Castiglione del Lago ... on the Shores of Lake Trasimeno

"Castiglione is on the once important highway between
Orvieto to the south, Chiusi to the west and Arezzo to the north.

Its position was in a hotly disputed territory,
pitting Etruscans against Romans, and later Tuscans against Perugians.  

The original fortifications were destroyed and rebuilt on numerous occasions."

"Boots on the ground," as my long-distance hiking friend Shelagh would say, at 10 am!  Brenda and Jerry, Palmer & Jim and I met at the car, happy and excited for our day trip to Castiglione del Lago, on the shores of Italy's 4th largest lake, Trasimeno. Weather continues to be glorious for all our daily outings and today was no exception.

We first parked down by the lake shore, considering a ferry ride to the islands out in the center of the lake, but then deciding to spend our day exploring the town and its interesting castle and fortress high above.  We sat at a little lakeside bar, enjoying cappuccinos and the beautiful views of the lake, bright blue sky, puffy white clouds above.

Then we drove up, up, almost to the gate in the city wall and found a FREE (white lines!) parking space.  There was a lovely terrace outside the city gate with a beautiful ceramic map indicating all the sights visible in the distance ... Cortona, Pienza, Mount Subasio (Assisi), even Mount Amiata and Montepulciano way over in the Val d'Orcia!

 We sauntered along the one little street of shops and loved this great sign outside a gelateria (written in Italian on one side, in English on the other):

"You can't buy HAPPINESS ...

but you can buy GELATO  ...

and that's kind of THE SAME THING."

We had a tasty pizza and salad lunch (Jim had pasta with clams) at the Caffe Latino, on the lovely "Terrazza Panoramica" overlooking Lake Trasimeno. Forgot to order pizzas to "share" so had lots left over which we cut and squeezed into small, white bags provided by our server .... for a tasty snack later that evening. (Italians don't really DO carry-out or doggie bags ... they believe you best enjoy your meal eating it all at a proper dining table!)

Climbing the fortress at Castiglione del Lago

Castiglione owes its name to a small castle called "Castel-Leone" built by Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century, the lion being associated with the Empire.  Ascanio della Corgna and his brother Cardinal Fulvia turned Castiglione into a small Renaissance town and built the Palazzo Della Corgna which we toured before walking through the long, narrow "passetto," linking the palace to the fortress above.  Views from atop the fortress, over the lake, were absolutely gorgeous.  Palmer was always way ahead of us, snapping photos, as we looked down at the palace olive groves, from high up along the walls of the fortifications.  

Back down in the town on the way to the car, Jim bought three different white-encased salamis (truffle, wild boar, etc.) ... salami and yummy Italian cheeses having become our "go to" happy hour snacks.  Brenda found a pretty ceramic wine bottle spout/pourer for her growing collection of wine "accessories."

Time for another pretty, late afternoon drive back to Sassaia.  I'm now thoroughly convinced that spending time with this fun group of friends and exploring these amazing Tuscan towns is a much better way to spend my time than sitting by the Sassaia swimming pool.  ONLY problem is, I can never seem to get caught up-to-date with this blog!  I'm a week behind ... and hoping to get back on track before this trip comes to an end.  

Home from Castiglione del Lago ...
time for Happy Hour by the fire at Casa del Bove (Sassaia's "Dependence")