Lago Trasimeno and Castiglione Lago

The drive over  was wonderful

Tree lined lane to an estate.

The water was still and reflective

Color everywher

Nice spot for a picture.

so we each got one.

Castle was built very strong and high.

The tool that makes the olives drop.

Nancys favorite picture of the day.

Cool old part of the city.

Book store...closed for siesta

Dome of the church was beautiful

Nothing better...guitars and corks.

     We must be living right, the weather where we are is perfect fall weather. We’ve had a few days of rain but overall (knock on wood) it has been nice almost everyday we’ve spent in Italy. Today was a little crisp in the morning but turned into about 70 degrees, no wind and just a few wispy clouds. We drove through the countryside NW of Alviano to, Lago Trasimeno, one of the bigger lakes in all of Italy. The trees are all starting to turn and it was spectacular scenery. Colorful Italy is just as Colorful as Colorado, we posted some exceptional pics on facebook, check em out. We passed through so much new country today, saw lots of new castles and villages and tons of families out harvesting their olives. 

     It’s either harvest time or the last harvest of the season, not sure which. It’s very interesting watching the harvest, usually a 3 man/woman team...they spread a green tarp under the tree thats to be harvested, then pull out a car battery, attach an electric gadget with 6 forks that vibrate in a circular motion, one of the team turns it on and starts giving the tree a once over, all the olives drop to the green tarp, the team pulls on the sides so the olives all move towards the center, then they scoop all of them into crates...ingenious, fast, efficient and these guys really move. I had fun just sitting and watching.

     It took us about 2 1/2 hours to make the trip on the back roads, like we said, getting there is always 1/2 the fun. We drove straight down to the lake and spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon hanging out, taking pictures and having lunch at a small lake front cafe...I highly recommend this kind of day to anyone who needs a little relaxing. The lake is huge and has many towns and villages on it’s shoreline, we picked the area around Castiglione del Lago for our exploration. The entire area around this lake has significant historical value, on June 23rd, 217 BC., during the course of the 2nd Punic War, the Carthaginian Army fought against the Roman soldiers on the North shores of the lake. The Carthaginians, led by Hannibal, wiped out the Roman army led by Consul Flaminius, who was killed in battle. Since then the whole area has been contested often, and fought over by a multitude of different factions.

     The city of Castiglione del Lago is located on a hill surrounded by Olive Groves, its on the western shore of the lake and has been a settlement since Etruscan times (2-3 century BC)...its been said the fortifications of the castle, once known as the “Castle of the Lion”, were so impregnable, they were of great interest to Leonardo Da Vinci, who visited here...another well known guest of the city was Machiavelli.

The old part of the city, located within the old city walls, is “medieval chic” with lots of cool little specialty shops, restaurants, and bars. Anyone who visited here would put it on their list of places to stay the next time around.

     Drove back on the highway...forgot it was halloween, yikes! Stopped by the little market in Alviano and thank goodness they had candy available...have no ides how many of these little village bambinos will be coming by, so we bought enough for the whole town! Right now we are sitting here waiting for trick or treaters, eating a little candy and trying to figure out dinner...looks like Spinach Patties and some Veggies...man am I getting skinny.