to the west, can be seen. The vegetation includes pines, willows and poplars around the shores, many over 30 m tall. The main towns are Passignano sul Trasimeno, Tuoro, Monte del Lago, Torricella, San Feliciano, San Arcangelo, Castiglione del Lago, and Borghetto. Castiglione del Lago has the longest shore, being on the only significant peninsula of the lake. This may have been an island that was joined to the shore by the Romans. Surrounding the lake are old small towns, and isolated castles, like Zocco castle and a tower near Passignano. Monte del Lago was originally built to control the road from Trasimeno to Perugia. Aviation The local airport, the Eleuteri, near Castiglione del Lago, was once one of the main aviation schools in Italy, with elegant buildings that were destroyed by retreating German troops in the summer of 1944. This airport was once almost as big as Castiglione. The mild climate and perfect visibility still allow the use of this airport for air meetings. A social center exists in the former airport. A major watercourse, the Paganico torrent, separated the airport from the town. Before this airport was constructed, there was a hydroscale in Castiglione del Lago. On the opposite shore, in Passignano, around away, there was an aircraft factory, the SAI Ambrosini. This is now abandoned as an industrial center, but is still used as an association center. It was founded around 80 years ago and the buildings still exist near the Passignano sul Trasimeno railway station. This company made several types of aircraft, designed by eng. Sergio Stefanutti. Aircraft were tested at Eleuteri airport, only few kilometers away from this factory. SAI was involved mainly with Macchi during World War II. Eleuteri was also used as test center for the Ambrosini SS.4, advanced canard aircraft, which crashed in the second flight and the project was abandoned. Communications Trasimeno is relatively far from every major Italian city, the nearest of which is Perugia. The Foligno–Terontola railway was completed in 1866, with the main rail station in Terontola, which has been at the junction with the Florence–Rome railway since 1875. Smaller railway stations are in Passignano and Castiglione del Lago. Because of increased traffic, about 30 years ago a highway was built over the Passignano's road to Perugia. This highway passes near the north and the east shores of Trasimeno and goes to Perugia and Assisi. Many smaller roads,