Things to do in Lago Trasimeno
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Da Settimio
If you stay on Isola Polvese, you’ll most likely pass by this restaurant near the ferry terminal in San Feliciano. It doesn’t look like much, but locals know it as the best fish restaurant in the area, handed down from father to son for four generations. Try the risotto alla pescatora (fisherman’s risotto) or the appetiser of ‘fried little fishies’.
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Il Lido Solitario
It isn’t often we recommend the heavily trafficked waterfront restaurant with the bright plastic signs, but it isn’t often you get to try a delicate fish cake topped with sweet Castelluccian lentils or a tender Chianina beef infused with Sagrantino wine. Grab a front porch table overlooking the nearby lake for a true summer experience.
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La Cantina
Not only is the well-priced restaurant fabulous – a stately interior with a lovely outdoor terrace for summer dining – but there’s also an adjacent magazzino (shop) where you can sample and buy the area’s best wine, olive oil and treats. Try the delicious trout with local fagiolina (€8.20).
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Palazzo della Corgna
Castiglione del Lago’s attractions include the Palazzo della Corgna, an ancient ducal palace. A covered passageway connects the palace with the 13th-century Rocca del Leone, an excellent example of medieval military architecture.
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Rocca del Leone
A covered passageway connects the Palazzo della Corgna with the 13th-century Rocca del Leone, a pentagon-shaped fortress built in 1247 and an excellent example of medieval military architecture. Seen from the lake, rearing up on a rocky promontory, it cuts a striking pose.
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Poggio del Belveduto
Poggio del Belveduto organises horse riding, and also offers archery courses if you're feeling particularly medieval.
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Isola Polvese
There's not much to do in Isola Polvese, which, to those who seek out its tranquillity, is its charm. The main attraction is that the entire island is a scientific and educational park. Many school groups come here to use the environmental labs that are devoted to teaching preservation of biodiversity and sustainable technologies. Make sure you visit the Garden of Aquatic Plants, to see biodiversity at work.
Also of interest are the Monastery of San Secondo and the Church of St Julian. There are also remains of a 14th-century castle. The only inhabited building is the Fattoria Il Poggio hostel.
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Isola Maggiore
The lake's main inhabited island, Isola Maggiore, near Passignano, was reputedly a favourite with St Francis. The hill-top Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo contains a Crucifixion by master painter Bartolomeo Caporali.
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Weekly Markets
For a fun cultural and gastronomic experience, don't miss the weekly markets, which have all sorts of fresh local produce and basic goods. They take place from at the following locations: Castiglione del Lago (Wednesday), Magione (Thursday), Tuoro (Friday) and Passignano (Saturday). Ask at each town's tourist office for more information.
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Tuoro
The only reason to visit Tuoro, otherwise a rather sleepy residential area with a handful of decent hidden agriturismi in the surrounding hills, is to take a drive through the grounds of the Battle of Trasimeno. Stop off at the Tuoro tourist office, at the city library, to check out the permanent exhibition before heading out around town.
There is an archaeological connect-the-dots walking or driving tour of the battlefield, signposted by 12 numbered stops, describing the events that took place 2300 years ago.
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Teatro Cesare Caporali
The Teatro Cesare Caporali is an 18th-century theatre, beautifully designed, which has concerts all year long. During the summer, the Musica Insieme Panicale runs a series of concerts from July until September, in addition to the Mosaico Sonoro free concert every Thursday in the main square.
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San Feliciano
The working town of San Feliciano still sees fishermen leave to trawl for fish in the morning (visitors can join them). The town's main draw is the fishing museum.
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Passignano
Passignano is the most holiday-ish of the Trasimeno towns, with many restaurants, hotels, gelato joints and souvenir shops. The medieval castle on the top of the hill is closed to visitors, but the view from in front of it is as good as it gets.
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Panicale
Perched on a hill with an expansive view of the lake, the entire town of Panicale is one giant fortress. In La Chiesa di San Sebastiano is Perugino's Martyrdom of St Sebastian, painted by the master in 1505. In the background of the painting is a landscape of the lake as it looked in Perugino's day.
If you look closely, especially at the bottom of the painting, you'll see what's known as the tratteggio restoration technique, where artists create tiny vertical brushstrokes to fill in damaged artwork. The result is seamless from far away but art historians can tell what is original and what has been restored. In 2005, art historians discovered another fresco in the church,
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Palazzo della Corgna
An ancient ducal palace, Palazzo della Corgna houses an important series of 16th-century frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi and Salvio Savini. It was built in the 16th century by Jacopo Barozzi, who incorporated parts of ancient houses once owned by the feudal Baglioni family from Perugia.
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Palazzo della Corgna
The head of the della Corgna family was appointed as governor of the town by his uncle, Pope Julius III, and subsequently commissioned artists to paint works for the town, known then as Castel della Pieve (it was elevated to a city in 1600). The frescoes in the statuesque Palazzo della Corgna include ones by Il Pomarancio and Salvio Savini. It's now a library open to the public, so feel free to step in and have a wander.
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Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi
Perhaps Perugino's most famous work in his hometown is Adoration of the Magi, on view at the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi .
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Museo del Tulle
Craft fans will appreciate the Museo del Tulle, with examples of traditional lace and tulle from the area, housed in a deconsecrated frescoed church. If you want to buy lace, head to San Michael Square No 2 and ring the doorbell. If she's home, Fede Boldrino still creates lacework by hand.
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Museo del Merlotto
The island of Isola Maggiore is famed for its lace and embroidery production and you can see examples in the Museo del Merlotto.
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Museo della Chiesa della Sbarra
The Museo della Chiesa della Sbarra, in the church of the same name, offers an up-close view of church vestments, statues and altar regalia from the past five centuries. Of particularly creepy note are the relic boxes filled with the bones of saints. Entry here is payable at the Museo del Tulle (lace museum).
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Maneggio Oasi
Ask at one of the tourist offices for a booklet of walking and horse-riding tracks. Horse-riding centres include the Maneggio Oasi.
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Magione
You may end up in Magione if you suddenly realise that you need a heap of groceries or a mosaic table. It's the commercial centre of the lake and, as such, not terribly interesting. However, the train stops here and it does have a fascinating castle.
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