The Piazza Grande (now Piazza IV Novembre) has always been the urban, political and monumental fulcrum of Perugia. It was the central square of the Etruscan city, and the Forum when Perugia passed under the dominion of Rome. The city's main streets crossed here and this is the meeting the point where the five strade regali roads began and spread outwards during the Medieval development of the town.
The square was at one time occupied by the bishop’s citadel, but this was demolished to pave the way for the public buildings of the free city.
The symbol of the free city of Perugia, the fountain that stands at the centre of the square is considered one of the finest still in existance.
It was completed between 1275 and 1278, at the arrival point of the Monte Pacciano acqueduct. Fra Bevignate supervised construction, which was carried out by the Pisan sculpturers Nicola (father) and Giovanni (son) Pisano. The fountain is made up of two polygonal basins in white and pink stone, placed one above the other. This structure is in turn surmounted by a bronze basin with a group of three bronze nymphs holding an urn, from where the water gushes. Probably later in date, this group was once topped by four griffins that have since been dismounted and are now housed in the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria.
The panels on the lower basin represent salient episodes from the Old Testament (the seduction of Adam by Eve, and of Samson by Delilah). The founding of Rome, a major example for Perugia, is also featured, as well as a kind of agricultural calendar with the related astrological signs. These are followed by the seven “liberal arts” and a personification of Philosophy. Between the “mechanical” and the “liberal arts” is the griffin, Perugia's heraldic symbol, and the lion, the symbol of the Guelph faction of which Perugia was a supporter. During the Middle Ages Italy was divided into two factions, the Guelphs who upheld the claims to temporal power of the Papacy, and the Ghibellines who believed that temporal power should be in the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor. Two eagles conclude the cycle and may lead one to the mistaken conclusion that they represent the symbols of the Holy Roman Emperor. Since the eagle is also the symbol of the city of Pisa, it is more likely that these panels act as Giovanni Pisano's signature.
The upper polygonal basin stands on 24 small columns, each surmounted by a statue. The statues represent characters from the mythological tale concerning the founding of Perugia, as well as references to its political and territorial role. Solomon and other biblical characters are in fact featured, including Moses, John the Baptist, the Archangel Michael and the Archpriest Melchisedech. There is also a personification of Rome, the Church, Theology and the saints Peter and Paul.

Designs for the Palazzo dei Priori date back as far as the 1270s. A first part consisting of 3 triple-windows towards the square and 10 along Corso Vannucci was built between 1293 and 1297.
A first extension of the building took place between 1333 and 1337, with the addition of two more triple-windows towards the piazza, as well as the stairs and balcony. The lower steps were built in 1902).
After 1353 a second extension was added on the Corso, with six triple-windows, the large doorway and the originally fortified tower that surmounts the access to Via dei Priori.
A third extension was carried out between 1429 and 1443 with the addition of three more triple-windows and the section containing the Collegio del Cambio. A final extension to the rear was built on in the 16th century.
The asymmetrical and irregular facade of the building is the result of the various stages in which it was built. The perimeter of the roof was originally crenellated, symbolising the power of the free city. When Perugia fell to the papal armies the crenellations were demolished in 1610. The upper part of the tower had been destroyed in 1569. The crenellations we see on the roof did not reappear until 1860, with the unification of Italy.
The stairs in Piazza IV Novembre lead to a Gothic portal surmounted by the city's symbols, the griffin and lion. These are reproductions - the originals are kept in the Galleria Nazionale.
Given their size, early date and the fact that they are in bronze, the statues were probable cast in Venice in 1274.
The portal leads into the Sala dei Notari, formerly the Town Council Hall, which was allocated to the notaries guild in 1582. Their former headquarters, the Palazzetto dei Notari, opposite Palazzo dei Priori in Corso Vannucci, had had to be partially demolished to enlarge the left side of Via Calderini.
Punctuated by eight huge arches, the hall is completely covered by frescoes (late 1200) depicting biblical and allegorical scenes, as well as the coat of arms of the city's various podestà up until 1499. The coat of arms in the centre of the main belongs to Braccio Fortebraccio da Montone. Since they were in a poor state of repair, the frescoes were partially repainted in 1860.
A smaller door on top of the stairs leads to the current Council Hall. Edicts were announced to the city from this spall protruding pulpit.
Beneath the arches of the portico is the local tourist board, which is able to provide all sorts of useful information.
The facade that gives onto Corso Vannucci has another fine Gothic portal, dated 1346. The splay is densely decorated by allegories. The three statues in the lunette represent (from left to right) St. Laurentius, St. Ludevic of Toulouse and St. Herculanus, the patron saints of Perugia.
The lateral pillars rest on crouching lions and are surmounted by two griffins clasping calves in their claws. This is a symbolical allusion to the guild of butchers, one of the main funders of the construction. The portal leads to a typical Medieval atrium, with crossbow arches, coats of arms along the dark walls and a huge chest, once the strong-box of the free city.

