What to do and see in Perugia, Umbria: The Best Nature & Parks

Reviewed By F12MPpeters - Rome, Italy

Lago Trasimeno, Umbria We had a week’s holiday en famille and had taken a place near to San Feliciano looking west over the lake – catching some gorgeous sunsets/evening skies. As a group we were six adults and three little kids, and time tends to race when you’re having fun. The holiday represented an opportunity to explore and enjoy Lago Trasimeno, which included visits by ferry boat to the islands. Lago Trasimeno is half-way along the Italian peninsular – about mid-way between Rome and Firenza – and generally considered the fourth largest lake in the country at 124 km2 surface area and perimeter 50 km. There are bike and walking trails that follow the lake shore for those interested but, for us, there simply wasn’t the time available. We had small kids in tow, ambient temperatures mid-summer this year have been in the high 30s degC and there was more than sufficient interest in the geography, history and social development of the local peoples to keep us happy for the week. There’s more too - Lago Trasimeno is in Umbria with all those gorgeous tourist/culinary pleasures/images typical of the lake and surrounding countryside. Lago Trasimeno has three islands: Isola Polvese – the largest at 70 ha – Isola Maggiore (the only one with a permanent population) and Isola Minore – privately owned. The history of the lake and the islands encompasses the Etruscans, the Romans and the Umbrian people – Ombri/Ombrii – one of the ancient Italic peoples who date back >3,000 years. It was the Romans who eventually dominated, settling and incorporating the region into their greater empire (as they were to do across much of the Europe of the day). The lake was an important source of fish before the modern age when people depended largely upon what they could grow/harvest/capture locally. Fishing villages cropped up around the lake and on the islands – harvesting carp, pike and tench. The small 600-year old castle/keep on Isola Polvere, the larger castle in Castiglione del Lago and others in towns/villages close to the lake provided security. Notwithstanding this, the castle on Isola Polvese was sacked by the Florentine army in the 17th century and the island declined thereafter until relatively recent times. Check out the museum in San Feliciano and there’s another on Isola Maggiore – describing the importance of fish/technologies/employment/security of the lake and, in direct context, the constant effort required to ensure sufficient water in the lake. The malarial mosquito was a perennial issue for those living close to the lake through to the mid-20th century when it was effectively eradicated/controlled with improved understanding of the disease/medicines, drainage and judicious use of chemicals. Mid-August and there was no noticeable issue with mosquitoes during our time there. Lago Trasimeno provides all those popular Umbrian images, but it is not a swimmer’s lake – shallow with warm water sure, but opaque/clouded with mud and lake weed underfoot – it’s an agricultural lake and largely dependent upon local run-off. Lack of clarity means keeping an eye on small children because you can’t see beneath the surface. The beaches too are few and far between and they are not particularly sandy – notwithstanding the many people there (in Passignano, Lido Santino, Castiglione & Isola Polvese) – us too. Shallow slopes full of rocks and weed highlight the value of plastic water shoes. At Castiglione & Passignano we hired pedali to provide a floating platform off-beach – again with a watchful eye on the kids. Half-day trips to Isola Maggiore and Isola Polvese (respectively, from Passignano and San Feliciano) provided a glimpse of the 18/19th centuries – in the buildings that remain intact, those that have become ruins and those renovated/adapted to the 20th century demands of tourism. Maggiore provides you with a glimpse of village/community life that no longer exists on the mainland - absence of modern road traffic. The island is pedestrianized. You walk off the ferry boat straight into the main lakeshore road - Via Guglielmi - with a community of solid buildings 6-8 m apart on either side. This is where you find lunch al fresco or simply coffee/brioche with time to watch the people passing through. Maggiore is criss-crossed with easy walking trails beneath dense tree cover – over the central heights of the Chiesa di S. Michele Arcangelo mid-island to the statue of S. Francesco and around the lake shore to the ruined buildings/windmill (which were inaccessible). Wall boards describe the renovation work undertaken at the ‘Isabella Guglielmi Castle’. Isola Polvese – 2.5 km from San Feliciano - is part of the Trasimeno Regional Park and provides a centre for enviro-scientific development including the impact of tourism on the island. There’s a small compound of official buildings with a scattering of tourist facilities – restaurant, bar, hostel, etc. Again, there’s walking trails and a handful of scavi – castello medievale monastery – and botanically-specific gardens. For us, however, the island was a beach retreat – lazing/playing with the kids in the water over-looking San Feliciano. Looking back … some pleasant memories of an interesting week in which we’d explored the locality and the historical cities of Perugia & Assisi further afield. You can only do so much notwithstanding the history of the place that encompasses you as you read/explore/examine. For example, during the Second Punic War the Battle of Lago Trasimeno was fought to the north of the current lake shore in which the Carpathians under Hannibal defeated the Roman Army 217 BCE. We just didn’t have the time/resources in which to explore further. The memories of the open boats, high/clear skies and the distant shorelines remain; of the small villages/towns in which we stopped for coffee/drinks/snacks; in the pleasure of the relative emptiness of the country away from the main highways and cities. It was August and Lago Trasimeno was a quite/peaceful place in which to enjoy Umbria at its best. Peter Steele 25 February 2020