Perugia Italy

Perugia should not be missed by anyone visiting central Italy, especially Umbria or Tuscany. Perugia is quite large by Umbrian standards (about 170,000 inhabitants) and is the home of two well-established Universities. However it is the concentration of Renaissance art and architecture as well as the pleasing ambience that attracts visitors here and provide endless things to see and do. Among the main sights of Perugia are the Fontana Maggiore, which is mediaeval and the Palazzo dei Priori (the town hall, encompassing the Collegio del Cambio, Collegio della Mercanzia, and Galleria Nazionale), which is one of Italy's greatest Renaissance buildings. The Collegio del Cambio has frescoes by Pietro Perugino, while the Collegio della Mercanzia has a fine later 14 C wooden interior. The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the National Gallery of Umbrian art from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance houses outstanding paintings by Duccio, Piero della Francesca, Fra Angelico and Perugino.

The Cathedral of San Lorenzo is the "duomo" and principal church of Perugia, rivalled only by the Basilica of San Domenico. Unlike most cathedrals, the cathedral of Perugia has its side facing the city's main piazza towards the Fontana Maggiore and the Palazzo dei Priori. The Loggia di Braccio, an early Renaissance structure attributed to Fioravante Fioravanti from Bologna and commissioned by Braccio da Montone in 1423, is located on this side. It was formerly part of the Palazzo del Podestà, which burned down in 1534. Under it there is a section of Roman wall and the foundations of the old campanile.