22. Italy: Abruzzo & Umbria - Mountains & Lakes

The rugged Abruzzo region lies east of Rome and includes the Apennine mountains and a long stretch of Adriatic coastline. National parks and nature reserves cover much of its interior and it has many hilltop towns, dating to the medieval and Renaissance periods. The regional capital L’Aquila is a walled city which was badly damaged in the severe 2009 earthquake, killing 308 people, injuring a further 1,500+ and leaving 65,000+ homeless.  That earthquake cost the region $16 billion US.

We travelled north through Abruzzo to visit Castel di Sangro, a town of 7,000 people about 100 km from L'Aquila. It is in a valley in the Apennine Mountains at 805 metres (2,641 ft). That is a pretty high valley for us flat-footed Aussies.

The weather was hot (but not as hot as Greece) and humid and the afternoons included a quick, heavy thunderstorm as the black rain clouds bumped into the mountain top.
Castel di Sangro was known to the Romans and is the ancestral home of the third and last line of the House of Caesar (Catulus Caesar).

It is also home to Casadonna Reale, the restaurant of Cristiana and Niko Romito, which is why we visited. After 42 consecutive days of Greek salads it was wonderful to eat something more complex.

The dining areas are extremely stark.

But the outdoor areas are elegant and warm.

We stayed in a small hotel which had subsumed the original mediaeval communal laundry.

The hotel's reception area included the two original troughs.

Nearly 300 kn north of Castel di Sangro is Lake Trasimeno, in Umbria, near to Perugia at a height of about 300 metres above sea level.

Trasimeno is a  large lake with a surface area of 128 km2 making it the fourth for surface area in Italy - slightly smaller than Lake Como. Only two minor streams flow directly into the lake and none flows out. The water level of the lake fluctuates significantly according to rainfall levels and the seasonal demands from the towns, villages and farms near the shore.

Trasimeno is shallow, muddy and rich in fish. During the last 10 years it has been 5 meters deep, on average. It is an impounded lake that receives water but has no outlet. Other such bodies of water include the Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Utah's Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea. Evaporation can lead to a buildup of minerals in the water, resulting in saline conditions, making these lakes sensitive to pressures from pollution.

The shallow waters mean there are many mosquitoes and other insects. However, the lake's water quality is still very good. This is believed to be largely due to the small population and a lack of large farms in the area.

We stayed at San Feliciano on the east side of the lake. On our drive around the perimeter of the lake, we discovered lovely Monte del Lago (the mount of the lake) .....

... with its ancient olive oil mill converted to accommodation.

And revisited Castiglione del Lago (the castle of the lake), the shore area here being the most hospitable swimming location.

Only 35 km from Lake Trasimeno, but on top of another mountain overlooking Lake Trasimeno, at an altitude of 508 metres and at the end of 8km of steep unmade road, is Country House Montali.

It consists of a vegetarian restaurant, a swimming pool, eight accommodations, a view and a few hundred olive trees.

It too was subject to the short afternoon thunderstorm. It is unusual for Paul and I to maroon ourselves like this - we spent one day by the pool but then got bored and drove down that narrow, 8km gravel road to discover ....

... an enormous glass recycling facility making and distributing millions of recycled glass bottles.

We also discovered a lovely, and very accessible hill town called Panicale.

It too had views back over Lake Trasimeno.

As well as the agricultural hinterland.

In the church, to have light, one must make a donation.  But beware - if you are too meagre in your donation "The machine stops!"