Lee's Tuscan Odyssey: 36. Lake Trasimeno

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo

36. Lake Trasimeno

After our visit to the beach a few weeks ago, for today's excursion we have chosen to go inland to Lake Trasimeno.
It's the 4th largest lake in Italy and about an hour and a quarter's drive away from Greve. We've heard about the lake from Frances Mayes' books as her house is nearby in Cortona. It's another one of those gloriously hot, sunny days, perfect maybe for a dip later.

We arrive at the lake on the west side in the small town of Castiglione. We stop here and have lunch on a sandy beach. A few people are paddling and we relax in the sun. After about an hour we decide to explore a bit further... driving clockwise through the southern part, we come to the town of San Feliciano. Here there are a couple of beaches. One is packed, loud music, basketball court... and the other, pretty, quiet, with some nice jazz music easing its way from the bar. We opt for the latter and enjoy a nice cold drink on the lawn.

In true Annette fashion, we're off again in search of the perfect beach! Of course we find it a bit further round and we finally get to have our swim! It seems that you can only swim at certain beaches on the lake. The views are great too. There are three tiny islands rising up out of the middle, Isola Maggiore, Minore and Polvese.

The lake turns out to be much better than we had expected and the lake contains Pike, Carp and Tench, so we must stay for dinner.

We drive round to our final destination, Passignano, which is one of the main towns on the lake. We fall on this cute restaurant with candlelit tables spilling out onto the street, perfect. The fish is wonderful, as is our first trip to Umbria and this magical lake.

(Original journal entry 1/6/02

2 comments:

Alexandra said...: Nice! I lived in Cortona for a year and never made it to the lake, but I got the impression that it was better from far than from close up. I guess I'm wrong, your photos show otherwise. Maybe it's something I should add to my "Cortona Itinerary" - see link attached to my name.
Keep up the good work on the blog!
Alexandra from Tuscany's social media team; June 7, 2010 at 5:08 PM
Lee said...: Thanks Alexandra! We've been back a few times, but the first time was still the best... I've got a feeling the water has dried up a bit in the last few years, so I'm not sure how good the beaches are now? But I still have fond memories of Passignano and that restaurant and will definitely be back in the future! Read your websites.. very nice! Maybe we can do some link ups in the future? I'd be more than happy to guest write for you? Did you see my Palladio page? I have to write up 'day 2' yet!!! Lots of otherstories too! Thanks, Lee; June 9, 2010 at 12:27 AM