Castiglione del Lago

History

Castiglione del Lago stands on a hill that in antiquity formed the fourth island of Lake Trasimeno, before the strip of water separating it from the mainland was filled in.

In the 6th century BC, Etruscans from nearby Clusium settled the area. The site was known as Clusium Novum. Its position on a borderland made it a frequent setting for conflict: first fighting between Etruscans and Romans, and later between Tuscan towns and Perugia. Over time its defensive works were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt.

A settlement of notable importance developed here, as evidenced by a large necropolis in the Vaiano district and another burial ground discovered near Villa Strada, at a place called the Comunaglie di Cimbano, where tombs yielded vases, weapons, bronzes, sarcophagi and other objects of Etruscan art.

In the early Middle Ages, Lake Trasimeno marked the boundary between Lombards and Byzantines. The Byzantines built a large church on the former Etruscan acropolis, dedicating it to Saints James and Philip.

In 996 Otto III ceded it to Hugh, Margrave of Tuscany. According to other accounts, Otto III made Castiglione a fief of the Monks of Saint Januarius of Campolona. After 1000 the settlement was fortified several times in order to control the road leading from Rome and Orvieto toward Arezzo and Florence. Around this time, the town's name evolved from Castiglione Chiusino to Castiglione del Lago.

In 1091 Henry IV destroyed and burned it. In 1187, by grant made by Abbot Hugh, the Perugians obtained it, though they had to reconquer it because the local population resented the transfer. In 1212 Pope Innocent III confirmed it to Perugia. Even so, it was often contested by Cortona, Orvieto, and Arezzo; it also became involved with Orvieto once Orvieto obtained lordship over Chiusi, in whose diocese Castiglione del Lago was included.

In the mid-13th century, Emperor Frederick II built the large walls that encircle the older urban core. …