March 2010 Newsletter
Antognolla Golf Course - a corner of Paradise
We recently visited Antognolla Golf Club as guests of the owner, Carlotta Frabboni, who guided us through this beautiful course. We immediately noticed some changes to last year - the original course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior, is maturing to perfection. One of the most famous golf magazines in Italy Il Mondo del Golf (Golfing World) has this to say about Antognolla: "this course is one of the most interesting and spectacular in Italy. Delicate, technical, but not impossible, it is a real 'must' that everyone should experience for themselves". The 18 holes flow one after another with a real fluidity - the course was purposely left sparse of trees to enable a smoother rhythm. This design feature also gives breathtaking views of the valley of the course from holes 8 and 9.
Carlotta kindly drove us around the whole course and showed us the three lovely villas on the estate, all with swimming pools and stunning views of the course and the castle. Every detail of the club from the course itself to the clubhouse bar is professionally managed. The clubhouse is renovated from an old stable and it now houses an atmospheric and typically Umbrian restaurant and bar, where you can enjoy dishes accented with truffles from Norcia and accompanied by local wine.
Antognolla is a real gem of Umbria, for golfers and non-golfers alike.
Trasimeno Lake
Near to the golf course and with a surface area of 128 km², Trasimeno Lake is the fourth largest in Italy, just a little smaller than Lake Como. Due to the size of the lake, it feels more like a small sea and gives a seaside feel to land-locked Umbria. The lake is surrounded by hills rich in olives, and the area is one of stunning beauty with a true Italian atmosphere. Rich in fish such as pike, carp and tench, it is popular with anglers and its shallow depths means that it is ideal for water sports and during the summer there are often water skiiers and wind surfers on the lake.
Trasimeno has three islands, the second largest of which is Isola Maggiore and is the only one that is now inhabited, albeit by only around 30 people. Polvese is the largest of the islands and used to sustain around 500 inhabitants, the decline of the population began in the 17th Century when it was destroyed by Florentine troops and now the island is empty. Due to the shallow waters, malarial mosquitos propered which also had a destructive impact on the population until its eradication in the 1950s. Despite the lake having no outlet, and thus more susceptible to pollution, the water quality is excellent due to the lack of industry and a small population in the area.
The Battle of Trasimene
The Battle of Trasimene has gone down in military history as one of the most successful and largest ambushes. A Roman defeat during the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians (under Hannibal) and the Romans (under Gaius Flaminius), the battle saw the loss of over 15,000 lives. Hannibal ordered his troops to hide around in the forested hills to the north of the lake, as well as this, he posted light infantry at intervals and also lit campfires at a further distance to make the Romans believe they were further away than they were. On the day of the battle, Hannibal's ambush surprised the Romans as he intended and, in less than four hours, the Roman army was annihilated with half of the force either killed or drowned including Flaminius himself, as depicted in Sylvestre's painting (left).