The medieval drawing room of the city
On top of a hill dominating the Tiber valley, Perugia, the capital of Umbria, is an Etruscan, medieval and university city, with a lively historic centre of steep streets, stairways, arches and palaces, enlivened by the students of its two universities, including the University for Foreigners. Its heart is Piazza IV Novembre, one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Italy, between the cathedral and the Palazzo dei Priori, at the end of Corso Vannucci, the elegant main street, where the Perugians and visitors stroll in the evening.
In the centre of the square stands the Fontana Maggiore, the symbol of the city and one of the masterpieces of medieval sculpture, built between 1275 and 1278 by the friar Bevignate and the great sculptors Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, father and son, to celebrate the arrival of water in the city with a new aqueduct. It consists of two polygonal marble basins, one above the other, topped by a bronze basin, and is decorated with dozens of reliefs and statuettes depicting the months of the year, the liberal arts, the signs of the zodiac, biblical scenes, saints, Roman history and fables, a true encyclopedia in stone of medieval knowledge. On one side of the square, the Palazzo dei Priori, a Gothic palace with a monumental staircase and the bronze griffin and lion, symbols of Perugia, houses the Sala dei Notari, with its great arches frescoed in the thirteenth century, the Collegio del Cambio, the hall of the money changers frescoed by Perugino, and the National Gallery of Umbria.
Tip: sit on the steps of the cathedral in the evening, like the students; reach the centre from the station with the Minimetrò.
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