with the Santa Giulia Museum you'll want to buy.
https://www.bresciatourism.it/en/things-to-do/brescia-at-the-time-of-the-romans/

The Santa Giulia Museum is built on top of the Roman baths so the lower floor of the museum is filled with mosaics and artifacts but the basement floors of the museum are actually the in situ mosaics of the Roman era. Some of the museum walls are actually Roman walls from the ruin. I know it's hard to get noticed as a Roman ruin site in Italy but I was surprised by how little anyone even mentions Brescia and I thought it was amazing.
https://www.bresciamusei.com/en/museums-and-venues/santa-giulia-museum/

The rest of the museum is also interesting some of it medieval buildings and art upstairs. The city is an interesting series of semi-contacted piazzas spanning the city and there's even a castle on top of the hill to explore if you want to. I actually preferred Brescia to Padua/Padova as a day trip but apparently I'm the only one.

Verona has the intact Roman Arena and Theatre as well as a few Roman city gates still standing but most of the other Roman artifacts are closed or closed to the public. Either way you rate it Verona and Brescia are 1 and 2 for Roman ruins in the Nord Italia.

Good luck with finding your ruins,
=Tod

These are great. thank you all!