Explore a hilltop city complete with medieval buildings, churches and gorgeous views.
Perugia is located in the region of Umbria in Central Italy, about equal distance from Rome and Florence. Umbria is not as famous as its next door neighbor, Tuscany, but it is no less beautiful. I chose to stay in Perugia because it allows easy access to Assisi and my next destination Arezzo. I don’t regret my decision. Perugia is great.
Jana Irving The historic part of Perugia is built on top of a very tall hill, from which you can get a good view of Perugia’s neighbor Assisi on a clear day. It’s the tan spot on the center hill.
Jana Irving A bit of a closer view of Assisi.
To get to the historic center from the main train station, you can take their MiniMetro. It’s adorable. I was staying on the other side of the hill. Luckily, there was a nearby MiniMetro stop.
Adorable little pods take you up the hill. The MiniMetro also connected to a giant parking lot to reduce car traffic to the city center.
Jana Irving The way to the city center by foot from where I was staying.
Jana Irving I’m glad I had great weather because these views were amazing.
Jana Irving Perugia had a lot of gorgeous buildings.
Jana Irving Including this church, Chiesa del Gesù.
Jana Irving Gorgeous ceiling.
Jana Irving That building is so narrow!
Jana Irving Pozzo Etrusco (Etruscan Well), a well constructed in the 3rd century BCE. The well cap is much newer.
Jana Irving The Cathedral of San Lorenzo. The external decoration in pink and white marble was never finished.
Jana Irving The exterior may be fairly plain, but the interior is lovely.
Jana Irving The cathedral was built in the Italian Gothic style, starting in 1345.
Jana Irving Unique to Perugia, the main town square, Piazza IV Novembre, sits on the side of the cathedral. It’s usually in front.
Jana Irving Gorgeous piazza.
Jana Irving Gorgeous entrance to the Palazzo dei Priori, which is now the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria.
Jana Irving So many wonderful medieval buildings in Perugia.
Jana Irving Very cute.
Jana Irving I love that balcony.
Jana Irving Views from the edge of the hill. That’s the ex-Monastery of Santa Giuliana.
Jana Irving I stayed down that way. The hill that Perugia is built on has a bunch of peninsulas (best word I can come up with) sticking out.
Jana Irving One of the things I love about Europe is that some buildings are altered over and over again instead of just being demolished.
Jana Irving Perugia was fun to explore.
Jana Irving A lot going on architecturally here.
Jana Irving Love this.
Jana Irving Here we have a medieval tower, Torre degli Sciri.
Jana Irving I just found this adorable.
Jana Irving The interior of the Oratorio di San Bernardino is plain, but the exterior sure isn’t.
Jana Irving Connected to the Oratorio is San Francesco al Prato, also with an interesting facade.
Jana Irving The city is a bit terraced here.
Jana Irving One of the city’s universities is down there. A medieval aqueduct was turned into a foot path. I approve.
Jana Irving Arco Etrusco. The bottom portion of the arch was constructed all the way back in the 3rd century BCE.
Jana Irving Perugia has some of the best cityscapes.
Jana Irving I headed out of the away for awhile just for this perfection.
Jana Irving San Michele Arcangelo is a circular church from the 5th-6th centuries.
Jana Irving It was built about the same time as Rome’s circular church, Santo Stefano Rotondo.
Jana Irving The church is located by this giant city gate, Porta Sant’Angelo. San Michele Arcangelo was built on a bit of a high spot and was converted into a fortress until the 20th century.
Jana Irving One more dramatic view of Perugia to round it off.
Perugia has a ton to offer. It’s a great city to walk around in, so great that I never actually made it into a museum. I could have used another day just for that. A couple of days can easily be spent in the city. Why not stay longer and check out Assisi?
Check out my next update where I head to the Tuscan city of Arezzo!
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Start at the beginning of this adventure.
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