The best cycling routes around Cortona

In Castiglion Fiorentino, just outside the city walls, stands the Church of the Madonna della Consolazione. Its history stems from a sacred image of the Madonna and Child, attributed to Luca Signorelli, once kept in a tabernacle along the road. Tradition holds that Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de' Medici, regained her sight by praying before that image. In gratitude, she financed the construction of the church, which began in 1565 and was completed only decades later. Inside, in a side chapel, the original fresco of the Madonna is still preserved.

A charming village overlooking Lake Trasimeno, from where you can take the ferry to Isola Maggiore, and in my opinion it's definitely worth it! If you can, stay in Passignano for dinner so you can enjoy the sunset along the lakeside path and the historic center at night.

Muzzicone is famous for Florentino grilled steaks.. Best around!

Beautiful lakeside of Passignano

Lake Trasimeno Located in the northern part of Umbria, on the border with Tuscany, Lake Trasimeno is a true natural paradise. Italy's fourth-largest lake owes its name to an ancient legend: It is said that the ruthless Prince Trasimeno, son of the wise Etruscan King Tyrrhenian of Lydia, fell madly in love with the nymph Agilla and married her on the shores of the lake. But the wrath of the gods shamefully struck the young lovers: Even today, in the gentle breeze rippling the lake, one can hear in the distance the lament of the nymph Agilla, who is constantly searching for her lover swallowed by the waves. A poignant legend for a romantic place with its breathtaking landscapes and sunsets, its stone villages, its three islands—Maggiore, Minore, and Polvese—its traditional lace and fishing activities, and its typical flavors, from the excellent extra virgin olive oil to the Trasimeno beans and freshwater fish dishes like pan-fried fish. A place truly worth getting to know, with its history and culture, monuments and art spaces, relaxation and fun, immersed in the magnificent nature of the lake and the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean scrub. Text / Source: Umbria Tourism.it https://www.umbriatourism.it/it/lago-trasimeno-tra-leggenda-storia-e-natura

Battaglia del Trasimeno The Battle of Trasimeno It was June 24, 217 BC, when the Roman army of consul Gaius Flaminius Nepos was trapped in a plain between the lake and the hills, surrounded by the army of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. The battle is one of the most important and dramatic clashes during the Second Punic War, fought in the third century BC between Rome and Carthage for supremacy over the Mediterranean. It is said that more than 15,000 Roman soldiers died there, their bodies burned in pits called ustrina. This is evidenced by the numerous artifacts found: coins, weapons, etc. In 1996, the municipality founded the "Permanent Documentation Center on the Battle of Trasimeno" in the immediate vicinity of the historic center. A series of panels depicts the entire Second Punic War and the battle itself, based on descriptions by Polybius and Livy. Text / Source: Unica Umbria Editorial Office, Via Cacciatori delle Alpi, 42, 06121 Perugia https://www.unicaumbria.it/scoprire-lumbria/storia/la-battaglia-del-trasimeno/

Obelisk to Giuseppe Garibaldi, Castiglion Fiorentino The monument to the fallen in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi: a symbol of all the Risorgimenti.

Chiesa di San Francesco, Via Alessandro Codivilla, Castiglion Fiorentino The church, overlooking the square of the same name, was built by the Franciscans in the mid-13th century on an existing 12th-century structure, first dedicated to San Salvatore and then to San Leonardo. The building has a Romanesque-Gothic sandstone façade featuring a slender mullioned window surmounted by a small rose window. On the lunette of the portal, one can admire a terracotta depicting Saint Francis teaching the turtledoves how to breed, a work by Antonio Brogi, a local ceramist from the year 900. The interior, according to Franciscan custom, consists of a single nave, closed off by a short transept with three cross-vaulted chapels. The roof is gabled. Altars from the 16th and 17th centuries lean against the walls, and one can admire works by Francesco Morandini known as "il Poppi" (Crucifixion), Giorgio Vasari (Madonna with Saints Anne, Sylvester, and Anthony), and Salvi Castellucci (Invocation of Saint Matthew and Annunciation to Saint Anne). Note the third niche on the right, now empty, which once housed a Saint Francis by Margarito d'Arezzo. Below, protected by a grille, was the Holy Cross, a 13th-century reliquary of exceptional value. Both works are now on display in the Pinacoteca di Santa Maria Novella. Also of great importance are the wooden crucifix, painted in faux bronze by Giovanni Patriarca, and a wooden statue of Christ Captured in the Garden of Olives, created in 1651 by Sallustio Lambardi of Lucignano, which is carried in procession by the Society of Saint Anthony on Holy Tuesday. The choir, in Pietra Serena, whose decoration consists of panels, dates from 1546. The two central panels depict Saint Michael and Saint Francis, with floral motifs on the sides. The whole is supported by two large double-voluted shelves and plant motifs. On the left side of the church is a rectangular cloister, rebuilt in the early decades of the 17th century on a 13th-century portico, and characterized by a double loggia in the Tuscan style, with a circular fountain at its center. Under the arches of the lower tier, you can admire the frescoed lunettes depicting scenes from the life of Saint Francis, a seventeenth-century work by Pelliccione da Colle. Inside the cloister, you can see the tombstones of many important figures from Castiglione who wished to be remembered here. On the right side of the church, the oratory of the Company of Saint Joseph was built in 1560; in 1785, the company was dissolved and the oratory was sold to private individuals. Text / Source: Turismo Comune Castiglionfiorentino https://turismo.comune.castiglionfiorentino.ar.it/contenuti/242169/chiesa-san-francesco