Isola Maggiore

Isola Maggiore
	Isole Maggiore
Waters	Lake Trasimeno
Geographical location	43 ° 10 ′ 34 " N , 12 ° 5 ′ 29" E Coordinates: 43 ° 10 ′ 34 " N , 12 ° 5 ′ 29" E
length	800 m
width	400 m
surface	24 ha
Residents	approx. 16 ; 67 inhabitants / km²

The Isola Maggiore is a island in Lake Trasimeno in Umbria in the town of Tuoro sul Trasimeno . It is 307 meters above sea level, covers an area of 24 hectares and is one of the most popular excursion destinations in the region. Especially on weekends, tourists visit the small town with the only - car-free - residential street, Via Guglielmi . In 2001 the island had 35 permanent residents, in 2014 there were around 25, in 2016 only 16. They mainly live from fishing, lace-making and tourism.

history

Looking west

Via Guglielmi

The island has been inhabited since Roman times at the latest. In 1208 she submitted to the city of Perugia . In 1283 a census showed 70 families and around 300 people. At the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, after a low water level caused by a hot and dry climate, the water level rose sharply. The large port facility, consisting of 16 dry stone docks, on the east coast was flooded several meters.

Around 1600 floods repeatedly caused devastation for twelve years; For several years the lower floors of numerous houses on the island and the places by the lake were flooded. In 1602 the lake level was just under 4 meters above its current level.

During the 17th century, Isola Maggiore lost its dominant position in fishing to San Feliciano. This economic crisis led to a sharp decline in the population; In 1630 355 inhabitants lived on the island, in 1681 there were still 181. From the beginning of the 18th to the first decades of the 19th century, the numbers fluctuated between 100 and 150, with the lowest level at the time of the greatest flood. Only a few houses were still inhabited, the upper part of the village was completely deserted. Only around 1850 did the population rise to over 200 thanks to improved living conditions and earning opportunities.

Around the middle of the 20th century, after a flood in 1941, the lake's water level began to drop dramatically until around 1950 the lake looked more like a swamp. The reduced fishing opportunities led to a migration of the population to the surrounding cities. In order to improve their income, many fishermen devoted themselves increasingly to hunting waterfowl; Lake Trasimeno became a destination for national hunting tourism .

Today, besides fishing, tourism is the greatest source of income for the residents of Isola Maggiore.

Attractions

Buon Gesù church at the port

Church "Buon Gesù"

The church stands on Via Guglielmini and was built in the 14th century as an oratory by the lay brotherhood “Confraternita di Santa Maria”. The interior and facade were redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries. The high altar dates from the late Baroque period , the altarpiece was created in 1736 by Anton Maria Garbi from Tuoro , who was active in Perugia and around Lake Trasimeno. The picture "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Saints" on the left side of the nave is by Giacomo Giorgetti from Assisi and was created between 1630 and 1640.

House "Capitano del Popolo"

Next to the church “Buon Gesù” stands the house “Capitano del Popolo” (house of the city master). The Gothic pointed arch windows suggest that it was built in the 14th century. The large clock was installed in the second half of the 18th century. The renovated building now houses the island's historical documentation center. The crucifix on the first floor was made by an artisan from Foligno in the middle of the 15th century; the middle picture "Madonna with Child" is part of a former triptych . It used to be the altarpiece of the church "San Michele Arcangelo" and comes from Sano di Pietro .

"Casa del Capitano" around 1900
The "Casa del Capitano", to the left of it the church "Buon Gesù"
Madonna and Child
crucifix
Embroiderers, around 1905

Museo del Merletto

In the Merletto Museum

The museum for hand-made lace is housed in the former seat of the lay brotherhood “Confraternita di Santa Maria” opposite the pier. Elaborately made crochet work such as blankets, collars, gloves or handkerchiefs, which were made on the island with a very fine needle and wafer-thin cotton threads, will be shown.

Elena Guglielmi, the daughter of Marchese Giacinto Guglielmi, founded a school for hand-made lace at the beginning of the 19th century in order to create income for the women and young girls on the island. A teacher from Turin, a specialist in Irish crochet lace , taught around 30 women in 1907. Even today crocheting women sit in front of their houses on Via Gulielmini and sell their work to tourists.

San Salvatore Church

The Romanesque church stands on a hill in the north of the island. It dates from the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1238. The portal, carved in stone, shows figures and decorations from the second half of the 12th century. The interior has a single nave with a transept and a semicircular apse . Only traces of the paintings on the interior walls have survived.

San Michele Arcangelo Church

At the highest point of the island is the archangel Michael consecrated Gothic church Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo . It is documented for the first time in 1136; the current building dates from the 13th century. The numerous frescoes were created between the end of the 13th and beginning of the 16th century. The painted crucifix is by Bartolomeo Caporali and was built around 1460. The church is still used for weddings.

Location of the church
San Michele Arcangelo Church
Anthony of Padua and Catherine of Alexandria

Villa Isabella

Convent of San Francesco

Statue of Francis of Assisi from 1982

The first biography of St. Francis by Thomas von Celano from 1229 already mentions his stay on Isola Maggiore. In 1211, Francis is said to have spent Lent on the island. A small chapel on the east side and a bronze statue from 1982 remind of this.

The earliest mention of Franciscan friars on the island is from the end of the 13th century. In 1328 the construction of the church and the monastery began; the money for this was donated by the city of Perugia. The church was expanded around 1500. After the dissolution of the religious brotherhoods during the unification of Italy in 1861, the monks left the island.

From the monastery to "Villa Isabella"

In 1865 the buildings of the complex came into the possession of the municipality of Castiglione del Lago . In 1866 Castiglione set up a hospital in the building. In 1875 the island passed to the municipality of Tuoro. In 1883 the Tuoro parish council decided to sell the former Franciscan monastery and church.

In 1887 the Marchese Giacinto Guglielmi from Civitavecchia (1847–1911) bought the monastery for 8,000 lire, in 1891 he bought the 14th century church for 1,000 lire. He had both buildings restored and converted at great expense into a crenellated neo-Gothic castello, which he named after his wife Isabella, a daughter of the Roman margrave Filippo Berardi. Guglielmi was inspired by Archduke Ferdinand Maximilians of Austria at Miramare Castle in Trieste. On October 6th, 1891, the "Villa Isabella" was inaugurated with grandeur.

The luxurious villa with around 200 rooms, a theater, painting collections, Chinese vases, armor, weapons and antique found objects from the region became a meeting place for the elegant world and part of the social life of that era for many years. A small fleet with three paddle steamers, the ferry “Trasimeno” and the motorboat “Bufalo” operated on the lake. After Giacinto Guglielmi's death in January 1911, his son Giorgio, who was also a senator in the Kingdom of Italy, continued his father's work.

Lately

The era of the Guglielmi family, who stayed on the island for the last time in 1941, ended with the Second World War. In 1944, political prisoners were housed in the villa.

The castle remained in the possession of the Guglielmi family until 1975. Between 1960 and 1970 it was abandoned and the interior was removed; it fell apart and degenerated into a picturesque ruin. The building was restored between 2007 and 2009. Today the facility is privately owned and cannot be visited. The asking price in 2012 was 11 million euros. In November 2018, the property was offered for sale for 4.5 million euros.