Via Belvedere Excavations
The Via Belvedere site, located on the south slope of the Castiglione del Lago promontory, preserves both Etruscan and Roman structures overlooking Lago Trasimeno. The Roman presence on the slope was known from the visible remains of an arched terrace wall on the lower part of the slope, perpendicular to which is an enclosed channel designed to drain water from higher up on the slope. Despite this visible evidence of ancient activity on the promontory, no systematic excavation had occurred on the site until the TRAP team began digging in 2023.
At the end of the 2025 season, the team had confirmed that the slope was originally occupied in the Etruscan period, most likely as a sanctuary site. The Etruscan structures were destroyed by fire in the 2nd century BC. Although there is no activity on this section of the slope until the Roman imperial period, there are burials to the east that date to the Hellenistic period. In the late 1st or early 2nd century AD, the Romans redevelop the lower part of the slope by installing two massive terrace walls between which there is a monumental fountain house and bath complex. Like the earlier Etruscan structures, this complex likely had a sacred function associated with the lake as well as the display and control of fresh water.
In the late Antique or early Medieval period, the Roman structures are reused as a kiln site for making quicklime.
N.B. Excavations at the Via Belvedere site are ongoing. Please check back for future updates.
The ancient remains at the Via Belvedere site were preserved due to the construction, in the late 1700s, of modern terraces to support an olive grove. In some areas the fill is up to two meters deep. The lower Roman terrace wall, with the arches, is visible in the lower right of this drone photo. Fifteen meters to the north (ca. 50 Roman feet) is a second massive Roman terrace wall that doubles as the back wall of the bath complex and fountain house. The Etruscan remains, further to the north, were completely buried by the modern terracing.
The Etruscan Period
Evidence for the Etruscan presence on the south slope of Castiglione del Lago includes a monumental cobble road, the foundations of a large structure, and pottery. The cobble road extends from the southwest towards the northeast and appears to be a type of processional way, guiding visitors arriving from the south towards to the top of the promontory. The surface of the road is paved with selciato cobbles, a hard stone similar to basalt that is not local to Trasimeno. There are more regular blocks along the north and south sides of the road creating a well-defined edge; the road is 4 meters wide. The materials and design of the road indicate significant effort and expense was devoted to its construction.
The wall to the north of the cobble road is constructed of large limestone blocks cut smooth on the exterior face but otherwise unworked. The blocks are laid without mortar and the superstructure would have been constructed with unfired mudbricks. The foundations are 80 cm wide, substantial enough to support a double story building. Only a portion of the structure has been excavated, so its specific function is not yet known. The building was destroyed by fire as indicated by the collapsed roof tiles and mudbricks (preserved because of the fire) uncovered between the wall and the road. It appears that this area of the site was then abandoned. Pottery recovered from the sediment just above the road do not appear to date any later than the 2nd century BC. In other words, there is no evidence of Roman activity on the upper part of the slope after the destruction of the Etruscan structure. On the other hand, pottery from the fill just to the north of the wall includes some fine examples of Etruscan bucchero. The pottery is still being studied but may be as early as the 6th century BC. All the evidence points towards the presence of a lost Etruscan sanctuary.
The Roman Period
After the destruction of the Etruscan building, the site appears to have been abandoned for nearly two centuries. Around AD 100, the Romans reconfigured the slope to support a monumental fountain house and bath complex. This project included the construction of the two massive terrace walls to created a wide and flat area for the structures. The terrace walls are aligned with the Etruscan road and the upper Roman wall backs up against and is cemented into the southern edge of the road. This suggests that the Romans were aware of the previous Etruscan use of the slope but chose not to reuse the Etruscan features.
The Roman structures are designed to control and display water. In the hemispherical fountain house (to the northwest in the plan) has a waterproof basin with an inlet pipe at the bottom and appears to have collected water from an underground spring (below the olive tree in the image on the right). Water collected in the basin then fed a large pool in the room to the east (Room A on the plan). Other spaces in the complex may have served as the hot and warm rooms of the bath. The spaces above the lower terrace wall appear to be service areas that would have supported the activities in the bath complex. On the east side of the complex, a covered water channel provided drainage from the upper part of the slope.
The scale of these features suggest that this was a monumental public structure, likely a water sanctuary that took advantage of the promontory’s position overlooking lake as well as the presence of fresh water from an artesian spring. The Roman remains at Via Belvedere recall other Roman water sanctuaries situated on lake shores, for example, the well-known sanctuary of Artemis on Lake Nemi.
Post-Roman to Medieval Activity
The Roman complex was abandoned in the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. At some point, several rooms in the complex were reused as kilns and a kiln was built inside of Room A by using Roman tiles from the hypocaust of the bath. These kilns were used to produce quicklime in a process that starts by lining the area with charcoal, filling it with chipped limestone, and letting everything burn until an ashy powder remains. The powder can then be reconstituted with water to create concrete. The extensive production of quicklime on the slope of Castiglione del Lago probably supported the construction of the Medieval city walls in the 12th century.
The image to the left, from Room B, shows a cross-section of kiln remains from the production of quicklime. The white, concrete layer at the top is the result of quicklime that was produced but never used. Over time it rehardened and, from above, gives the appearance of a thick layer of mortar,. Below the quicklime is a layer of limestone chips that are only partially burned and below that is visible the charcoal that was used to light the kiln.
In the 1700s, after the area had been abandoned for a long period of time, the slope was reterraced, using the alignment established by the Etruscans and the Romans, in order to plant an olive grove.
Excavations at the Via Belvedere site are ongoing. Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates from the current season.
TRAP 