The Rocca Paolina was not the first fortress to be erected in the city of Perugia. During the military campaigns of Cardinal Aegidius Albornoz, who tried to reconquer the territories of Tuscia and Umbria on behalf of Pope Innocent VI, exiled in Avignon, Perugia fell once again under papal dominion (Peace of Bologna, 1370).
As proof of the renewed dominion, in 1373 Albrornoz ordered a fortress to be built, the Rocca del Sole on the highest point of the town, the Colle del Sole (493 metres).
Built according to plans by Gattapone da Gubbio, the fortress was the largest and best known of its time. Nonetheless if was completely destroyed by local citizens in a uprising just three years later.
All that remains of it are the massive substructure walls that support what is now Piazza Rossi Scotti, formerly delle Prome, but usually called Porta Sole, from where there is a splendid view for 230° eastwards towards the Apennines.
In 1540, during the pontificate of the Farnese Pope Paul III, Perugia was last free city in Italy and was finally defeated in what is known as the Salt War. As a sign of the renewed papal dominion, the Pope commisioned Antonio da Sangallo the Younger to build an imposing fortress, this time on the city's other hill:Colle Landone. The entire district of Borgo San Giuliano was rased to the ground to make way for the fortress, including all the houses of the Baglioni family that the Pope so hated.
Over a hundred houses, as well as churches and monasteries were destroyed and used as building material and as substructures for the fortress. This time the citizens of Perugia had to wait until the Roman Republic of 1848 for a first, partial demolition of the loathed symbol of papal power and finally until 1860 with the unification of Italy for its final destruction.
Externally, the only visible parts of the fortress are the substructure walls along Viale Indipendenza and the eastern bastion in Via Marzia, which incorporates the Etruscan Porta Marzia. From here it is possible to enter the foundations of the fortress, which rested on vault structures placed over the houses and streets such as Via Baglioni
The stone houses, with their Gothic doorways, are still clearly distinguishable from the brick-wall foundations added by Sangallo.
Another very atmospheric route through the fortress is along the escalators that lead from the underground parking of Piazza Partigiani, through the Rocca Paolina, under the portico of Palazzo del Governo (1870, seat of the Province), and into Piazza Italia. Here one is surrounded by buildings that were erected after the demolition of the fortress, such as the Albergo Brufani (1880), the Banca d’Italia (1871), Palazzo Cesaroni (1897, now seat of the Regional Council Hall) and the Condominio Residenziale (the first residential joint-ownership building in Perugia, 1872), both these were designed by Guglielmo Calderini, from Perugia, who also designed the Palace of Justice in Rome.
The square is completed by the already existing Albergo La Rosetta and Palazzo Donini (1716-24, seat of the Regional Council ), which contains magnificent frescoes. The statue in the middle of the public green is King Victor Emanuel II (1890).
Behind Palazzo del Governo, from the Carducci terraced gardensbuilt on remains of the fortress, there is a magnificent view over the surrounding area.
The poet Giosuè Carducci composed his well-known poem 'Canto d’amore' here in 1877.

