My 16 year old is a huge fan of Hannibal and we are headed to Italy in June of 2013. Has anyone visited any of the major spots such as the Valley of Trebbia, Lake Trasmene or Cannae? Which spots are worth seeing and how hard is transportation from Milan, Rome or Florence?
Posted by
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
290 posts
Lake Trasimeno is essentially a rainwater lake; i.e. it is not Alpine, and there are no major rivers running into it. All that to say, sometimes the water level can be a bit low. I haven't been up there recently, but I would think that this year, with so little rain, it might be looking a bit shabby. You can take a ferry to Isola Maggiore, which is the main island on Trasimeno. It has a castle which you can at least look at from the boat, even if you can't tour it on the island. There are trails, a little beach (with the kind of "lake sand" = basically dirt), a little main street. It is charming but I'm not sure how exciting it would be for a teen. Maybe take the ferry, explore the island for a couple of hours, then go back to the shore. I did not spend much time in the shore town but I had the impression that there wasn't anything terribly special to see, much less for a teen. Here is some history, including the thing about the sacred chickens that didn't eat their breakfast one day (a bad omen), etc.: http://www.initaly.com/regions/lakes/lake4.htm
Posted by
OP
Warsaw, Indiana, USA
14 posts
Thanks for the advice. He loves the chicken antidote :)
Posted by
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
290 posts
Shari I should add that Lake Trasimeno is not far from Perugia; from Rome it is like a 2.5 hour train ride if memory serves. Perguia is just north of Assisi. You might combine a stop at Lake Trasimeno (in the town of Passignano that is where the ferry is that goes to Isola Maggiore) while en route to someplace like Assisi or Perugia. Sorry I can't be of more help with Hannibal. In any case, I would think that a trip involving both adults and teens involves some give-and-take so you make a stop at Trasimeno since Hannibal was there, then you go to other places in Tuscany or Umbria that are not far away, such as Florence, Siena, Orvieto, Assisi, Perugia, etc. Good luck with your planning, and hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in here.