Coffee Time!

Believe it or not - this is me having my coffee machine mended in a little shop in Magione!  Just down the hill from Castel Rigone.  Where else would they not only solve the problem for you AND prove the machine was working by making you a coffee!  But that is just what life is like here - the people are so simpatico!  By the way - there was no charge!

Fine Wines and Food

Castiglione del Lago 

What memories does Castiglione have for most visitors?  Probably delicious local cheese, home-made pastas, salami.  Wonderful restaurants. Lazy days strolling around the quaint streets browsing through shops. Festivals and open air theatre in the Rocca.  Sailing on the lake, visits to the two islands...... 

To me it is camping at Lido Trasimeno, dancing the night away to local bands. Sweating in a non-air-conditioned car on the way from the camp to the town!  Evenings eating at La Cantina and La Cappaninna watching the girls chasing stray cats and climbing trees after crickets!  Sunsets over the lake.  Breakfasts at the 'Extra Bar' , trips to the Island on Guilio's boat, painting exhibitions with Alfredo and far back before the husband and the family - mad car rides with mad Italians - no belts and bottles of champagne!

Well, back to the present and  the meeting with the architect went well yesterday (except that there is still a debate about whether we can have old beams in the living room, and today is really significant because they are putting the red tape around the area!  At last! A start to the works!  Foundations for the villa should be commencing the end of this month!

Following the meeting we went into Castiglione del Lago for dinner at La Cantina where, as usual we were greeted as long lost friends – which I guess we are after frequenting the place for so many years!  They gave us the ‘best’ table outside in the garden where we sat watching the sun setting over the lake.  Behind us was the tree

 ( doesn’t seem to have grown any)  that the girls used to climb in the days when the restaurant wasn’t as popular!

Service and food was, as usual, exceptional.  La Cantina boasts an extensive menu and specialises in dishes peculiar to the local area.  Mike had hand-made pasta with pork and truffle and I had the spaghetti with lake fish followed by a crème caramel with lavender and honey.  Portions were very substantial and there was no way we could follow this ‘primi’ with a meat or fish course!

No sign of the recession here!  As usual all restaurants in Castiglione were doing a roaring trade.  The clientele over the past thirty or so years has changed   - seems to go in phases.  At first it was the place for the locals and then it became dominated by the Dutch followed by a German season.  Now it is mainly the place for British tourists to eat. 

Town Centre and fountain

Castiglione del Lago

Just a few pics of where I shall be this afternoon
 plus other random ones!

The castle at Castiglione - best example of 5-sided castle anywhere!

T

Not Castiglone but Castel Rigone (sounds the same)  This is where I am sat writing this blog - the only, and very exclusive hotel in Castel Rigone! Sat next to lovely swimming-pool (deserted)  in beautiful gardens (deserted) but hotel is actually full!   Usually share the garden with the football team from Perugia who come here regularly to eat lunch.  A bit too early today!

The hospital in Castiglione del Lago - must be THE best location ever!  To the right is the lake and to the left the castle. Ahead is the lovely mainh street and all the shops and bars.
Have had a few visits - one daughter got bitten by cat, husband bitten but this time by dog!  Husband again broke his finger putting sofa-bed down and I had abscess under my tooth but dont think they quite understood because they simply gave me a jab at the opposite end!  

Again a random pic - Just had to put this on - our morning view from the breakfast table!

One of the many local produce shops along the mainstreet in Castiglione del lago - great because there are always lots of tastes of salami, wine and cheese!

Villa

Today we have yet another meeting with the architect, or at least my husband does (he doesn't trust me not to lose my temper!)  We are at the tweaking stage of the design for the house before the basic building starts at the end of the month. Amongst other things we need to decide on whether one arch or two for the Roman courtyard we are having on the lower floor.  While these important issues are being discussed I shall be wandering round Castiglione del Lago and hopefully meeting a friend for an aperitif.  Later we will dine in the garden at La Cantina where we will be greeted warmly as always. La Cantina was the restaurant where I tasted my first pizza over 40 years ago when a truly international group of us descended.  As I remember there were two families from Holland, a couple from Florida,one from Germany, an Italian family and my parents and myself.  We sat inside the restaurant that evening and I remember being fascinated watching the pizzas being made and put into the huge oven.  Even going to the loo there is an experience as you enter through a barrel!  The pizzas at la Cantina are excellent but I remember that,  to my then very English digestion, it was all a bit rich especially followed by gelato and I ended up feeling pretty nauseous.  Once we started taking the girls to Italy for the summer, La Cantina became our regular haunt.  We usually sat in the garden overlooking the lake to the deafening noise of crickets in the trees - in which the girls often hid! 
Now a days it is one of the most popular restaurants especially with the tourists but the welcome and quality of food remain the same.

