Castiglione del Lago

Another new place......there is just so much to explore...this time in the province of Umbria....a place called Castiglione del Lago.....it is a beautiful, large lake and one of the old towns has an old fortress. We thought it would be quite a nice thing for Ben to see.....so we paid the entrance tickets at the palazzo and slowly started our walk....first through the palazzo where there were some old artifacts to view....next was a tunnel through the fortress....that was very cool....it was narrow, and had small peep holes which in the olden days were used for shooting through.....it was rather tight when one had to squeeze past some other people....once through the fortress we made our way to the top....one of the towers....and now we had a great view of the lake....time to share some pics....

Ben on top of the first tower

Ben, Kim, Sofia and I on top of the first tower

The whole experience took us around 45 minutes, but before i go any further time to share some general knowledge....

The Fortress of the Lion was built by Emperor Frederick II. The pentagonal-shaped castle, was completed in 1247 CE by the monk-architect Elia from Cortona. The castle features square towers in four of its corners and a triangular shaped bastion, or donjon, known as the Mastio in the other. The castle was designed to give its owners strategic control over all of Lake Trasimeno. The castle has withstood a number of sieges over the subsequent centuries.

The one tower was low and extremly narrow to climb....so only Ben and i went....then there was one really high one, with a lot of stairs....have a look....

Kim infront of the high tower

View from the highest tower

We also walked along the outside walls.....i thought the views were incredible and especially the colours of the water....very nice....yes, i will share some pics of that also....

On the wall looking at the lake Trasimeno

Mutti enjoying the walk

The walls and towers

After exploring the old castle and fortress....time for a walk through the old town....we were there late afternoon and we said we definitely wanted to come back and take our time strolling through all the quaint little shops and try out a restaurant (we had already eaten lunch in Cortona and in the evening we had plans, hence not so much time to exlore this time). We did do some tastings of pecorino and wildboar salami....and in the end...it was time for an aperitifo.....we found some bar/ gelateria on the side, because Mutti felt like an ice-cream while the rest of us wanted savoury...nuts and chips....this all came with a view of a bell tower....

View from the bar

But before i end this blog...let me share a little history about Castiglione del Lago....

Castiglione del Lago has evolved on what used to be an island - the fourth island of Lake Trasimeno, in its south west region. Over the centuries, as the town grew, the flat gap between the island and the shore was filled with piazze, houses, churches and other buildings.

The newest parts of the city are at some distance from the old, so the centro storico (historical center) of Castiglione del Lago is a well preserved medieval locality that seems to be governed by a "law of threes". In the town walls there are three gates, and inside the town there are three piazze and three churches.

So yes, it is worth a visit if you are in the area...and as i mentioned...we will go back...just to explore the old town a little bit more....hope you enjoyed this short...but...sweet blog....

 

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