We are in Umbria, more precisely in its capital, Perugia.
If this is your first time visiting this city, be warned, you may be confused. Or astounded. Or amazed. Or all of the above. What is special about Perugia is that, having passed through the hands of numerous settlements; it now offers as many historical artefacts.
The Etruscans leave us the Etruscan Arch, the Etruscan Well, the Hypogeum of the Volumni.
From Roman times we can see the columns of the Temple of Sant’Angelo, Perugia’s oldest early Christian church, dating back to the 5th century AD.
The bronze statue of Emperor Germanicus, kept at the National Archaeological Museum. The statue has been missing from Perugia for several years, due to a stalemate between the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage of Umbria and the city of Amelia, where the statue was found and where it is now officially on loan at the Museo Civico.
The emblem of papal power over Perugia is the Rocca Paolina. Today, all that remains of what it originally was is the basement of the Papal Palace, now used as a pedestrian path, also equipped with escalators.
Absolutely not to be missed is the beating heart of the city, Piazza IV Novembre with the Fontana Maggiore. This is overlooked by the Palazzo dei Priori and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, sit on the steps and watch the street performers.
Art lovers, on the other hand, should stop at the National Gallery of Umbria because it houses treasures by Mantegna, Pinturicchio, Beato Angelico and many other historically important artists;
Among the most visited sights is certainly the Perugia Aqueduct, a grandiose medieval engineering work that, thanks to the principle of communicating vessels, was able to carry water upwards. You will admire Perugia from another point of view, the climb is rather long but well worth it!
Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello wrote “…everywhere in Italy people spoke of this extraordinary city where the water goes uphill.”
And to end on a high note, dulcis in fundo, a visit to the Casa del Cioccolato Perugina is a must; it houses the museum that traces the history of the ‘food of the gods’.
Here I leave you the links to some of our tours that pass through enchanting Perugia: Fascinating ancient civilizations: Etruscans and Romans