Festa dei Barbari

Feel somewhat tired this morning after a heavy afternoon and evening at our Festa and probably a bit too much red wine – but for me these days, anything more than a large glass makes me feel rough! 

Yesterday was the final day of four festa days in the village and, in my opinion,  the best.  The afternoon activities begin at 5.30pm and there is always an element of surprise because no one seems to know exactly what form they are going take until the last moment!  For the last few years the ‘barbarians’ have approached on horseback across the football field and held a battle on the car park.  This year we were told there were to be no horses – some health and safety issue (didn’t think they had these in Italy!)

But they obviously got over that because at 5.30pm along the main road (NOT the football field!) came the barbarians on horseback and proceeded to have a battle in front of the church.  After this, as usually happens, the Barbari followed by a large number of the villagers dressed in costume proceeded up the main street towards our house.  We must have THE best vantage point in the village on Festa days because our steps face right onto the road making great viewing. The procession then climbs up the steps into the top of the village where other fights take place.

After all this activity everyone is rather hungry and so congregate for  a meal of cinghiale (wild boar)  in the village square sat at large trestle tables whilst being entertained by wandering musicians playing a kind of bagpipe and being ‘watered’ continuously with wine by other barbarians from what look like giant weed-killer containers!  By 11pm, after standing transfixed watching a dancing display for an hour we were pretty shattered but thankfully it only took five minutes to stagger home! 

Trasimeno Area

 

Two Thousand Years of Art and History.

This is the area around Lake Trasimeno.  It straddles both Umbria and Tuscany geographically although administratively it is part of Umbria.  It is in the exact centre of Italy and called the ‘Green Heart’ of Italy because no words can describe the different shades and hues of green found in the landscape.

Legend has it that Prince Trasimeno, the son of the Etruscan king, Tirreno, met a nymph, Agilla,  on the banks of the lake.  He fell hopelessly in love with her and died.  Since then the lake has been called Trasimeno, and the legend says that on August evenings, when a soft breeze caresses the lake’s water, you can hear Agilla weeping for her prince.

Lake Trasimeno is the fourth largest lake in the area being about 128 sq Kilometeres but it is extremely shallow especially when there is a drought, and a haven for many different species of birds.  There are several beaches along its perimeter and its grassy banks are the most beautiful tranquil places to while away a hot afternoon reading, picnicking or just relaxing. Sunrises and sunsets are breathtakingly beautiful!

Umbria is a land of saints and warriors and artists.  Just to mention a few:  St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, St. Valentine and St. Rita (saint of the impossible).  Then there are the artists:  Signorelli, Perugino, Raphael. 

Warriors -  Because this area was the scene of numerous battles in the middle ages and  especially the Battle of Trasimeno in 217 BC in which more than 16,000 Roman soldiers lost their lives, annihilated by Hannibal’s army.  In our village there is a road and resting place where the army fled seeking refuge from Hannibal’s men.  Every year the festival (Festa dei Barbari) re-enacts this battle.

Sun at last!

First Day Clean!

Well, here I am in Umbria, the green heart of Italy and, as expected there are wall to wall blue skies, burning heat, warm welcomes and stunning views.  The house wasn't as bad as expected .  A couple of hours did the trick this time and none of it too laborious - think it's getting used to us now and we are becoming friends! Not even a scorpion to be seen!
We are in a small medieval town called Castel Rigone.  Somewhere we used to escape to in the afternoons to get away from the heat when I came with my parents many years ago. It was rather ironical that yesterday we did just the opposite - and regretted it!  We left  our little hill-top town after lunch and went down to the lakeside town of Passignano.   32C in the shade and not much of that! Amazing how one forgets just HOW hot it can be! Little did we know then that it was going to get MUCH hotter still!

Lakeside at Passignano

 I had a good wander up into the beautiful, quaint streets of the old town of Passignano.  Thanks Gym for preparing me for all the steps! This was followed by a gentle stroll along the lake side where the gentle breeze was very welcome and then my first gelato of the summer.  Lago Trasimeno is one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in this part of Italy. Many interesting and lovely, un-spoilt towns nestle along its borders, Castiglione del lago, San Feliciano, Torricella, S, Angelo.  Passignano is one of the largest and this year was voted the best town to live in out of the whole of Italy!  Guess it does have everything - an enchanting older town, beautiful lake, parks, quaint little restaurants,  a ferry linking it with other lakeside towns and the two main islands and an accessible railway station.  It also boast one of the best gelato bars in the area - hence the picture!  My favouites are tiramisu and caramella together. I much prefer living in Castel Rigone though!

Best Gelato!