In 1390 Perugia, then a free city called comune, granted the premises to right to the gothic portal to the Merchants Guild, one of the most important in town.
Unusually for Italy, the Sala delle Udienze (Council Room) was completely panelled in wood in the 15th century, probably by German craftsmen.
The first section of the right hand wall is decorated with blind twin-windows and fretwork. The coat-of-arms in the lunette represents a griffin clasping a bundle of merchandise - the symbol of the guild.
The large Renaissance reading desk was made by a local craftsman in 1462. Against the left hand wall there is a small inlaid pulpit with columns, surmounted by bas-reliefs representing Prudence, Force, Justice and Moderation.
The archives contain inscription registers that run from 1323 to 1599.

Along with the Merchants Guild, the Bankers Guild was also one of the most powerful in the city (Cambio = exchange).
The Collegio del Cambio (seat of the guild) [in Palazzo dei Priori] was built between 1452 and 1457. The entrance doorway is a beautifully crafted work in wood that dates back to 1505.
The first room, the Sala dei Legisti (lawyers room), contains inlaid furniture and wood panellings against the walls by Giampietro Zuccari (1615-21).
This room leads to the Sala dell’Udienza (council room), which is the finest and best preserved 15th century secular room in Italy.
The wooden furniture is by Domenico del Tasso and Antonio da Mercatello (1490-93). The furniture highlights well the frescoes by Perugino (1498-1500) that adorn the walls and crossbow vaulting.
The theme of the frescoes is a result of the influence of the humanist Francesco Maturanzio, a teacher at the Studium Perusinum university.
The paintings represent the four Cardinal Virtues along with well known ancient figures. One of the dividing pillars features a self-portrait of Perugino.
The niche above what is known as the Court contains a statue of Justice attributed to Benedetto da Maiano.
The passageway in the right hand corner leads to the chapel of St John the Baptist, which was restored in the 16th century and was decorated with frescoes by Giannicola di Paolo, an apprentice of Perugino (vault: 1511 and walls: 1528-29).

In 1254 the city of Perugia decided to build an approximately three km long aqueduct from Monte Pacciano to Piazza Grande, within the city. This square is now called Piazza IV Novembre. The acqueduct ran along Via del Fagiano (formerly Via dei Condotti), Via dell’Acquedotto and Via Appia.
The Venetian architect Boninsegna was commissioned to build the acqueduct.
The final part of the structure ran between the Conca area of town and the Etruscan town walls. In 1812 this became a popular walk, and the acqueduct was surmounted by railings along the top of its Medieval arches. Access into town was then through the Arco dell’Acquedotto gate or via the Arco di Via Appia.
The aqueduct ended at the Fontana Maggiore in Piazza Grande (or della Fontana, now Piazza IV Novembre), between the cathedral and Palazzo dei Priori.

