Exhibition at the Trasimeno Fishing Museum with traditional tools, nets and display panels.
View on map

The Museum of Fishing and Lake Trasimeno

The charming village of San Feliciano, located on the shores of Lake Trasimeno, is home to an important exhibition space dedicated to the secrets of Lake Trasimeno and the activities connected to it. Since 1997, the museum has occupied the building that once housed the Consortium for Fishing and Aquaculture of Lake Trasimeno.

The foundation of the Museum of Fishing and Lake Trasimeno lies in the vast and rich heritage of knowledge collected over decades of research by numerous scholars involved in a project by the University of Perugia. With crucial contributions from local communities, this project explored the "culture of water": the language, history, and daily life of the communities settled along the lake’s shores.

The museum narrates, first and foremost, the origin and transformation of Lake Trasimeno, dating back around 1.7 million years, when tectonic movements created a depression in the ground that gradually filled with water. It also aims to provide an overview of the region’s historical events and the lifestyle of its lakeside population through the history of fishing—a productive activity that, for centuries, was the primary resource for the communities settled along its shores.

The exhibition unfolds across four large rooms, each named after a different time of day that marks the fisherman’s working cycle: dawn, midday, afternoon, and evening.

Prehistoric Venuses, fishing lures, and net weights: testimonies of lake life through the ages

Among the fascinating artifacts on display is a precious plaster replica of the so-called "Venus of Trasimeno", one of many prehistoric female anthropomorphic statuettes. The collection also includes stone fishing lures and terracotta weights from the Etruscan-Roman period used for gillnets and trawling nets, as well as drawings, watercolors, and accounts of various fishing techniques. These include the gorro, performed with a large trawl net, and information on the processing of marsh plants, once used to make nets, baskets, and fishing ropes.

Equally fascinating is the newly introduced section on birdlife (avifauna), one of the lake’s great natural treasures, presenting both naturalistic and cultural aspects along with a rare collection of stuffed aquatic birds.

Along the exhibition route, visitors will find five aquariums hosting some of the fish species featured in the museum, including bleak, rudd, tench, pumpkinseed, perch, rainbow trout, and common carp.

The exhibition ends with a section dedicated to contemporary fishing, including a bulletin from the Trasimeno Fishermen’s Cooperative, based in San Feliciano. This section highlights new developments in fish processing and marketing, as well as collaborations with similar organisations active in other Italian lakes.

Exhibition at the Trasimeno Fishing Museum with traditional tools, nets and display panels.

Ph. Sara Mattaioli

Display at the Trasimeno Fishing Museum with woven baskets, traditional tools and information panels.

Ph. Gentiana Laurasi

Section of the Trasimeno Fishing Museum dedicated to hemp processing with vintage photos and displayed tools.

Ph. Sara Mattaioli

Exhibition panels and traditional tools at the Trasimeno Fishing Museum, with showcases on fishing techniques.

Ph. Gentiana Laurasi

The lake’s waters: a delicate balance between exploitation and protection of resources

From the evidence of finds and records, two major events shaped the history of the lake: the Christianization and the construction of the 15th-century feeder stream. The advent of the Christian era led to a greater demand for fish during the winter period due to Lent: this led to the evolution of fishing techniques, which also came to include fixed-position systems. The construction of the feeder stream, on the other hand, reduced flooding, therefore improving living and working conditions for lakeside communities.

Another interesting aspect that emerges from the documentation is the essential balance between resource exploitation and protection of the lake’s resources: this was maintained from the communal age until around the 17th century. From the 18th century onward, however, the idea of instrumental exploitation began to spread, culminating in the 19th century when landowners started to view the lake as land to conquer and water to irrigate fields, thereby neglecting professional fishing activities. This shift had serious consequences: water levels dropped significantly, causing damage to the lake environment and to the livelihoods of fishermen.

A multimedia “boat” as a space as a meeting and learning space

The museum complex includes a video and multimedia room shaped like a traditional fishing boat, where the wooden planks turn into seating, creating a unique space for meetings and screenings. There is also a learning room for educational workshops with schools; exhibition rooms that, in addition to the museum’s permanent sections, periodically host rotating historical-documentary exhibitions on specific moments in the history of the lake and fishing; a themed bookshop where visitors can purchase publications related to studies carried out on various aspects of Lake Trasimeno, and a specialised library and photo archive.

Useful information

Via Lungolago della Pace e del Lavoro, 20 – 06060 San Feliciano (Magione – PG), Italy
Phone: +39 075 8479261
Email: magione@sistemamuseo.it
Website: www.magionecultura.it

Explore the surroundings
Main attractions in the vicinity