Sights in Perugia
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Rocca Paolina
A once-massive 16th-century fortress (Palazzo della Provincia) is now known as the Rocca Paolina. Pope Paolo III Farnese built the monstrosity in the 1540s, wiping out entire sections of what had been a wealthy neighbourhood. Now used as the throughway for the scale mobili, you can still see former homes of Perugia’s powerful medieval families, capped with the bricked-over roof of the papal fortress. Its nooks and crannies are now used for art exhibits throughout the year, and the last weekend of the month sees the antiques market held here.
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Cathedral of San Lorenzo
On the north end of Piazza IV Novembre is the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Although a church has been on this land since the 900s, the version you see was begun in 1345 from designs created by Fra Bevignate in 1300. Building of the cathedral continued until 1587, and the doorway was built in the late 1700s; however, the main facade was never completed. Inside you’ll find dramatic Gothic architecture, an altarpiece by Signorelli and sculptures by Duccio. The steps in front of the pink facade are where seemingly all of Perugia congregates.
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Fontana Maggiore
In the very centre of the Piazza IV Novembre stands the Fontana Maggiore. It was designed by Fra Bevignate, and father-son team Nicola and Giovanni Pisano built the fountain between 1275 and 1278. Along the edge are bas-relief statues representing scenes from the Old Testament, the founding of Rome, the 'liberal arts', and a griffin and lion. Look for the griffin all over Perugia - it's the city's symbol.
The lion is the symbol for the Guelphs, the Middle Ages faction that favoured rule by the papacy over rule by the Holy Roman Empire.
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Perugina Chocolate Factory
The trick for independent travellers visiting the Perugina chocolate factory is to either call ahead to arrange a guided tour, or simply latch on to a tour group (conducted in either Italian or English). After visiting the simple museum, you’ll wend your way through an enclosed sky bridge, watching as the white-outfitted Oomp...er, factory workers go about their god-granted talent of creating chocolate. Drive through the gates of the humorously nondescript factory entrance marked Nestlé, or take the bus to San Sisto.
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Ipogeo dei Volumni
About 5km southeast of the city is the Ipogeo dei Volumni, a 2nd century–BC Etruscan burial site. An underground chamber contains a series of recesses holding the funerary urns of the Volumnio family. The surrounding grounds are a massive expanse of partially unearthed burial chambers with several buildings housing artefacts that haven’t been stolen over the years. Take a train or APM bus 3 from Piazza Italia to Ponte San Giovanni and walk west from there. By car, take the Bonanzano exit heading south on the E45.
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Oratorio di San Bernardino
After the canonization in 1450 of St Bernardino of Siena, who visited Perugia many times to preach, the local Franciscan order built a church to commemorate the saint. Designed by the Tuscan Agostino di Duccio in 1461, the Oratorio di San Bernardino is one of the best examples of Perugia's early Renaissance masterpieces. The bas-relief is layered with multicoloured marble, limestone and terracotta angels and musicians. Do check out the exterior polychrome façade.
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Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria
The Palazzo dei Priori houses some of the best museums in Perugia. The foremost art gallery in Umbria is the stunning Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, entered from Corso Vannucci. It’s an art historian’s dream, with 30 rooms of artwork dating back to Byzantine-like art from the 13th century, as well as rooms dedicated to works from hometown heroes Pinturicchio and Perugino.
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Nobile Collegio del Cambio
The Nobile Collegio del Cambio is considered by some as the most beautiful bank in the world. It has three rooms: the Sala dei Legisti (Legist Chamber), with wooden stalls carved by Giampiero Zuccari in the 17th century; the Sala dell’Udienza (Audience Chamber), with frescoes by Perugino; and the Chapel of San Giovanni Battista, painted by a student of Perugino’s, Giannicola di Paolo.
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Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell’Umbria
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell’Umbria will boggle the mind with its collection of Etruscan and prehistoric artefacts – carved funerary urns, coins, Bronze Age statuary – dating back to the 16th century BC. The Cippo Perugino (Perugian Memorial Stone) has the longest Etruscan-language engraving ever found, offering a new window into the language.
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Chiesa di San Pietro
Just past the Porta di San Pietro is the 10th-century Chiesa di San Pietro, entered through a frescoed doorway in the first courtyard. The interior is an incredible mix of gilt and marble and contains a pietà (a painting of the dead Christ supported by the Madonna) by Perugino. Many of the paintings in this church feature depictions of biblical women.
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Museo di Palazzo della Penna
The modern art museum Museo di Palazzo della Penna is as stunning for its palatial surroundings as for its artwork. Frescoes from the 18th and 19th centuries share space with 20th-century futurist Gerardo Dottori and German painter and sculptor Joseph Beuys, a radical ideologist whose artwork transcends social boundaries.
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Chiesa di San Domenico
The city’s largest church is the early-14th-century Chiesa di San Domenico. It has a Romanesque interior, lightened by the immense stained-glass windows, that was replaced by austere Gothic fittings in the 16th century. Pope Benedict XI, who died after eating poisoned figs in 1325, lies buried here.
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Chiesa di Sant’Angelo
Via del Tempio branches off to the Romanesque Chiesa di Sant’Angelo, one of Italy’s oldest churches, dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries. However, the remnants are even older; it’s said to stand on the site of a pagan temple, and several of its inside columns were taken from Roman structures.
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Chiesa di Sant’Agostino
North along Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi is the Chiesa di Sant’Agostino, a church with a beautiful 16th-century choir by sculptor and architect Baccio d’Agnolo. Small signs forlornly mark the places where artworks once hung before they were carried off to France by Napoleon and his men.
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Piazza IV Novembre
The centre of Perugia - and therefore the centre of Umbria - is Piazza IV Novembre. For thousands of years, it was the meeting point for the ancient Etruscan and Roman civilisations. In the medieval period, it was the political centre of Perugia. Now students and tourists gather here to eat gelato.
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Arco Etrusco
At the end of Via Ulisse Rocchi facing Piazza Fortebraccio and the Università per Stranieri are the ancient city gates, the Arco Etrusco dating from the 3rd century BC. The upper part is Roman and bears the inscription 'Augusta Perusia'. The loggia on top dates from the Renaissance.
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Medieval Gardens
Take a stroll or picnic at the Medieval Gardens, entered from behind the Chiesa di San Pietro. During the medieval period, monasteries often created gardens reminiscent of the Garden of Eden and biblical stories, with plants that symbolised myths and sacred stories.
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Sala dei Notari
The Sala dei Notari was built from 1293 to 1297 and is where the nobility met. The arches supporting the vaults are Romanesque, covered with frescoes depicting biblical scenes and Aesop’s fables. To reach the hall, walk up the steps from Piazza IV Novembre.
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Cappella di San Severo
The Cappella di San Severo is decorated with Raphael’s Trinity with Saints (thought by many to be his first fresco) during the artist’s residence in Perugia (1505–08) and frescoes by his teacher Perugino, dating to 1521.
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Pozzo Etrusco
You can venture down into the 3rd century–BC Pozzo Etrusco. The 36m-deep well was the main water reservoir of the Etruscan town, and, more recently, the source of water during WWII bombing raids.
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Cassero di Porta Sant’Angelo
The Cassero di Porta Sant’Angelo has a panoramic view facing back onto Perugia which is the main reason to come out here, plus it offers a historical briefing of the three city walls.
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Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia
The Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia highlights an older audience chamber, from the 13th century, covered in wood panelling by northern craftsmen.
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