Italy 6 - Castiglione del Lago /Hannibal and the Elephants/Fish Antipasta

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There were two days left before we left for home and we had packed our bags in readiness for going home. We had left enough clothes out to last us the last few days. We decided to visit two places today – Perugia and LakeTrasimino.



Perugia was rather uncharacteristic for a town in Umbria. It does have an historic centre but it is well hidden amongst the urban sprawl. It is easy to miss on your way to somewhere else. The town itself is quite vibrant due to the university. Students are everywhere. We had a drink on the Corso Vannucci a busy noisy square full of people. It is most definitely a people watching square and we enjoyed a bit of peace before the storm. Storm clouds were gathering and the sound of thunder claps could be heard in the distance.



From the Corso Vannucci we set off for the Piazza IV Novembre with an unfinished Duomo to one side., the public building to another and a huge fountain. We were lucky when we visited as there was an exhibition of Pinturicchio one of the foremost artists of this part of Umbria. In the past I have managed to be in Vienna to see a Breughel exhibition and a collection of the Queens paintings in Edinburgh. Half of the exhibition was being held in Perugia and the remainder in Spoleto a town we planned to visit tomorrow. The Duomo looked odd with its revealed brickwork, pigeons nesting in the cracks and grass growing in places. It lacked the exterior embellishment of statue, stained glass or marble. It was however interesting to see the construction methods used by the Italians in their churches. The brickwork used as an anchor for the marble and stone facings. Here money must have run out and the building was never finished.



As the thunder claps now were overhead and the lightening forks hitting the ground the rain came down. Drivers of cars stopped in the middle of the road unable to see through the rain to drive and hundreds of pedestrians scurried like ants trying to find cover from the rain. We did the same and waited for the storm to pass over.



Our final stop of the day was to LakeTrasimino famous as Hannibal defeated the Roman army here. We searched for the walk around the battlefield but all signs led to nowhere. It felt like a maze with no way out.



Instead of wasting time we decided to head out to Castiglione del Lago a pretty town which jutted out into the lake. The lake was quite tranquil and made a welcome sight after seeing no water for two weeks. We ate lunch in a small café on a pretty square. I ordered Antipasta something I really enjoy – the ham, the proscutto, the melon and the salami. However this antipasta included my less favourite food fish and other fishy things I couldn’t identify.



Ah well next time read the menu properly…………..

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Photos

Perugia
A roman Waterway now used as a footpath

Perugia
A medieval horse hook up :)