The major Italian lakes are located in the pre-alpine belt and in the Apennine area between Umbria and Lazio, the only exception being the two Apulian coastal lakes of Lesina and Varano, both with brackish waters.Lake Garda is one of the largest as regards the basins of central Europe, but it is beyond the twentieth position considering the entire continent; in fact in northern Europe there are much larger lakes.
The northern lakes are almost all of glacial and fluvial origin, while in the center there are also basins of volcanic origin, such as the three Lazio lakes present in the table.
| Lake | Area (kmē) |
Area (sq mi) |
Region/Country |
| Garda (1) | 370 | 143 | Lombardy, Trentino-South Tyrol, Veneto |
| Maggiore (2) | 212 | 82 | Lombardy, Piedmont, Switzerland |
| Como (3) | 146 | 56.4 | Lombardy |
| Trasimeno (4) | 128 | 49.4 | Umbria |
| Bolsena (5) | 114 | 44 | Lazio |
| Iseo (6) | 65.3 | 25.2 | Lombardy |
| Varano (7) | 60.5 | 23.4 | Puglia |
| Bracciano | 56.5 | 21.8 | Lazio |
| Lesina | 51.5 | 19.9 | Puglia |
| Lugano (8) | 48.7 | 18.8 | Lombardy, Switzerland |
| Orta | 18.1 | 7 | Piedmont |
| Varese | 15 | 5.8 | Lombardy |
| Vico | 12.9 | 5 | Lazio |
| Idro (9) | 10.9 | 4.2 | Lombardy, Trentino-South Tyrol |
* artificial basins are excluded
(1) The third largest in the alpine region, after the lakes of Geneva and Constance.
(2) The Italian portion is about 171 kmē, 2nd lake both in size and maximum depth.
(3) It is the deepest Italian lake, 412 meters maximum and 154 meters on average.
(4) It has a maximum depth of only 6 meters.
(5) The largest among the volcanic lakes.
(6) In its basin lies the largest Italian lake island, Monte Isola.
(7) Largest coastal lake in Italy and in the south area of the Country.
(8) It is Italian only for a little more than a third (18 kmē).
(9) Only a very small part is located in the province of Trento.