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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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Cappella di San Severo
Stop at the Cappella di San Severo, 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 pupil, Perugino dating to 1521. You can buy a combined ticket (valid for one week) called the Perugia City Museum Circuit that also includes the Pozzo Etrusco and the Cassero di Porta Sant'Angelo.
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Cassero di Porta Sant'Angelo
The Cassero di Porta Sant'Angelo has a panoramic view facing back on to Perugia and this view is the main reason to come out here, plus it offers a historical briefing of the three city walls. You can buy a combined ticket (valid for one week) called the Perugia City Museum Circuit that also includes the Pozzo Etrusco and the Cappella di San Severo .
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Cathedral of San Lorenzo
On the north end of the 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 façade was never completed.
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Chiesa di San Domenico
The city's largest church is the Chiesa di San Domenico , originally built in 1304, not finished until 1458, and then rebuilt in the 17th century. Part of its interior cloisters date back to a former Romanesque church, but its enormous stained glass windows arrived in the Gothic period. Legend has it that Pope Benedict XI, who lies buried here, died suddenly in Perugia in 1304 after eating figs poisoned by his nemesis.
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Chiesa di San Pietro
The 10th-century Chiesa di San Pietro, entered through a frescoed doorway in the first courtyard, is an incredible mix of gilt and marble and contains a pietà (a sculpture, drawing or 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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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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Chiesa di Sant'Angelo
The Romanesque Chiesa di Sant'Angelo, one of Italy's oldest churches, dates back to the 5th and 6th centuries. The remnants are even older, however; 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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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.
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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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Medieval Gardens
Take a stroll or picnic at the Medieval Gardens. 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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Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria , housed in the convent adjoining the Chiesa di San Domenico, 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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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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Nobile Collegio del Cambio
The Nobile Collegio del Cambio - also in the Palazzo dei Priori - is considered by some to be 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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Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia
The Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia highlights an audience chamber that is older than the Sala dell'Udienza in the Nobile Collegio del Cambio and includes frescoes by Peruginoolder from the 13th century. It is covered in wood panelling by northern craftsmen.
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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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Perugina Chocolate Factory
Get in touch with your inner Willy Wonka at the Perugina Chocolate Factory. Granted, you'll learn more than you'd ever need to know about the business practices of a chocolate company, but you get as many free samples as you could ever possibly ingest at once, and there's a shop filled with all sorts of chocolate goodies.
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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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Pozzo Etrusco
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. You can buy a combined ticket (valid for one week) called the Perugia City Museum Circuit that also includes the Cappella di San Severo and the Cassero di Porta Sant'Angelo.
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Rocca Paolina
The Rocca Paolina was a once-massive 16th-century fortress. 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.
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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 the Piazza IV Novembre.
Showing 1-21 of 21 results