A former church (936-1060) covered an area that corresponds to what is today the transept of San Lorenzo, having been incorporated into the design for a larger church by Fra Bevignate in 1300. In 1345 the foundation stone was laid for a new church, with works starting sometime between 1437 and 1439. The interior at least was certainly complete by the end of the same century.
Building continued until 1587, however, without ever coming to an end - as is clearly visible in the unfinished appearance of the exterior.
The pink and white stone decoration on the exterior facades was taken from the cathedral of Arezzo in 1335 but was only completed on the lateral facade facing the Fontana Maggiore.
The Gothic windows are also an interesting architectural feature of the building, as well as a pulpit that was assembled in the 14th century using antique fragments (some of which are Cosmatesque), from where San Bernardino of Siena preached in 1425 and 1427. The Mannerist doorway was designed by Galeazzo Alessi and sculpted by Ludovico Scalza (1568). It was moved here from the nearby Collegio del Seminario. The bronze statue of Julius III (Vincenzo Danti, 1555), was erected in honour of the pope who reinstated Perugia's city rights that had been removed by Pope Paul III in 1540. The Renaissance loggia is a 15th century addition by Braccio di Fortebraccio da Montone, to connect his residence to the cathedral when he ruled over Perugia. Although the main facade was never completed, its main doorway was designed by Pietro Carattoli in 1729.
The interior is late Gothic in style and consists of three aisles of equal height divided by octagonal pillars surmounted by crossbow vaulting. It was altered in the 18th century, with the addition of stucco and other decorations such as the false marble painting over the of the columns, the altar and the paintings of the vaults.
The chapel of San Bernardino is one of the building's noteworthy features. It contains Federico Barocci's Deposition (1567-69). The wooden choir in the apse is by Giuliano da Maiano and Domenico del Tasso (1491) and was partly destroyed by fire in 1985.
The bishop’s throne designed by Ciancio di Pierfrancesco is also here, as intended in the plans laid down by Rocco di Tommaso (1520-24). Perugia's most illustrious bishop was certainly Count Gioacchino Pecci, bishop from 1846 to 1878 when he was elected pope with the name of Leo XIII. The statue by Giuseppe Lucchetti (1892) placed in the right transept is dedicated to him.
The chapel to the right of the presbitery leads to the sacristy, which is decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi di Pesaro (1572-78). The furniture dates back to 1494-97 and is by Mariotto di Paolo da Gubbio.
These rooms give access to the Cloister of the Parsonage (Chiostro della Canonica), where five episcopal conclaves were held in 1216, 1265, 1285, 1294 and 1305.
The nearby Museo Capitolare contains a variety of treasures including a 'Pietà' by Bartolomeo Caporali (1486), an altar-piece with a 'Madonna in trono' by Luca Signorelli (1484) and a triptych by Meo di Guido da Siena (early 14th century). The museum is currently closed for restoration.

A Benedictine abbey, the Church of San Pietro was founded in the 10th century on the Monte Calvario. It functioned as the cathedral of Perugia in the 6th century (located outside the town walls at that time), prior to the status of cathedral being given to Santo Stefano in Castellare (demolished during the construction of the abbey and church of San Domenico) around 936 and then finally to San Lorenzo, the actual cathedral.
Angry citizens burnt the abbey after Francesco Guidalotti in 1398 plotted against the leader of the People’s Party, after which there followed a period of decline in its fortunes. As demonstrated by the existing buildings and interiors, however, the abbey recovered considerable prosperity under the rule of Pope Eugene IV.
The triple-arched portal at the entrance to the main court reflects Porta di San Pietro, which is visible from here. It was built in 1614 to a design by Valentino Martelli, who had also designed the main cloister and a second foor that was never built.
The minor cloister (or 'delle Stelle'), was instead designed by Galeazzo Alessi in 1571.
The main court is dominated by the polygonal clock-tower, allegedly built on the site of an Etruscan tomb that was used for its construction in the 13th century. After a partial collapse, the upper section was rebuilt in 1463 to plans by Bernardo Rossellino.
The original Romanesque blind arches on the facade of the church have been restored (see the paintings by Bonfigli in the Galleria Nazionale).
There are also frescoes by local painters from the 14th century, while the portal dates back to the late 15th century.
The interior is a mixture of ancient columns and has a Palaeochristian basilical structure. The Gothic wooden choir is considered to be one of the finest in Italy and was completed between 1525 and 1591). The painted and guilded wooden lacunar ceiling is from 1556, while the large quantity of frescos and paintings by various artists include some by Antonio Vassillacchi (1592-94), Sassoferrato, Guido Reni, Vasari, Guerricino and Perugino (Pietro Vannucci).
The sacristy was added in 1451 and contains inlaid furniture from 1472, as well as what remains of a pavement in Deruta tiles. The frescoes are by Danti and Peccenini. The paintings hanging here are by Perugino, Parmigianino and Raphael. A door in the apse of the wooden choir leeds to a tiny balcony that affords a stunning view over the Valle Umbra as far as Assisi, Monte Subasio, Bettona, Montefalco and the Apennines.
The buildings of the abbey around the two cloisters now house the Agriculture Faculty of the University of Perugia, which also owns the abbey's former properties in Casalina, in the Tiber valley.

