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PERUGIA - ITALY
Perugia (population 150,000) is a city in the
region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of
the province of Perugia.
Perugia gave its nickname to the famous painter Perugino (Pietro Vannucci),
who lived and worked there. Another famous painter, Pinturicchio, lived in
Perugia.
History
Perugia first appears (as Perusia) in history as one of the twelve
confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the
war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however,
an important part in the rebellion of 295, and was reduced, with Vulsinii
and Arretium (Arezzo), to seek for peace in the following year.
In 216 and 205 it assisted Rome in the Hannibalic war, but afterwards it is
not mentioned until 41-40 BC, when Lucius Antonius took refuge there, and
was reduced by Octavian after a long siege. A number of lead bullets used by
slingers have been found in and around the city (Corpus inscr. lat. xi.
1212). The city was burnt, we are told, with the exception of the temples of
Vulcan and Juno--the massive Etruscan terrace-walls, naturally, can hardly
have suffered at all--and the town, with the territory for a mile round, was
allowed to be occupied by whoever chose. It must have been rebuilt almost at
once, for several bases exist, inscribed Augusta sacr(um) Perusia restituta;
but, as we have seen, it did not become a colony until AD 251-253.
It is hardly mentioned except by the geographers until the middle of the 6th
century, when it was captured by Totila after a long siege. In the Lombard
period it is spoken of as one of the principal cities of Tuscia. In the 9th
century, with the consent of Charles the Great and Louis the Pious, it
passed under the popes; but for many centuries the city continued to
maintain an independent life, warring against many of the neighbouring lands
and cities--Foligno, Assisi, Spoleto, Todi, Montepulciano, etc. It remained
true for the most part to the Guelphs.
On various occasions the popes found asylum within its walls, and it was the
meeting-place of the conclaves which elected Honorius II (1124), Honorius IV
(1285), Celestine V (1294), and Clement V (1305). But Perugia had no mind
simply to subserve the papal interests. At the time of Rienzi's unfortunate
enterprise it sent ten ambassadors to pay him honour; and, when papal
legates sought to coerce it by foreign soldiers, or to exact contributions,
they met with vigorous resistance.
In the 15th century power was at last concentrated in the Baglioni family,
who, though they had no legal position, defied all other authority. Gian
Paolo Baglioni was lured to Rome in 1520 and beheaded by Leo X; and in 1534
Rodolfo, who had slain a papal legate, was defeated by Pier Luigi Farnese,
and the city, captured and plundered by his soldiery, was deprived of its
privileges. A citadel known as the Rocca Paolina, after the name of Pope
Paul III, was begun six years later "ad coercendam Perusinorum audaciam."
In 1797 Perugia was occupied by the French; in 1832, 1838 and 1854 it was
visited by earthquakes; in May 1849 it was seized by the Austrians; and,
after a futile insurrection in 1859, it was finally united, along with the
rest of Umbria, to Piedmont, in 1860.
Attractions
Main attractions
Cathedral (Duomo) S. Lorenzo
Church of San Pietro (late 16th century)
Basilica of San Domenico (begun in 1394)
Church of S. Angelo (6th century)
Church of S. Bernardino (with façade by Duccio)
Fontana Maggiore, a medieval fountain
Galleria Nazionale, the National Gallery of Perugia
Ipogeo dei Volumni (Hypogeum of the Volumnus family), an Etruscan chamber
tomb
National Museum of Umbrian Archaeology
Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo
Palazzo dei Priori (town hall)
Porta Augusta, a Roman gate with Etruscan elements
the Rocca Paolina, a Renaissance fortress
Other attractions
Etruscan walls
medieval aqueduct
The Tribunali
Piazza Matteotti
Teatro Comunale Morlacchi
Church of Sant' Agata
Church of Sant' Ercolano
Church of S. Francesco al Prato
Church of S. Giuliana
Church of S. Matteo in Campo Orto
Church of SS. Stefano e Valentino
Perugia is twinned with Bratislava, Tübingen (Germany), Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Aix-en-Provence, and Seattle, Washington.
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