Around the Trasimeno lake.

Tuoro sul Trasimeno - is located in a gentle valley where, according to the tradition, happened the final fight between the armies of Caio Flaminio and Hannibal.  On top of the mausoleum of the Roman Captain, according to the legend, has been built the "Palazzo del Capra", reconstructed during the Renaissance.  Upward the town are the remains of the apse of the S. Agnese Romanesque church, built close to the well- known arenaria-stone cave.   To this peculiar stone the town council has dedicated the "Campo del Sole", a collection of sculptures designed by Pietro Cascella and realized by many sculptors at the end of the '80 years.

Passignano sul Trasimeno -  From the lake shore through a maze of narrow streets between very old buildings dated back to the fifteenth century is possible to reach the towers of the top area with the typical "Torre di Ponente" , dated up the fourteenth century and typically triangular. In the historical town centre it is suggested to visit the Renaissance church of S . Rocco with the unusual double portal and the church of

S. Bernardino with the arenaria-stone façade and in the peculiar Renaissance style.

At the top of the town you can find the old "pieve" of  S. Cristoforo with fifteenth century frescos and dominated by the impressive remains of the "Rocca".

Magione - Its name is derived by the fortress-palace Badia, expression of the spacial rigours and formal austerity of the Templars architecture.  Passed in the hands of the Cavalieri di Malta, still owners of it, was chosen as their "mansion", French word for "magione". On the main street of the town is located the church of S. Maria delle Grazie, rebuilt at beginning of the eighteenth century where is a "Maestà" supposed   by Andrea di Giovanni (1371).

Panicale -  It is one of the most beautiful "terrace" of Umbria.  Still the town keeps, as originally, the structure of three central squares at three different levels.   One of the most prominent local monuments is the "Collegiata" , founded between X and XI century; it has been rebuilt in the 1600 .   The Nativity of Christ by G. B. Caporali is exposed in this church.

Castiglione del Lago -  By going to the historical town centre through the Porta Senese (1800) you find the parish church of Maddalena in neo-classic form and with Greek cross plant.

Go on along via Vittorio Emanuele close to the square where there is the church of S. Domenico di Guzman, built on suggestion of  Fulvio della Corgna in the year 1683.  In the town centre is located the "Palazzo della Corgna", rich and noble residence built by Ascanio.  The sequence of frescos in the  halls is a precious example of the late Renaissance in Umbria. The Palazzo della Corgna is connected by a long walking corridor to the medieval fortress.  The Palace is also known as "Castello del Leone"  (and that justify the name "Castiglione"), an irregular  pentagonal building with overimposed a triangular structure and four towers along the strong battlements.

 

Perugia.

City of arts and culture it has a rich and very old history.  Today the city is enclosed inside the Etrurian walls with many palaces and monuments.  Remarkable  in the town centre is the "Palazzo dei Priori" (XIV century) built by Giacomo Servadio and Giovannello di Benvenuto.  A Gothic building, has inside the "Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria" where the majority of  works of the  Umbria artists are collected.  The "Palazzo dei Priori" is located in the "Piazza IV Novembre", which can be considered the urban fulcrum of the city, with the Duomo, the Loggia di Fortebraccio and the famous Fontana Maggiore, work of  Fra' Bevignate.   Countless are the routes offered by the city to the visitor: many churches, public palaces, museums and art works show the strong vitality of the Umbria Capital in creating an artistic and attractive urban complex.

 

Città della Pieve

You will find a very attractive medieval town at the border between Tuscany and Latium  Founded possibly by the Etruscans, in the year 1550 under the Church control  pope Giulio III appoints as its Governor Ascanio della Corgna who promoted the arrival of many artists primarily for the construction and decoration of the grand Palace;  between them the Perugian architect Galeazzo Alessi.    Pietro Vannucci, known as "il Perugino" was born in Città della Pieve.   Two very  relevant works of by him can be admired in the Duomo of  the XII century: "Il Battesimo di Gesù" and the "Madonna in Gloria e Santi", dated 1514.  Precious and beautiful frescos and other works by other artists, like Pomarancio, Savio Savini, Alfani and others, beside the Perugino, can be admired in many palaces and churches of the town.

 

From Valdichiana to the "Crete Senesi".

Two very nice landscapes typical of Tuscany open and close this itinerary going from a little town,  Cortona, rich of artistic and architectural treasures and famous for the birth of  Pietro da Cortona, to Siena, the very famous city of arts.  Initially the green Valdichiana, at the end the "Crete Senesi", that is the long sequence of  round hills of pure clay.  You can go from the visits of the wonderful medieval Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore or the churchs of S. Antimo and of  Farneta, to the discovery of jewels like Pienza and Montepulciano.  But really something to admire, to discover or in any case  surprising you can find in every place of the itinerary you will stop, as for instance the peculiar landscape of Asciano or the beautiful "rocca" in Montalcino.