August 15 is a bank holiday in Italy: Ferragosto. This national holiday celebrates the Assumption of the virgin Mary into heaven, the day when Catholics believe that God took the body of Jesus’ mother Mary into heaven to reunite with her son.
August is the traditional period for Italians to have their summer holidays. On August 15 many Italians go out for a picknick in a park or a barbecue in the garden. And many Italians make trips to the seaside or in the mountains to cool off.
This year on August 15 we decided to make a bike tour along the Trasimeno Lake with some friends. In the early morning we prepared our lunch and we started at 10.30 am with our mountainbike tour in Magione, Perugia.
Castiglione del Lago
Sant Arcangelo
From Magione we headed for Sant’Arcangelo, Castiglione del Lago and Tuoro sul Trasimeno. The cycle paths between Castiglione del Lago and Borghetto are a bit bumpy and narrow, but it was easy to pass by. Along the lake in Tuoro sul Trasimeno we found a wonderful picknick area for our small lunch.
After our picknick in Tuoro sul Trasimeno we headed for Passignano sul Trasimeno. Passignano is a lovely village along the lake. In the centre we found a small fountain where we filled our water bidon. The temperatures were about 30 degrees and biking without any drinks is not recommended. We needed fuel to continue. From Passignano we cycled to San Feliciano where it was crowded with people.
San Feliciano is only a few kilometres away from Magione where we parked our car. But, before getting there we had to make a huge climb to San Savino. San Savino is a small hill town along the lake.
The last kilomteres were only down hill to Magione. What a relief!
Lago Trasimeno
This cycle tour along the Trasimeno Lake is fantastic and is suitable for adults and for trained cyclists. The trail around the lake is quite flat and the total distance is about 70 km. A mountainbike is recommended. The path along the lake is fairly new and has been made especially for cyclists and tourists in Italy.
The picknick areas along the lake are wonderful. You do not need to get there by bike, but also on feet from Tuoro sul Trasimeno you’ll get there quite easily.
A sportive activity to discover in Umbria I really enjoyed!
Tuoro sul Trasimeno
Bike tour Trasimeno Lake : https://www.relive.cc/view/g13576447743
https://connect.garmin.com/course/embed/16130632
We stayed 2 weeks in Citta della Pieve May last year. Wonderful place to spend a holiday. Visiting Castiglione del Lago was was one of the highlights
Castiglione del Lago is a wonderful medieval village. Worth a visit indeed! Thank you. Next time you should try to cycle around the lake 🙂