If you are looking for Castiglione del Lago’s characteristic places, Palazzo Ducale della Corgna is mandatory.

It was built in 1563 by the will of Ascanio di Castiglione – after he was appointed marquis – on a previous palace erected by the Baglioni family at the beginning of the XVI Century.

The della Corgna family initially conceived the palace as a secondary residence, a small mansion for leisure and holidays but – following certain events that caused the family to lose some properties – it became their main dwelling. There are conflicting evidences regarding the name of the architect:

Some sources believe the palace was designed by Vignola, while others ascribe the project to Alessi. The hypothesis of a collaboration is also on the table.

The floor plan has the shape of an upside-down “L” and had a south wing, where the various marquises in the family lived, and a west wing reserved to Cardinal Fulvio, brother of Ascanio. The place has four floors; at the bottom there were the cellars and the stables, the basement housed the kitchen and the food warehouse, while the bedrooms, halls, and audition rooms were on the first and second floor.

Between 1574 and 1590 Niccolò Circignani (known as the Pomarancio) and his painters frescoed eight rooms in the palace. The pieces depicted Ascanio’s heroic gestures, mythological scenes, historical events, all with beautiful and vivid colours.

The visit to the museum begins with the entrance room called Sala di Paride (the Room of Paris); on the vault we can admire the painting il Giudizio di Paride and other mythological figures inside the octagons. Here we also find a representation of the wedding of Diomede della Corgna and Porzia Colonna and some coats of arms. The following room celebrates the achievements of Ascanio, the brave forefather of the della Corgna family; his military and political exploits a depicted on 16 faux tapestries displayed on the walls of the room named after him. Another room depicts the  myth of Phaeton, the son of Apollo who – due to his inexperience – lost control of his father’s Sun Carriot causing many disasters, until Jupiter struck it with a lighting to stop him. The frescoes also portray the phases of the day, Dawn, Midday, Dusk, and Night and the four seasons.

In the Room of the Aeneid another myth is represented, the one of Aeneas, together with images celebrating the good work of marquis Diomede, adoptive son and nephew of Ascanio. This room is the result of the collaboration between Niccolò Circignani and Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi. In the Room of the Gods the most important image depicts Jupiter surrounded by the other gods of the Olympus and the zodiac signs. The Room of the Battle on Lake Trasimeno was the room of Ascanio II and it has some scenes from the battle of Tuoro in 217 BC between Hannibal and the Roman Army. In the old room of Laura della Corgna, sister of Ascanio, there is a painting of the myth of Proserpina; the Room of Pluto and Proserpina is a homage to Laura through the image of the fertility of the crater, as an appreciation for giving birth to Diomede, heir of the della Corgia dynasty. In the Room of Caesar we can admire a beautiful representation of the glorious life and tragic ending of the Roman Emperor. These frescoes were painted between 1589 and 1590 by Savini.

You cal also enjoy many more beautiful frescoes in the rest of the Palace, in the rooms that once were used to host events; they are Sala del Mondo alla Rovescia (the Room of the Upside-Down World), Sala delle Arti (Room of the arts), and Sala della Metamorfosi (the Metamorphosis Room) which are now part of the City Library.

From the Room of Caesar, we can stroll on the covered walkway built by the della Corgna family up to the Medieval Fortress.

Palazzo Ducale della Corgna is also famous for having hosted celebrities such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci. Artists and scholars of all sorts were regular guests under Diomede I, including the writer and poet Cesare Caporali who used to spend lots of time with the della Corgna family; his work The Gardens of Mecenate, celebrates the beauty of the residence and its magnificent gardens.

Palazzo Ducale della Corgna belongs to the City since 1870 and it was recently restored.

The Abbey of San Cristoforo, also known as Badia San Cristoforo, is a Benedictine church dating back to the yet 1000, raising on a land that originally was about 100 hectares large. The year of construction could not be precisely determined, but the first document attesting its existence dates back to 997 A.D. Moreover, a portion of the wall structure was realised in ashlar masonry, a technique used during that period.

Emperor Otto III donated the Castiglione del Lago territory to Ugo di Toscana, a marquis who founded the Abbey of San Gennaro of Campoleone. The emperors who ruled over the region at the time – including Fredrick I called Barbarossa (red beard) – renewed the donation of the land on which the church was built.  The Benedictine Monks reclaimed the surrounding territories and started growing crops. The civil and religious life of the village developed around the Villa of S. Cristoforo. in 1260 the church fell under the Sovereign Reign of Malta, as evidenced in a document by Pope Alexander IV. Fire-branded coat of arms depicting the symbol of the Order were found on some of the oak planks on a frame.

