Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rising proudly above the main piazza, this palace, constructed between the 13th and 14th
centuries, is architecturally striking with its tripartite windows, Gothic portal and fortress-
like crenelations. It was formerly the headquarters of the city's magistrature.
Today it harbours some of the city's finest museums, including Umbria's foremost art
(
www.gallerianazionaleumbria.it
; Corso Vannucci 19; adult/reduced €8/4; 8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun).
Entered via Corso Vannucci, it's an art historian's dream, with 30 rooms of works featur-
ing everything from Byzantine art to the Renaissance creations of homegrown heroes Pin-
turicchio and Perugino.
Perugia's piggy bank in medieval times, the extravagantly adorned
Nobile Collegio del
ticket with Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia €5.50; 9am-12.30pm & 2.30-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm
Sun)
has three rooms: the Sala dei Legisti (Legist Chamber), with 17th-century wooden
stalls carved by Giampiero Zuccari; the Sala dell'Udienza (Audience Chamber), with out-
standing Renaissance frescoes by Perugino; and the Chapel of San Giovanni Battista,
painted by a student of Perugino's, Giannicola di Paolo. Nearby sits the
Nobile Collegio della
bined ticket with Nobile Collegio del Cambio €5.50; 9am-1pm & 2.30-5.30pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun)
, showcasing a 14th-century audience chamber with exquisite wood panelling.
free; 9am-1pm & 3-7pm daily)
was built from 1293 to 1297 and is where the nobility met.
The arches supporting the vaults are Romanesque, covered with frescoes depicting biblic-
al scenes and Aesop's fables. To reach the hall, walk up the steps from Piazza IV
Novembre.
Cattedrale di San Lorenzo
CATHEDRAL
(Piazza IV Novembre; 7.30am-noon & 4-6.30pm)
Although a church has been here since the
900s, the version you see at the northern end of Piazza IV Novembre was begun in 1345
from designs created by Fra Bevignate. Building of the cathedral continued until 1587, al-
though the main facade was never completed. Inside you'll find dramatic late Gothic ar-
chitecture, an altarpiece by Signorelli and sculptures by Duccio.
The steps in front of the facade are where seemingly all of Perugia congregates; they
overlook the piazza's centrepiece: the delicate pink-and-white marble
Fontana Maggiore
