PERUGIA: caratteri generali e storia della città

PERUGIA: general aspects and the history of the city

Prof.ssa Patrizia Sargentini

I.I.S. “Giordano Bruno” di Perugia

GENERAL ASPECTS

• Elevation: 493 m (1,617 ft)

• Total Population (30 September 2010): 168,066

• Patron saint: St. Constantius, St. Herculanus, St. Lawrence

• PERUGIA is the capital city of Umbria region in the centre of Italy, near the River Tiber. The city is located about 164 kilometres (102 mi) north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area.

The history of Perugia: the past and the present

The history of Perugia goes back to the Osco-Umbri and Etruscan periods.

The city is also known as a university town, with the University of Perugia (about 34,000 students) and the University for Foreigner people (5,000 students).

There are annual festivals and events: the Eurochocolate Festival (October), the Umbria Jazz Festival (July) and the International Journalism Festival (April).

PERUGIA as an important centre of the Italian Art

Perugia is a well-known artistic centre of Italy. The famous painter Pietro Vannucci, nicknamed Perugino, was a native of Città della Pieve near Perugia. He decorated the local Sala del Cambio in the Collegio del Cambio (the Moneychangers’ Guild) with a beautiful series of frescoes, one of the masterpiece of the Renaissance; eight of his pictures can also be admired in the National Gallery of Umbria. Perugino was Raphael’s teacher, the great Renaissance artist who produced five paintings in Perugia (today no longer in the city) and one fresco.

THE CITY SYMBOL: the GRIFFIN

Grifo di Perugia e Leone nel Palazzo dei Priori

Stemma di Perugia

THE CITY SYMBOL: the GRIFFIN

The city symbol is the griffin,

which can be seen in the form of plaques and

statues on buildings around the city.

HISTORY

Perugia was an Umbrian settlement beginning from the 9th century B.C., because the ancient people of Osco-Umbri lived here, but it first appears in written history as Perusia when it became one of the twelve key cities of Etruscan Federation around the 6th century B.C.. Etruscan Perugia, with its massive city walls (IIIth century B.C.) , developed between the two hills of the centre town: the Landone and the Sole hills.

The Etruscan Arch

The Etruscan Arch (IIIth century B.C.) and the San Manno and Volumni Hypogea are eloquent witness to the Etruscan period.

The Roman Age and the barbarian invasions

In the 1th century B.C. the town fell under the Roman rule: in 40 B.C. the city was burnt during the struggle between Octavius and Mark Anthony for the power. It was later restored and rebuilt by the same Octavius (now Augustus Caesar), who named the town “Augusta Perusia” to emphasise his dominion.

In early Christian times the city expanded beyond the Etruscan city walls. In 548 Perugia was almost totally destroyed by Totila, the king of Ostrogoti, a barbarian people.

THE MEDIEVAL AGE

In the 11th and 12th century, when the Byzantine rule ended, the “Free Communes” began.

This led a radical change in urban planning. The town layout assumed his typical star pattern; there was also the building of architectural gems like Palazzo dei Priori and the Fontana Maggiore.

The two city Walls: Etruscan and Medieval

Palazzo dei Priori and Fontana Maggiore

THE MEDIEVAL AGE

In this period there were also administrative changes:

• the development of the circle of the city walls, that doubled in comparison to the Etruscan one;

• the division into the five historical quarters in order to the five medieval Doors (Porte) of the city: Porta Sole, Porta St. Angelo, Porta Eburnea, Porta St. Susanna, and Porta St. Pietro;

• the development of the fortified villages that today still characterize the local landscape.

The medieval age

In this period (1266) the prestigious University of Perugia was also founded and authorized in 1308 by the Pope Clemente V.

Perugia under the rule of the Lordships

Turbolent times followed under the rule of various lords, from Biordo Michelotti to Braccio da Montone.

In 1425 the town fell to Papal rule, though in actual fact it was governed by the crypto-lordship of the Baglioni dynasty.

Perugia under the rule of the Lordships

Houses of the Baglioni family into the Rocca Paolina;

remains from the distruction of the Rocca of Pope Paolo III Farnese

PERUGIA UNDER THE RULE OF THE LORDSHIPS AND OF THE CHURCH

In 1540 there was the “salt war”: the

building of Rocca Paolina marked the

town’s defeat, with the Baglioni

district destroyed and partially

incorporated into the Rocca Paolina.

PERUGIA UNDER THE RULE OF THE LORDSHIPS AND OF THE CHURCH

The Rocca Paolina before the partial distructions of the popular revolts of 1848 and 1859

THE RISORGIMENTOTensions with the Church were constant: in 1859 the town was sacked by the Pope’s army in response to the local people’s revolt that led to the partial destruction of the hated Rocca Paolina.

On November 4th, 1860 Umbria region was annexed to the kingdom of Italy, that was united for the first time at the end of the heroic period of the Risorgimento. The name of the main square of Perugia was dedicated to the memory of this event.