Perugia
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Perugia
Perugia
a city in central Italy, near Lake Trasimeno. Capital of the province of Perugia and the region of Umbria. Population, 129,000 (1971). Industries include food processing (primarily chocolate), metalworking, and woodworking. Local enterprises produce wool, ceramics, lace, leather goods, and pottery. The city has a university (13th century). Perugia was founded as a fortress in the fifth century B.C. by the Etruscans.
Perugia has maintained its medieval aspect. Still standing are the remains of the Etruscan city wall, believed to have been built in the fourth to second centuries B.C., with its Roman gates. Parts of the city wall built in the 13th to 16th centuries have also survived. The city has an early Christian circular church, Sant’Angelo (fifth to sixth centuries); numerous Romanesque churches, including Sant’ Ercolano (1297-1326); and a Gothic hall cathedral (1345-1490). Other architectural landmarks include a Renaissance facade (1568, designed by the architect G. Alessi) and, in front of the facade, the Maggiore Fountain (completed in 1278) with sculptures by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano. Also in Perugia is the Gothic Palazzo dei Priori (Palazzo Comunale, 1293-1443), which today houses the National Gallery of Umbria, which contains paintings of the Umbrian school from the 13th to 16th centuries.