Perugia

Perugia

Perugia (pāro͞oˈjä), city (1991 pop. 144,732), capital of Umbria and of Perugia prov., central Italy, situated on a hill overlooking the valley of the Tiber River. It is a commercial, industrial, and tourist center. Manufactures include chocolate, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and machinery. Perugia was inhabited by the Umbrians and the Etruscans before it came under the control of Rome (c.310 B.C.). It became a Lombard duchy in the late 6th cent. A.D. In the 12th cent. it attained the status of a free commune and gradually gained hegemony over other Umbrian cities. Although nominally under papal control, it was in fact ruled by strong tyrants until 1540, when it was conquered by Pope Paul III. To help control the city Pope Paul built an imposing citadel (designed by Antonio da San Gallo and dismantled in 1860). Perugia was the artistic center of Umbria. The Umbrian school of painting (13th–16th cent.) reached its greatest splendor with Perugino (1445–1523), the teacher of Raphael, and with Pinturicchio (1454–1518). Points of interest in the city include the imposing Palazzo dei Priori (13th–15th cent.), which houses the National Gallery of Umbria; the marble Great Fountain (13th cent.), with sculptures by Nicolò Pisano and his son Giovanni; the Collegio del Cambio [exchange hall], with fine frescoes by Perugino and his followers; the Gothic cathedral (14th–15th cent., with later baroque additions); a large Etruscan arch (with Roman and 16th-century additions); the Church of San Pietro; the Gothic Church of San Domenico, which houses an archaeological museum; the Renaissance-style Oratory of San Bernardino; and well-preserved medieval quarters. Perugia is the seat of a university founded in 1308. Nearby is an Etruscan cemetery comprising ten chambers carved out of rock.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

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.

REFERENCE

Bonazzi, L. Storia di Perugia dalle origini al 1860, vols. 1-2. Città di Castello, 1959-60.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perugia

1. a city in central Italy, in Umbria: centre of the Umbrian school of painting (15th century); university (1308); Etruscan and Roman remains. Pop.: 149 125 (2001)

2. Lake. another name for (Lake) Trasimene

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005