Castiglione del Lago in Fog

This view of Castiglione del Lago (the mountain town that boasts not only a full castle to walk through, but also the dandy Cantina restaurant and Nat’s Italian dentist) I believe was taken from Isola Maggiore on Lake Trasimeno.  Doesn’t it look adorably medieval in a way:

*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

San Michele Archangelo Church on Isola Maggiore

Isola Maggiore is the one inhabited (by humans, that is--animals are on all the islands I'm guessing) island on Lake Trasimeno, and well worth the time it takes to ferry you there. San Michele Archangelo Church sits on top of the hill in the middle of the island (a hill that isn’t hard at all to walk up) and is surrounded by ancient olive trees, roaming rabbits and pheasants, and lovely vistas:

*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Morning Over Lake Trasimeno

Lovely, isn’t it? Especially on a rainy day in Seattle:

*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Living La Dolce Vita with Shollys and Scharrer

So, apologies for the week-of-little-posts here on the six blog, but we’ve been basking in the company of Italy combined with our recent rad visitors, the Shollys (Jon and Nicole, that is) and the Scharrer (Christy, that is). There just hasn’t been time for blogging—it’d just get in the way of things like sitting on the shores of Lago Trasimeno in Passignano, enjoying the sunshine and a few bierras:

A Short Visit to Pretty Panicale

We headed out exploring the other day (the same day we saw the Trasmino vistas mentioned below) and ended up first at a hill town called Panicale. We didn’t know much about Panicale before heading there, except that it supposed to be a very attractive spot that’s been there since medieval times, and one that has held on to much of its medieval feel. That seemed like a worthy place to visit, and you know what, it was. Extremely pretty, the loveliness starts from when you see it driving up (sadly, no great picture was taken) and includes even the ivy-covered elegantly brick arches on the way into town:

Unlike any Umbrian hill towns, that have their pretty centers but then include a newer sprawl, Panicale is mostly still what’s within the old town walls (with a little tasteful newer buildings on the outskirts, and a nice mountain-view park), starting with the Palazzo Pretorio, which is a mid-sized central square highlighted by the fountain built in 1473:

The whole town is a sort-of oval, with streets circling up and around and back in and occasionally under:

Even the sturdiest of towns needs help here and there though, so Nat pitched in and held up one wall:

When wandering through Panicale, you come across amazing vistas, a few cute ristorantes (most sadly closed when we were there—November is when many restaurateurs take vacations), enchanting houses, and the Church of San Michele Arcangelo (dating back to the 10th to 11th century):

which houses some good frescos and other art (not photographable though), and a doorway that’s welcoming even though the sculptured ladies above it are chilly:

There were a few other churches to see, and a host of views over the valleys surrounding Panicale, but my favorite part of the town was the little Piazza Masolino, which was at the highest part of the town. Unavailable for cars, and home to a church-turned-museum, this little piazza has a number of small apartments facing in to it, all built within the old city walls. This picture is when walking out, so doesn’t do it justice:

The Piazza Masolino to me is a wonderful example of Umbrian hill town life. If I was ever able to buy a spot in Italy and didn’t have dogs (a lot of if-ing I guess), it would be in a square like this, calm, historic, with just enough space to dream about the years that were there before you. Oh, of course, the fact that it has a view over lake Traismeno doesn’t stink, either:

Sun and Clouds and Fog Over Lake Trasimeno

We haven’t mentioned it much (outside of ferrying across it with Keith and Tasha), but we live fairly close (about 20 minutes here or there) to the largest lake in central Italy, Lago Trasimeno. Not only a lovely lake, it’s also the site of a famous battle between Hannibal and the Romans, where Hannibal mopped up the floor (or the lake) with the Romans due to some fancy strategizing and a serious ambush. It also has lots of nice towns around and near it, and yesterday we were heading out to visit two of them (Panicale and Castiglione del Lago both of which I’ll write about later). On our drive, we had to pull over though, because the views of the lake and the islands on it as we wound around the mountain drive were amazing (these two pics in no way do it justice, but at least you’ll get an idea of our lake and the skies and the vistas. Oh, one pic’s just of the lake, and one’s a closer up shot of Isola Maggiore):