perugia 770x162

Perugia, the art in a “kiss”

Perugia: Medieval and Etruscan, in the green of the Tiber’s valley near lake Trasimeno, clinging against a hill and following its shape and its long ridge.

 This town keeps the magic and the pace of life of a fortified old village and it stands out from the top of its forty-fifty meters looking out on a crossing of valleys thus offering its visitors different views; the historical centre looks like the terraces of a theatre where modern expansions have been added. The Etruscan walls contain a monumental centre made of Piazza IV Novembre where the cathedral, the fontana Maggiore and Palazzo dei Priori are merged as in a game of asymmetric shapes and alternation of volumes with a fountain, dating back to the XIIIth century – that has become an .

Actually, in Perugia water is as important as stones; just think about the Etruscan wells among which the Etruscan Well stands out. It is an amazing work of hydraulic engineering that proves the high level of technical knowledge and civilization that the peoples that settled in that area already had three hundreds years before Christ. Maybe its construction goes back to the IVth or the IIIrd century D.C. but although the date is not certain there are no doubts about its dimensions: thirty-six meters of depth and a diameter bigger than five meters. You can get along the well thanks to a system of stairs that enable to reach the deepest point.

Past and present are perfectly melted in the Rocca Paolina too, a fortress built between 1540 and 1543 by the will of the pope Paul III born Farnese. Inside the fortress, the Museums Service Centre meets all visitors’ curiosities enabling them to gather information about an art heritage that is widespread in the town and in the surrounding area. The underground area of the fortress is really interesting: a magic setting, a sort of town within the town where a number of cultural events are held. And the National Gallery of Umbria is a great cultural heritage too featuring works of art from the XIIIth century to the XIXth, displayed according to a comprehensive chronological order.

The sacred soul of the town is represented by the Oratory of San Bernardino, the most important monument of Perugia dating back to the Renaissance, with a polychrome front designed by Agostino di Duccio who made use of a combination of different materials thus creating a symphony of colours and an amazing light effect. Travellers can finish their visit in a sweet way by visiting the Historical Museum of Perugia that involves all the senses where the protagonist is the famous Italian chocolate, the “Kiss from Perugia”: born in the twenties, it is a tasty symbol of feelings and emotions.

Luciana Francesca Rebonato

Web content manager
All Rights Reserved

Perhaps you can be interested in...:

▶ destination Italy
▶ Italy of art cities
▶ italian dream
▶ Italy of regions
▶ studying italian