Hi,
I will be near Lake Trasimeno in September and am wondering if a trip to Isola Maggiore would be recommended? It looks beautiful on-line. Do women still make lace on this island, and are there shops to purchase? Lastly, where can I find the ferry schedule to get to the island?
Thanks,
Kathy
Do you mean isola Madre? It has been at least 3 decades since I was on Lake Maggiore, so I don't know anything about the lace situation.
You can find the current (winter) public-ferry schedule here: https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/en/tickets-and-timetables-lake-maggiore/. Frequency in summer will be higher, but I guess you may need to wait until the end of March to see the summer schedule there. Perhaps some Googling will turn up the summer 2025 schedule, which should be pretty close to what will be running next September.
I believe someone mentioned on this forum the existence of private ferries running to the Borromean Isles whose fares are similar to those charged by the public ferries. They would give you additional options.
Lake Trasimeno is in Umbria. Sorry- don't know anything about it!
Ferry schedule:
https://www.lagotrasimeno.net/en/orari-di-navigazione-a161
Google: "Lace makers Lake Trasimeno" for info on the museum
The Lace Museum looks like is still there.
Unfortunately those handcraft traditions are largely lost, probably with my grandparents' generation (my grandparents were born in the 1890s). The island is also largely uninhabited now, as few residents are left.
While browsing the net on this topic, however, I found this YouTube video from QuattroColonne (4 Columns), which is the media outlet of the Perugia's School of Journalism. The video shows a group of 'volunteers' from Tuoro Sul Trasimeno (a town on the lake) which are trying to keep the tradition alive.
https://youtu.be/0FdF8-S3go4?si=6UQNZfGxlBKYtgw0
If you don't speak or understand Italian you can add English subtitles to any YouTube video, no matter which language.
Just tap the screen (if Ipad) or hover the mouse cursor on the video (for desktop). You will see the Close Caption icon (two small CC). Click on that to activate Close Captioning and you will see subtitles. The subtitles will appear in the original language, so to have it translated in English, you will see the setting icon (looks like a gear) next to the CC icon. Open the setting and select AutoTranslate, then select the language you want it translated into (English). Et voilà, the Italian video will have English subtitles at the bottom.
Thank you all so much!
We visited in 2024 and had a lovely time, especially having a wonderful lunch outdoors at Ristorante L'Oso: https://www.ristoranteloso.com/en/home-en/
If I remember correctly they even have their own private boat to take you back to the mainland if you miss the last ferry while eating there. I didn't notice any lace shops, just a few usual souvenir shops, but we weren't looking for this specifically.
