Empfohlene Routen in Perugia

From Perugia to Orvieto – Earth, water and fire

Art cities like Perugia and Orvieto, the lovely towns facing lake Trasimeno, the surprising oasis of Scarzuola, are the stages of this route.
Perugia: a walk through the city center. An escalator leads us from Piazza Garibaldi’s parking lot to Piazza Italia, through the foundations of Rocca Paolina (1540-1543), symbol of Popes’ power and authority over the city of Perugia. The Giardini Carducci offer a magnificent outlook on the Umbrian countryside. Perugia’s main thoroughfare is Corso Vannucci, with its elegant Medieval and Reinassance buildings and its fashionable cafes. At the end of the Corso there is Palazzo dei Priori, the testimony of the city’s ancient grandeur, hosting the Collegio del Cambio, frescoed by Perugino, and Umbria’s National Gallery. On the side facing Piazza IV Novembre, Sala dei Notari is finely frescoed. The Fontana Maggiore, built at the end of XIII century by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, is at the same time a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering and a work of art. The pictoresque via Maestà delle Volte leads to Piazza Morlacchi and to Morlacchi Theatre. On its right side, Piazza Cavallotti gives access to the long and steep Scalinata dell’Acquedotto, one of Perugia’s many panoramic viewpoints. Another one is on piazza Matteotti (besides Corso Vannucci), with its lovely indoor market.
San Michele Arcangelo, San Bevignate, San Pietro. The church of San Michele Arcangelo, also known as Tempietto di Sant’Angelo, slighlty outiside Perugia’s city center, was founded upon a pagan temple and still retains an unusual round shape. Corso Garibaldi, the road leading to the church, has the architraves of some buildings bearing esoteric and Masonic signs. The church of San Bevignate, built in the middle of XIII century, was owned by the Templars and is decorated with zoomorphic patterns and ancient symbols. The Basilica of San Pietro, one of Perugia’s architectural and artistic highlights, can be reached from Corso Vannucci with a 15 minutes’ walk (via Baglioni, via Santa Lucia, scalette di Sant’Ercolano, corso Cavour, borgo XX Giugno) which brings us through some characteristic up-anddowns, like the stairs of Sant’Ercolano. The Basilica has a magnificent facade and an elegant spire-shaped bell tower; the inside’s decorations are among the richest in Perugia. It also hosts a Benedictine monastery with two Reinassance cloisters.
Corciano and Lake Trasimeno. The small town of Corciano (Ferro di Cavallo, via Firenze, SS 75bis, via Antonio Gramsci, via Giuseppe Di Vittorio, SP 172 via Pietro Nenni), 20 minutes from Perugia, rests on a hill, by a Medieval castle. Its center is a charming labyrinth of alleys and ancient buildings. Lake Trasimeno, Italy’s fourth lake by size, is rich in wildlife. Monte del Lago offers one of the best views on the lake. We continue to the harbour of Torricella, and then to Passignano, “the pearl of Trasimeno”, with its Medieval fortress and its roads facing the lake, Tuoro and Castiglione del Lago, which offers a perfectly preserved historical center and an imposing stronghold. Three islands surface from the lake’s waters: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese. Isola Maggiore is a wildlife reserve; several pathways allow to visit its coast and inland. Isola Polvese, the largest one, abounding in greenery and more seldom visited by tourists, hosts a Medieval fortress and the remains of a monastery.
Perugino's Art in Città della Pieve. Città della Pieve, 20 miles from Lake Trasimeno (SR 71 towards località Lacaioli, Muffa, Moiano, Po’ Bandino, San Litardo), is at the border with Tuscany. Although its origins date back to the Etruscan and Roman times, its center retains a strong Reinassance character. It is the birthplace of Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, better known as “il Perugino”, who left here several of his masterpieces. In 2000, the Liceo Scientifico, by architect Mario Botta, added a jewel of contemporary architecture to the town’s beauties.
The Mystical Oasisi of Scarzuola. Less than 30 minutes from Città della Pieve, Montegiove (SS71 verso Monteleone d’Orvieto, via Giovanni XXI I I, Montegabbione, vocabolo Francescane, Montegiove) hosts the unique mystical park of Scarzuola. The area was originally a monastery, built in XIII century, then became a property of Ovieto’s Marquises Misciatelli. In 1957, architect Tommaso Buzzi remodeled it into a bizzarre neo-Mannerist amphitheatre, called “Teatrum Mundi”, conceived as a symbolic journey into the unconscious.

The wine and pottery route

Starting out from Perugia, a city very rich in art and history, take the highway E 45 to exit at Torgiano. This small town is famous for its Museum of Wine and for its wine-making industry.
Descending among the luxurious hills of Torgiano, you'll arrive at Deruta with its traditional pottery industry which goes back a thousand years. At Deruta it's possibile to visit a considerable number of pottery shops and the Regional Museum of Ceramics.