Shortly after the canonisation of San Bernardino of Siena in 1450, who had preached in Perugia on several occasions, Franciscan monks of San Francesco al Prato decided to build an oratory in his honour. [the Oratory of San Bernardino].
The city authorities commissioned Agostino di Duccio to design the facade. This architect had just finished another commission, also a Franciscan church, theTempio Malatesta in Rimini.
The polychrome front was finished in 1461 and makes use of a combination of different materials ranging from terra-cotta to limestone, as well as white, red and black marble. It is structured around an arch that stands between pilaster strips and functions as the support for a sculptural ensemble in flat and half-round bas-relief that is considered to be the most important Renaissance monument in Perugia and depicts the miracles performed by San Bernardino.
The twin portal leads to a Gothic interior with an altar formed by a 4th century paleo-christian sarcophagus of the 4th century. It contains the remains of Beato Egidio, one of St Francis' friars, and was brought here from the nearby church of San Francesco al Prato.
Behind the altar two doors lead to the Oratory of St Andrew. The lacunar wooden ceiling is from 1558, while the stucco work and paintings were carried out in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1304 the Dominican Pope Benedict XI donated the parish Church of Santo Stefano in Castellare, the cathedral of Perugia until it was supplanted by San Lorenzo, to the Dominican Order.
Works to build the abbey and the new church started the same your with the demolishion of the old Church of Santo Stefano. This church dated back to 1163 and all that remains of it today is a double Romanesque portal in the cloister of the convent. The building is now is the seat of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell’Umbria and of the State Archives .
The imposing Gothic hall-building of the Church of San Domenico, with three aisles, was used as a model of inspiration for the design of the later cathedral of San Lorenzo. It was consecrated only in 1459 by Pius II, while the belltower was not completed until the late 15th century.
Soon after its completion, the upper section was deemed unstable and had to be demolished. In 1614 and 1615 the vaults and the pillars of the nave collapsed.
Rebuilding work was initially entrusted to a local architect but, when even the rebuilt structure began showing signs of collapsing, the commission was awarded to the Roman architect Carlo Maderna. By now Baroque in style, the rebuilt church was consecrated in 1632.
The Baroque decoration and furniture within the church is no longer in place. Gothic influences remain in the exterior walls, the transept, the chapels of the choir and the huge apse window, which is one of the largest in Italy (21 x 8.5 metres).
The most noteworthy works include the altar piece by Agostino di Duccio (1459) in the Madonna del Voto chapel; the anonymous funerary monument to Pope Benedict XI, who died in Perugia in 1304 (it was dismantled from the old church of Santo Stefano in 1700 and was not reassembled until 1959 but it remains one of the best kept 14th century Gothic wall-tombs); a Renaissance inlaid wooden choir; a gonfalon by Giannicola di Paolo dated 1494; votive frescoes from the late 14th century, including the 'Stigmatisation of St Elisabeth of Thuringia' (who although she was a Sister of St Claire has the honour of being depicted in a Dominican church because she was sanctified in Santo Stefano in Castellare, which preceded the actual church); some fragmentary and badly damaged frescoes from the early 15th century that are of good quality however and attributed to Benedetto di Bindo.

The Church of San Filippo Neri is the most important and the only authentic Baroque building in town.
The Vignola-style facade dates back to 1665 and was designed by the Roman architect Paolo Marucelli, while the church itself was built between 1627 and 1634.
With its barrel vaulted single nave and lateral chapels, the interior is richly decorated with frescoes of a variety of painters who worked on them between the 17th and the 18th century.
The Immaculate Conception above the main altar is by Pietro da Cortona and was painted in 1662.