In 1694 the church of San Cristoforo was closed by Cavaliere Vagnucci, who wanted a trusted priest, don Luca de Fundactis, to celebrate religious services instead of don Francesco Caroccio, a priest appointed by the Bishop Muti. Although, later that year, the church was open to the public again.

The current aspect of the church is different from the original, since it was partially demolished and rebuilt in 1858, for mostly unknown reasons.

The fact that the current church is basically the same size as the previous one, dismisses the hypothesis that it was demolished to make room for a larger structure designed to greet a larger number of believers and adds even more mystery about the reason behind such decision. The building was originally composed of three apses – as evidenced by a floor plan found in 1969 – and was modified as a single-apse structure. Also the original trusses were replaced by vaults and in 1733 it was described as a church with five altars and various pieces of sacred furniture, completely overturning its original design. From the outside, the only visible original part of the church is on the left of the apse, on both sides of the sacristy. This portion was realised using the ruins of a temple built with large ashlars. On the left side of the parsonage we find the ruins of an old press and a small arched door. The bell tower was built in 1901 – 1902 and realised Giuseppe Capecchi and Oreste Ceccarelli.

Internally the church shows a rectangular plan with a sole nave; behind the altar, the semi-circular apse that replaced the original structure can be seen.

The travertine Presbytery is placed on a platform.

A marble tablet reading “1944-1948” commemorates the period when the church suffered relevant structural damages and lost some canvases as a consequence of the Second World War.

The Abbey of San Cristoforo is located on a hill offering a beautiful view point over Castiglione del Lago and Lake Trasimeno.

The Medieval Fortress, also known as Rocca del Leone or Rocca Medievale, is one of the most relevant monuments in Castiglione del Lago. For centuries this city wall represented the most important strategic point in the area. From here, it was possible to monitor the neighbouring territories of Trasimeno and Chiugi to counter external attacks.

Rocca del Leone was built by Fredrick II in 1247. Based on the ancient ruins on the wall, it is assumed that a former Etruscan Acropolis used to be there; it was destroyed and rebuilt by Friar Elia da Cortona, an important architect and personality of the time.

The fortress is shaped as an irregular pentagon with a tower at each corner. The fortified tower is triangular and 39 metres (128 feet) tall. There are also two round towers – built in the XV and XVI Century – that replaced the original ones to improve resistance against cannon attacks. The walls have Guelph-style battlements. Later, another section of wall stretching from the Palace to the fortified tower was built. Access to the palace was provided by wooden stairs which could be removed in case of attack.

This second portion of wall was erected to improve protection to the structure and the village, but unfortunately only a few ruins survived to this day.

Thanks to its layout and numerous improvements, the Rocca was considered one of the most impenetrable fortresses of XVI Century Europe. It was built to be part of the central defensive system which stretched out from Puglia to Northern Italy, crossing the whole peninsula.

The remains of a small pre-Christian church – erected in honour of Saint Philip and Saint Jack under Byzantine rule – were found inside the fortress. The church was later used as the fortress’ chapel.

The Rocca can only be accessed from the Palace of the della Corgna family, via a walkway built by the marquises in order to facilitate transfers in case of attack. The walkway was covered at the beginning of the XVII Century and equipped with defensive loopholes.

The reason why the fortress was called Rocca del Leone is uncertain; it is possible that its original name Castello del Leone (the Castle of the Lion, which was repeatedly destroyed throughout the centuries also by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV) later became the name of the village, Castillonem and finally Castiglione (del Lago).

At beginning of the XVI Century the fortress was owned by the Baglioni family, who expanded it, and later by the Della Corgna family, when the village became a Marquisate. In 1554 Ascanio I realised the beautiful Italian Gardens inside the walls, also praised by Cesare Caporali in his work The Gardens of Mecenate.  Ascanio I falso built the Doge’s Palace inside the fortress.

After the death of the last member of the della Corgna family, Fulvio II, in 1647, the poperty was administered by the Apostolic Camera. It was municipalised in 1860.

Currently the Medieval Fortress of Castiglione del Lago is used as an amphitheatres and is almost entirely visitable.