Isola Polvese or Polvese Island is an island situated in the southeastern part of

Lake Trasimeno Lake Trasimeno ( , also ; it, Lago Trasimeno ; la, Trasumennus; ett, Tarśmina), also referred to as Trasimene ( ) or Thrasimene in English, is a lake in the province of Perugia, in the Umbria region of Italy on the border with Tuscany. Th ...

and is the largest of the three islands of the lake. The area is of particular historical and naturalistic interest. Today, the island belongs to the

Province of Perugia The Province of Perugia ( it, Provincia di Perugia) is the larger of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising two-thirds of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Perugia. The province covered al ...

and is known as a Scientific-Didactic Park, which is a part of Trasimeno Regional Park. The island is a part of

Castiglione del Lago Castiglione del Lago is a town in the province of Perugia of Umbria (central Italy), on the southwest corner of Lake Trasimeno. Orvieto is south, Chiusi is to the south west, Arezzo is to the north west, Cortona is to the north and Perugi ...

History

The island was visited by the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

and by

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants submitted to Perugia. During that period, some churches and a castle were erected to protect and defend the little village. Monks of the Benedictine and Dominican orders were present on the island. In 1841, the island became private property and was used as a hunting area. In 1973, the Province of Perugia acquired Polvese Island.

Monuments

Among the most important monuments of the island are the church of Saint Giuliano and Saint Secondo, the Olivetans’ Monastery, and the Medieval Castle. The garden of Aquatic Plants was realized in 1959 by the architect

Pietro Porcinai Pietro Porcinai (Fiesole, Italy 1910– Florence, Italy 1986) is renowned as one of the most outstanding Italian landscape architects of the twentieth century. He designed a wide variety of projects on the most diverse scales: gardens and public p ...

Landscape

In the northern part, a huge oak woodland covers the island with many plant varieties, typical of the Mediterranean area, such as holm and ash trees. In the lower wood

guelder rose ''Viburnum opulus'', the guelder-rose or guelder rose () is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae) native to Europe, northern Africa and central Asia. Description ''Viburnum opulus'' is a deciduous shru ...

, laurel, ilex, and privet can be found. The southern area is covered by a huge olive grove with centuries-old olive trees. The humid area is characterized by an extended reed thicket that grows along from the east to the south. Ornamental plants and trees are present all along the meadows while rosemary hedges and pomegranate characterize the paths and the inner part of the island. The natural environs lodge a rich fauna of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s, especially insects. Among the vertebrates, there are the fox, the

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...

, the hare, the nutria, and a wide variety of birds, especially the ones, that live in humid climates such as

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

s, ducks, and herons.

Activities

The island offers today an example of management according to sustainable criteria. The activities offered by the Environmental Experience Center on the island concern didactic and environmental tourism.

Structures & services

* Great hall and Laboratory * Punto Verde – Information * Environmental Education Operators * Service, Restoration, and Bar * Hotel “La Villa” (55 beds) * Youth Hostel “Fattoria Il Poggio” (90 beds) * Umbria Mobilità – Public Boat Service

External links

The official website of the Polvese Island Centre of Environmental Experience

Fattoria il Poggio Landforms of Umbria Province of Perugia Islands of the Trasimeno Lake Lake islands of Italy Castiglione del Lago {{Umbria-geo-stub