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Trasimeno itself
Trasimeno itself
Trasimeno was always quite shallow, muddy, rich in fish (pike, carp, tench), but the shallow waters meant also malarial mosquitoes prospered.
To fight this problem, some small fish that voraciously ate mosquito larvae were imported from USA during the 1950s.
These fish are widely scattered even in the lakes near Trasimeno.
But despite billions of larvae eaten, there are still many mosquitoes and other insects.
Trasimeno water quality is still very good, as a misuration of Italia Nostra showed in 2005.
The lack of big farms and a small population means a low pollution level.
In its history Trasimeno has known many crises.
This lake is only 4 meters deep on average.
Draining it was proposed to solve the problems of malaria and depth changes, but luckily they were rejected.
At the end of the 19th century, the level changes were solved by building a channel near San Feliciano.
This also lessened the malaria problem.
In 1929, there was a really cold winter, that totally froze the surface, so even cars could be driven over the ice.
It was said that a car, by mistake (because the snow), reached Maggiore Isle.
Also in 1957, there was another cold winter, so that Trasimeno's surface froze and there was heavy damages to the olive trees nearby.
In 1985 another very cold winter froze Trasimeno and the olives as well for over 20 days.
A less severe freeze happened in 1991.
In 2002, the lake froze again, during very cold and dry winter.
Finally, a strong easterly broke up the ice after 30 days.
This is quite rare, given the latitude of this lake.
The Trasimeno climate is quite warm, with moderate winters.
Summers can be very warm and humid, but in general the lake moderates the climate both in cold and warm conditions because even swallow water gives a moderate thermic inertia.
From May to September, the temperature is warm enough to allow swimming.
Trasimeno has quite high hills (and the Pennines) to the east.
These help to capture rain and partially protect the lake from cold eastern winds.
It's likely that most of the water that goes to the lake comes from the wide web of streams from the western side of the lake.
The real problem of Trasimeno is the water scarcity.
After World War II, its shores retreated a kilometer in the western sector (the eastern shore has a deeper and more steeply sloped bottoms).
At the start of the 1970s, the shore retreated almost as much.
After a period of abundance, from 1990, the lake had a disturbing and quite low water level.
In 2003, the shore retreated over 100 meters and the level fell 128 cm.
The main reason is lack of rain.
From 2004 to the summer of 2006, there was plenty of rain (over 150 mm in the last 20 days of August 2005 alone, with over 700 mm to the end of year), but the fall and winter of 2006 have been almost totally dry, with a relatively hot climate.
All Italy had this problem, and only in spring has there been significant rain, but still not enough.
Despite this, the abundance of water that flowed into Trasimeno in the last 3 years has saved the lake from heavier problems.
A new canal is under construction to bring water to the lake.
Human activity is involved in this problem.
It was calculated that maize cultivation alone was equivalent to 5 cm of water level per year, 1% of the overall level.
The large growth of the towns in the last 5 to 6 years all obviously require more water.
There are ponds all over for agricultural use, many quite large, an additional problem for water resources.
Trasimeno is a great natural resource that should be rigorously protected and promoted.
The inhabitants of the communes around Trasimeno and the Umbrian people have been successful in safeguarding their lake, whose waters are fit for swimming and whose valleys and islands are intact environments, providing a mirror of the past and a theme for a present suited to discovering a new means for man to interrelate with his habitat.
To better preserve it, in 1995 a natural park was established over all the surface and the shores.
A 50 km bicycle path was opened in 2003 around the lake that allows tourists to explore it.
There are also cross country paths, especially over the hills on the eastern side.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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