Lake Trasimeno

Understand

Trasimeno is the largest lake in the center and south of Italy, with a surface area of 128 km². No major river flows directly into or out of the lake and the water level fluctuates significantly according to rainfall levels but is at all times fairly shallow. It has been known to freeze over. The lake is a popular tourist destination and there are many camping sites, particularly to the south and west. However, it lacks major tourist attractions.

Towns

Passignano sul Trasimeno

is still circled by its medieval walls. However, the town was damaged in the Second World War and there is little else to see. The main reason for visiting is to catch a ferry to the islands in the lake.

Castiglione del Lago

is on the southwest corner of Lake Trasimeno. It used to be the fourth island of Lake Trasimeno but over the years the gap between the island and the shore has been filled in. The historical center is well preserved and provides good views of the lake. The original fortifications of the town were destroyed and rebuilt on numerous occasions. The Castello del Leone "Fortress of the Lion" is a pentagonal-shaped castle that was completed in 1247. It was designed to give its owners strategic control over all of Lake Trasimeno. The castle has withstood a number of sieges. The Palazzo del Comune Town Hall was built in Renaissance style. It is now a civic museum and gallery.

Magione

This fairly large town pop. 14,000 lies to the east of the lake on the road to Perugia. There is little for tourists. The Church of San Giovanni Battista St. John the Baptist was built by the Knights of Malta in 1571 and destroyed during the Second World War. It was rebuilt immediately after the war and has some interesting modern frescoes.

Panicale

While Panicale has probably been inhabited since Etruscan times, it was a medieval castle built on the peak of the hill that formed the city into what you see today. The town's narrow roads form ovals around the Piazza Podesta at the hill's peak. In the Chiesa of S. Sebastiano there is a fresco by Il Perugino. In the church of S.Agostino there is a small Museum of Embroidered Lace.

Tuoro sul Trasimeno

This small town is built on the site which in 217 B.C. witnessed one of the most disastrous battles of Roman times, when more than 16,000 Roman soldiers were killed by Hannibal's army. Not far from the town is the Pieve di Confine, a romanesque building of the early XIIth century. Also nearby is the castle of Monte Gualandro.

Vernazzano

A small village just to the north of the lake and the highway to Perugia. Mainly known for its " leaning tower", which leans more than that of Pisa ever did. This was built before 1089 as part of a castle. The castle and the surrounding settlement were damaged by wars in 1400s and two century later, by a strong earthquake. Erosion of the foundations by fast-running streams caused the tower to lean in the eighteenth century. It has been abandoned for almost 300 years. To avoid the tower’s collapse it is held up by steel wires.