Lake Trasimeno
Lake Trasimeno is the fourth largest lake in Italy. On its shores there are villages of breathtaking beauty such as Castiglione del Lago, Passignano sul Trasimeno, San Feliciano, Tuoro sul Trasimeno, Castel Rigone, but there are no less charming villages located further inland such as the Etruscan Panicale, Lisciano Niccone and Piegaro.
Inside the lake, there are three islands: Isola Maggiore, Isola Minore and Isola Polvese.
The largest is the Polvese Island with its 69.6 hectares and 313.4 meters above sea level is also the highest of the three islands of Lake Trasimeno. The Polvese Island can be freely visited even if since 1995 it belongs to the Regional Park of Trasimeno and besides the beautiful views it offers visitors three points of interest: the Rocca, the ruins of the Olivetan Church of San Secondo and the Church of San Giuliano.
Once disembarked on Isola Maggiore, the only inhabited island, you are in a small square on the right you go towards the windmill and the church of San Michele Arcangelo, on the left towards Via Guglielmi and from here towards the Lungo Lago. Here there are several things to see: the docking area (via Guglielmi) with its palaces, the Church of San Salvatore, the ruins of the monastery church of the Sisters of San Leonardo, the ruins of the Tower of Roman times, the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, The Chapel of San Francesco with inside the bed of the Saint, the Rock and the source of San Francesco, the Church of San Francesco, the Castle Guglielmi and the windmill. Not everyone knows that Isola Maggiore was one of the places dear to Saint Francis of Assisi who stopped there and meditated during Lent 1211.
The third island, the Isola Minore (also called Isoletta) is private and cannot be visited. It is currently uninhabited, although until the fifteenth century it appears to have been inhabited by many families. photos
For further information, please visit:https://www.bellaumbria.net/it/itinerari/cosa-vedere-sul-lago-trasimeno-in-un-giorno/
At the lake there is the naturalistic oasis La Valle
Founded in 1996, the La Valle Naturalistic Oasis is located near the characteristic village of San Savino, a hamlet of Magione, and covers an area of 1,000 hectares included in the Regional Park of Lake Trasimeno, along the south-eastern shore of the basin.
It is a wetland of great ornithological interest. Thanks to an exceptional habitat rich in biodiversity, characterized by shallow waters and large stretches of reeds, it is affected by the passage of more than 200 species of birds that stop to nest, to winter or just to get food during the journey. In every season of the year the oasis is populated by flocks of waterfowl that move along the migratory routes from Northern Europe to sub-Saharan Africa.
The Oasis also hosts various species of amphibians and mammals and an interesting fish fauna of the lake that includes tenches, chubs, escarpments, pikes and eels. Besides the reeds, the vegetation is mainly made up of willows, poplars, wet meadows, vast carpets of floating leaves and some aquatic plants.
The Visitor Center of the structure, inside which there is an exhibition that deepens the historical-naturalistic aspects of the Valley area, consists of an Environmental Education Center with multimedia teaching classrooms, a scientific laboratory and a documentation centre with over 250 texts on the nature and culture of the Trasimeno. Outside, it has a nature trail with four observatories equipped for birdwatching, a station for ringing birds, a guest house and a small garden of water lilies.
For information you can visit: www.oasinaturalisticalavalle.it
