is the capital
City in the region of
Umbria in central
Italy , near the
Tiber river, and the capital of the
Province Of Perugia .
Perugia gave its nickname to the famous painter
Perugino (Pietro Vannucci), who lived and worked there. Another famous painter,
Pinturicchio , lived in Perugia.
Perugia first appears (as ''
Perusia '') in history as one of the twelve confederate cities of
Etruria . It is first mentioned in the account of the war of
310 or
309 BC between the
Etruscans and the
Romans . It took, however, an important part in the rebellion of 295, and was reduced, with Vulsinii and Arretium (
Arezzo ), to seek for peace in the following year.
In
216 and
205 it assisted Rome in the Hannibalic war, but afterwards it is not mentioned until 41-40 BC, when
Lucius Antonius took refuge there, and was reduced by
Octavian after a long siege. A number of lead bullets used by slingers have been found in and around the city (''Corpus inscr. lat.'' xi. 1212). The city was burnt, we are told, with the exception of the temples of
Vulcan and
Juno --the massive Etruscan terrace-walls, naturally, can hardly have suffered at all--and the town, with the territory for a mile round, was allowed to be occupied by whoever chose. It must have been rebuilt almost at once, for several bases exist, inscribed ''Augusta sacr(um) Perusia restituta''; but, as we have seen, it did not become a colony until AD 251-253.
It is hardly mentioned except by the geographers until the middle of the
6th Century , when it was captured by
Totila after a long siege. In the
Lombard period it is spoken of as one of the principal cities of
Tuscia . In the
9th Century , with the consent of
Charles The Great and
Louis The Pious , it passed under the popes; but for many centuries the city continued to maintain an independent life, warring against many of the neighbouring lands and cities--
Foligno ,
Assisi ,
Spoleto ,
Todi ,
Siena ,
Arezzo , etc. It remained true for the most part to the
Guelphs .
On various occasions the popes found asylum within its walls, and it was the meeting-place of the
Conclaves which elected
Honorius II (1124),
Honorius IV (1285),
Celestine V (1294), and
Clement V (1305). But Perugia had no mind simply to subserve the papal interests. At the time of
Rienzi 's unfortunate enterprise it sent ten ambassadors to pay him honour; and, when papal legates sought to coerce it by foreign soldiers, or to exact contributions, they met with vigorous resistance.
In the
15th Century power was at last concentrated in the Baglioni family, who, though they had no legal position, defied all other authority.
Gian Paolo Baglioni was lured to Rome in
1520 and beheaded by
Leo X ; and in 1540 Rodolfo, who had slain a papal legate, was defeated by
Pier Luigi Farnese , and the city, captured and plundered by his soldiery, was deprived of its privileges. A citadel known as the
Rocca Paolina , after the name of
Pope Paul III , was built "''ad coercendam Perusinorum audaciam''."
In
1797 , the city was conquered by French troops. On
4 February 1798 , the ''Tiberina Republic'' was formed, with Perugia as capital, and the French
Tricolour as flag. In
1799 , the Tiberina Republic merged to the
Roman Republic .
In
1832 ,
1838 ,
1854 and
1997 Perugia was visited by earthquakes; in May
1849 it was seized by the Austrians; and, after a futile insurrection in the June of
1859 , bloodily defeated by
Pius IX's troops, it was finally united, along with the rest of
Umbria , to
Piedmont , in
1860 .
Perugia has become famous for
Chocolate , mostly because of a single firm,
Perugina , whose
Baci (kisses) are widely exported. Perugia chocolate is very popular in Italy, and the city hosts a chocolate festival in October of every year.
Perugia today hosts two universities, and is a melting pot for students from all over Italy and all over the world.
The city symbol is the
Griffin , which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city.
- The
- Collegio del Cambio (Frescoes by Pietro Perugino )
- Collegio della Mercanzia (late fourteenth century wooden interior)
- Palazzo dei Priori (town hall, encompasing the Collegio del Cambio, Collegio della Mercanzia, and Galleria Nazionale)
- Church and abbey of (late 16th Century ).
- Basilica of (begun in 1394 and finished in 1458 ). It is located in the place where, in Middle Ages times, the market and the horse fair were held, and where the Dominicans settled in 1234 . According to Vasari , the church was designed by Giovanni Pisano . The interior decorations were redesigned by Carlo Maderno , while the massive belfry was partially cut around mid-16th century. It houses examples of Umbrian art, including the precious tomb of Pope Benedict XI and a Renaissance wooden choir.
- Church of (6th century)
- Church of (with façade by Agostino Di Duccio )
- Fontana Maggiore, a medieval fountain designed by Fra Bevignate and sculpted by Nicolò and Giovanni Pisano
- Galleria Nazionale Dell'Umbria , the National Gallery of Umbrian art in Middle Ages and Renaissance (it includes works by Duccio, Piero Della Francesca , Fra Angelico , Perugino )
- Ipogeo dei Volumni (Hypogeum of the Volumnus family), an Etruscan chamber tomb
- National Museum of Umbrian Archaeology
- Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo
- Porta Augusta, a Roman gate with Etruscan elements
- the , a Renaissance fortress (1540-1543) of which only a bastion today is remaining. The original design was by Antonio and Aristotile da Sangallo, and included the '''Porta Marzia''' (3rd century BC), the tower of Gentile Baglion 's house and a mediaeval pit.
- The
- The
- Medieval aqueduct
- The Tribunali
- Piazza Matteotti
- Teatro Comunale Morlacchi
- Church of
- Church of (early 14th century). Currently resempling a polygonal tower, it had once two floors. The upper one was demolished when the Rocca Paolina was built. It includes Baroque decorations commissioned from 1607 . The main altar is made by a 4th sarcophagus found in 1609 .
- Church of
- Church of S. Francesco al Prato
- Church of , heir of a female monastery founded in 1253 , which in its later years gained a fame of dissoluteness, until the French turned it into a granary. It is now a military hospital. The church, with a single nave, has traces of the ancient frescoes, which probably covered all the walls (13th century). The loister is a noteworthy example of Cistercense architecture of the mid-14th century, attributed to Matteo Gattapone . This is contemporay to the upper part of the belfry, whose base is from the 13th century.
- Church of (5th-6th centuries). It is an example of Palaeo-Christian art with central plant recalling that of Santo Stefano Rotondo in Rome . It has 16 antique columns.
- Church of S. Matteo in Campo Orto
- Church of SS. Stefano e Valentino
