Il Territorio del Lago Trasimeno e della Val di Chiana meridionale: i prodotti dell'acqua, della terra , i grandi orizzonti.

The area we are dealing with is not Chianti, not Val d’Orcia, nor the Umbra valley, widely known and touristic areas of central Italy. The territory we are dealing with is what Pietro Vannucci, known as “the Perugino”, an important XVth century painter from Città della Pieve, in Val di Chiana, has set as the background for many of his paintings, with lakes enclosed by hills. These lakes could have been Lake Trasimeno, but also the marsh lakes that occupied the Val di Chiana in the past centuries, of which the Chiusi and Montepulciano lakes remain, after the reclamation carried out by by the Gran Duchy of Tuscany. The territory of Lake Trasimeno and Val di Chiana is mainly hilly with wide horizons delimited to the west by the skyline of Monte Cetona chain and of Monte Amiata, to the south by the antiapennine counterforts of Monte Petrarvella-Pausillo, to the east and north in the crown of hills surrounding Lake Trasimeno. In these areas tourists mostly go to holiday farms and enjoy the countryside in peace, because even in built-up areas, on market days and in the middle of August there is never any confusion. The territory is therefore slowly discovered, often by bike, reaching small historic towns such as Panicale, Castiglione del Lago, Città della Pieve, Montepulciano, Cetona, rich in art and history. In addition to this, we cannot forget the earth products (such as the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, the Colli del Trasimeno DOC and two Slow Food presidia, real rarities, such as Fagiolina del Trasimeno and Aglione della Chiana) and fishery products with exquisite dishes like the Carpa regina in porchetta, the Brustico (with a cooking method that seems to date back to the Etruscans), the latterini, little fishes that are eaten fried in November. From what has been said, it is clear that the food and wine and cultural offer is very rich and particular. It should be noted, however, that in this area of Italy, the geological aspect of the territory and its importance in shaping the landscape, in supplying the materials of historical architecture and in favouring the development of particular types of crops and productive economies, such as traditional fishing has never been considered and used as a tool to diversify and enrich the tourist offer. Just read the information brochures offered by the Tourist Offices and the websites on the territory. And even from the local inhabitants there is a profound ignorance, just remember how many persons think that the lake of Chiusi is of volcanic origin ! A possible explanation of all this can be the absence in the territory of particular geosites, of striking morphologies. Nevertheless we know very well how geology is decisive on many aspects: the type of soils / crops, the presence of lakes, microclimates, the development of towns, the fortifications, the landscape. Teaching how to read the territory, its productive peculiarities, with a new look, that is, in light of the geological substrate (Geoheritage) is a challenge that for many areas has not yet been addressed. How to do? Some suggestions: - educational publications / informative websites (the fact is that we read less and less and in a hurry); - environmental / hiking guides (we believe that the service should be promoted by the tourist offices of the municipalities also for free); - popular conferences on summer nights for tourists and in any case during the year for the local inhabitants Of course we need to be more appealing: inventing titles that attract attention and make use of new geo-navigation technologies that illustrate the evolution of the local landscape, in different historical eras. It is essential and necessary to always interact with the tourist offices of the municipalities, in order to realize an informative product capable to capture the attention of the tourist from a landscape, cultural and geological point of view.