During this summer’s Taste of Umbria program, students had the opportunity to visit Lake Trasimeno for lunch. This gorgeous landscape of blue water enclosed by hills is the largest lake in Umbria, and the fourth largest lake in Italy.
Every August, one of the hill towns around Lake Trasimeno—Castel Rigone—holds the Festa dei Barbari, or the Festival of the Barbarians. This festival celebrates the founding of Castel Rigone in 543 AD, when Romans and Ostrogoths battled for control of the region and Ostrogoth Lieutenant Rigo established a base in what would become Castel Rigone.
The Festa dei Barbari involves a reenactment of the battle—on the town’s soccer field—between the Romans and Ostrogoths. Citizens of the small town dress up as one of the two sides, and the Romans always lose. After the “battle,” everyone gathers together for a massive feast of roasted meat and wine.
