Umbria Travel Guide
What to Visit
Perugia
Perugia is the main city in Umbria and is
located at one and a half hours from Florence
and two hours away from Rome.
Perugia has been strategically built on a hill
that dominates the valleys surrounding it: the
Tiber valley, the Chiascio valley, the Topino
valley and the lake area. The town has very
ancient origins. It seems that it was originally
founded by populations that lived in this
territory before the Umbrian. Ancient Perusia,
as it used to be named, was one of the
twelve most important Etruscan towns. The
external walls and the Etruscan Arc and
various wells are the testimonies of its
glorious past.
Although the Etruscans continuously fought
against the Romans a few years after the Battle
of Sentino (295 BC) the town was completely
under the Roman domination. During the
Middle Ages, Perugia had a very important role
in Italian history because it guaranteed the
continuity of the Byzantine corridor controlling the roads that connected Ravenna to
Rome. Perugia undertook various battles with the
surrounding Longobard territories of Spoleto,
Arezzo and Siena. In this period Perugia reached
its highest development and many historical
buildings and important roads belong to this
period: Priori Palace, Saint Peter's
Church (containing important
frescoes), the Cathedral , The Maggiore
Fountain, Volte road (via delle volte), Corso Vannucci
(the main road of the town).
In year 1306, it also gave birth to one of the
oldest universities in Italy.
In 1553 Perugia went under the domination of
Pope Paul III who built the fortress Rocca
Paolina which can still be visited.
Perugia today is a lively town; it has a famous
university for foreigners and is the centre of
a famous international Jazz festival. In
addition to the monuments already mentioned,
tourists can also visit Saint Angelo Church
built in the V century, the Oratory of Saint
Bernardino, San Domenico Church, the
Collegio di Cambio with frescoes by Perugino,
the magnificent Sala dei Notari, the
Capitano del Popolo palace and the medieval
aqueduct.
Perugia is entirely built on ancient ruins and
new archaeological treasures are continuously
being discovered. Recently, local authorities
have opened a new underground route to visit
these ruins.
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