A Trip to Lago Trasimeno

We took a quick overnight trip to a town on Lago Trasimeno, in Umbria about an hour north of our town. We splurged a bit at a boutique hotel, taking a room with a hot-tub on a rooftop terrace. We explored the tiny and adorable castle town of Castiglione del Lago, as well as some outlying and hard-to-find sites - like the leaning tower of… Umbria?!?

Missing our hot tub

When we moved to Italy, we chose to buy a very small house - just 50 square meters - which meant giving up things like a dining room, or a garden, or a bathtub. I worried a little about missing the space and sometimes we do, but having such a small space means it’s cheap to heat and clean and maintain and also, of course, to purchase.

In our old home in Nashville, we had (relatively) a lot of space. We used to have dinner parties almost every week, and large house parties; and I loved to soak in our jet tub after a tough day at work. I do miss some of that; but this pared-down life is so much less stressful, especially during these crazy times when all work has been up in the air.

So instead of owning a bathtub, we just rent one a few times a year at a hotel. Recently we got one in Castiglione del Lago - a private hot tub on a terrace overlooking Lago Trasimeno. (After a ton of research over several months I think I might be aware of nearly every hot tub within 100 miles of our house - hopefully over time we will get to try them all!)

We had a great time exploring this old walled castle-town, and we will definitely be returning. We loved the endless charming scenes that the nearly empty streets provided.

Breakfast in Bed(room)

One of the changes in staying in hotels and B&Bs during a pandemic is that they will often bring your breakfast to the room for free. This is the nicest perk because it fits in perfectly with our general laziness.

When we checked in, the host had us fill out a form indicating what types of things we might like on a breakfast tray. I asked for 2 cappuccini with extra espresso, a plain croissant, and a yogurt.

"That's not enough", he said. "What about some mini donuts?"
"OK. We will try one", I replied.
"Oh, they are so small, you should get 2 or 3."
"OK, we'll take two then."
"No, have three.....no, it should be four", he insisted, scratching out the "1" I had filled in on the form and replacing it with a 4.
"You know what?” he continued, “We make a really good chocolate cake. You should also have some chocolate cake", and he indicated that on the form as well.

The breakfast was delivered, with everything as advertised… Except there were two croissants rather than just one!

The Leaning Tower of…….Umbria?

Before this trip, we researched online to see if there were any unusual sights we might want to check out while we were in the area. Of course there is much to choose from, but this leaning tower caught our eye.

Set out in the countryside, it is one of those sights that is free - no ticket booth or opening hours, no trinket sellers or concession stands. Possibly no way to get there by foot! We had no idea, so we went to check it out.

Its proper name is Torre di Vernazzano, located in a small borgo due north of the lake. And I really mean it when I say “small borgo”….there are really just a few buildings and a church, set on a steep hill. Driving up to the village, we wound our way uphill on a tiny road, through olive groves and fields of sheep and horses, the lake shimmering in the rear-view mirror. Our poor little Fiat 500 struggled to heave its way up this very steep road. At one particular turn, the Tower came in to view, and I drew in my breath so sharply Matt almost drove off the road! I didn’t mean to scare him but the sight was so stunning, it was an involuntary reaction.

We parked at the church and walked downhill to where there was a bleached-out, cracked weather-worn sign with some info on the Tower. There was a tiny fenced-in lane - a few years ago I might not have dared to walk it, in case I was trespassing, but after so many explorations in remote places I recognized that this was meant to be a proper pathway. A couple of private homes and their gardens surround this path, which remains public. In their private olive groves and gardens we saw picnic tables, a trampoline, a tire swing, and I could just imagine the summertime dinners they must enjoy, nestled in between the Tower and the lake, every angle a spectacular view.

The Tower is the only thing that remains of a larger castle, which collapsed in to the valley over the years as the riverbed below changed the geological structure of the ridge the castle relied on for stability. Today the Tower is held up (kind of) by some very strong cables. It is possible to walk all the way up, but you’ll get great views even just from the pathway below.