From Perugia to Corciano

Starting out from Perugia, follow the State Road "Magionese", and from below, you'll reach the ancient town of Corciano.
Of Roman origin, it is surrounded by a vast circle of walls dating back to the Middle Ages. During the summer months, the town's streets are the show-place of an important exhibition of modern art; during the Christmas festivities it is possibile to admire the famous live creche.

From Assisi to Perugia – The Charm of Sublime

Assisi is the shrine of Umbria’s artand spirituality: birthplace ofSaint Francis and Saint Clare, itsterritory is still landmarked by their livingmemories. In our journey, we will alsoexperience the ancient Umbrian traditionsof gastronomy and handicraft.

The Basilicas of Saint Claire and Saint Francis. Our trip starts from the Basilica di SantaChiara. In one of the chapels, there is thecross originally put in the church of SanDamiano, which, according to the tradition,spoke to Saint Francis in 1205, invitinghim to “repair God’s home”. The majestic Basilica di San Francesco,started in 1228, two years after the Saint’sdeath, the day after Pope Gregory IXproclaimed him Saint, is actually madeup of two basilicas, one upon the other.The lower and most ancient one (BasilicaInferiore) is not simply a vault, but rathera superb resting place for Saint Francis’sbody. The Upper Basilica is famous for itsfrescoes, with stories from the Old andNew Testament, by Cimabue, and fromthe life of Saint Francis, by Giotto. The frescoes draw a parallel betweenChrist’s and Saint Francis’s lives. Cimabueexecuted the paintings of the transept andthe apse. His works are one of the firstattempts to free figurative art from therigidity of Byzantine art, later fulfilled byhis pupil Giotto.Giotto was able to bring the divine nearerto the human, inserting the figures into arealistic space, where the characters movelike Middle Ages men did into their cities:Francis is represented above all as a man,not only as a saint.+

Franciscan Places outside the walls. The Eremo delle Carceri can be reached both on foot (the trip is about 3 miles long)and by car, in about 20 minutes (via delleFonti del Moiano, Largo Properzio, viaUmberto I, via Santuario delle Carceri). Itwas originally a natural cave, where SaintFrancis dwelled between 1205 and 1206.Today, it is enclosed in a monastery, builtby Saint Bernardino of Siena in 1400, andcompletely surrounded by the woods ofMount Subasio. In 15 minutes, we reach the church of San Damiano (towards via Santuariodelle Carceri, viale Giovanni XXIII, viaUmberto I, via Valentin Muller, localitàSan Rufino Campagna), where Francisfirst heard God’s voice and, accordingto the tradition, wrote his Cantico delleCreature.Few more than a mile from San Damiano,the “Sacro Tugurio” (“Holy Shack”)in Rivotorto (località San RufinoCampagna, via Frate Fuoco, via SorellaLuna, via Francesca, via della Regola) wasFrancis’s first shelter, and is now containedinto a XIX century’s sanctuary.Our last stop is the Basilica of SantaMaria degli Angeli (via Francesca, vialePatrono d’Italia, via Los Angeles), builtin XVI and XVII century to preserve thePorziuncola, the Church which Francisrestored and which became his favouriteplace for prayer and retirement. Here hepassed on in 1226. +

Montelabate, Torgiano and Deruta. The Abbey of Montelabate, also knownas Santa Maria di Valdiponte (viaGiuseppe Emili, SS75, Bastia Umbra,Collestrada, SS33bis verso Ravenna/Ancona, Lidarno, Ponte Felcino, Bosco,Ponte Pattoli, Casa del Diavolo, stradadel Piccione, strada Montelabate), waserected in the IX or X century, in a severeRomanesque-Gothic style. It is one of themost important sacred building in Umbria. The journey from Montelabate to Torgianolasts about 30 minutes (strada del Piccione SP 246, Casa del Diavolo, stradaTiberina Nord, Bosco, SS 3 bis, Collestrada,il Sardo, SP 403 Torgiano – San Martinoin Campo). This small but lovely town isbuilt upon a hill, extraordinary rich inolive groves and vineyards. Wine and oliveoil are still its main produces and its mostjealously guarded heritages. Deruta, 6miles from Torgiano (SP403 verso viaMario Angeloni, E45 verso Casaccia,Pontenuovo, Deruta), hosts more than 200factories and workshops, specialized inthe production of majolica. The traditiondates back to the Middle Ages and is documentedin a museum (Museo Regionaledella Ceramica) and a library. A 12 miles’trip towards North (E45 towards PonteNuovo) brings us to Perugia.+