PERUGIA: caratteri generali e storia della città

1. PERUGIA: caratteri generali e storia della città PERUGIA: generalaspects and the historyof the city Prof.ssa Patrizia Sargentini I.I.S. “Giordano Bruno” di Perugia

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. PERUGIA as an important centre of the Italian Art Perugia is a well-known artistic centre of Italy. The famous painter PietroVannucci, nicknamed Perugino, was a native of CittàdellaPieve near Perugia. He decorated the local Sala del Cambioin 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.

5. THE CITY SYMBOL: the GRIFFIN Grifo di Perugia e Leone nel Palazzo dei Priori Stemma di Perugia

6. 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.

7. 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 Federationaround 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.

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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. The two city Walls: Etruscan and Medieval

12. Palazzo dei Priori and Fontana Maggiore

13. 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, PortaEburnea, Porta St. Susanna, and Porta St. Pietro; • the development of the fortified villages that today still characterize the local landscape.

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

15. Perugia under the ruleof 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.

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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

19. THE RISORGIMENTO Tensions 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 RoccaPaolina. 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.