Situated in a dominant position overlooking the river Tiber, Perugia marks the border between the lands of the Etruscans and the Umbrians. Originally a Villanovian settlement since the 9th century BC, these tribes gathered on the Colle Landone and the Colle del Sole in the 6th century BC, when Perugia became an Etruscan town. The city was a religious centre, or lucumonia, and part of the Etruscan Dodecapolis league comprising a total of twelve cities.
Between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC Perugia was fortified by massive town walls in travertine blocks that followed the hilly ground around the city and are still largely visible today, particularly to the west and north. Seven gates, of which six still exist although they were partly modified by the Romans and in the Middle Ages, allowed access into town.
To the west is the Arco della Mandorla in Via San Giacomo. The pointed arch we see today is Medieval, but the structure retains a post and a right side in Etruscan blocks that give an idea of the original round arch that stood here. The Porta Trasimena (also called Arco di San Luca) at the end of Via dei Priori, retains only its Etruscan piers.
To the north is the main gate into the city, the Arco Etrusco (also called Arco di Augusto). Built in the 3rd century BC, the trapeze-shaped dungeons on either side make this an imposing structure.
Beneath the Doric frieze there are two Latin inscriptions. The first, "AUGUSTA PERUSIA" (1st century BC) commemorates the city's reconciliation with Octavian, who had distroyed Perugia in 40 BC following a seven-month siege during the civil war against Mark Anthony. Mark Anthony's brother Lucius had taken refuge in Perugia with his army. The second, "COLONIA VIBIA" (2nd century), commemorates the title of Colony assigned to Perugia by Emperor Caius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus (251-253). The loggia to the top of the left dungeon was added in the 16th century along with the fountain, creating an unusual contrast between the austere classical architecture of the gate and the lighter style that developed during the Renaissance.
To the north-east, in Via Bontempi, stands the Arco dei Gigli, which still has traces of the original arch composed of a double row of arched lintels. These were replaced by a pointed arch during the Middle Ages. The same modifications were applied to the Arco di San Ercolano, on the stairs that bear the same name. Originally called Porta Cornea, this arch displays the typical pointed arch structure along with its original piers and a rounded hewn stone that recalls the formerly existing rounded arch.
Still in the southern section of fortifications stands the Porta Marzia (3rd century BC). Sangallo the Younger included its facade in the eastern bastions of the Rocca Paolina, to provide a more magnificent entrance into the fortress. The rounded arch is surmounted by pilaster strips that are decorated with five figures, thought to be Jupiter, Castor and Pollux and the Dioscures looking with their horses from a balustrade made up of rhomboid shapes. This arch bears the same two Latin inscriptions that appear on the Arco Etrusco: "AUGUSTA PERUSIA" and "COLONIA VIBIA".

The bulk of the collection was amassed during the secularisation of churches, convents and oratorios carried out by the French during their occupation (1797-1810). For a time the collection was housed in the former convent of the Olivetani, at Monte Morcino Nuovo, now the seat of the university.
The Galleria Nazionale dell' Umbria was founded in 1863 and has occupied the third floor of Palazzo dei Priori since 1879.
After a long period of closure to allow for restoration and re-hanging of works, the Galleria was recently re-opened in its entirety.
The exhibition layout is organised chronologically and by painting schools. It documents the development of painting in Umbria from the Middle Ages to fairly recent times, and includes several masterpieces of Italian art between the 13th and the 18th centuries.
The following list includes only the most important works:
five statues by Arnolfo di Cambio, dated 1281, taken from a demolished public fountain that stood in what is now Piazza della Repubblica, half way along Corso Vannucci.
Umbrian School works prior to Giotto (1272 crucifix by an unknown artist named only as Maestro di San Francesco, from San Francesco al Prato; pentiptych dated 1280 by Vigoroso da Siena).
'Madonna with Child' by Duccio di Boninsegna (1305); the Polyptych of Montelabate (1317) by Meo di Guido da Siena; board by Marino da Perugia; glass window by Giovanni di Bonino (1345); statues of the patron saints of Perugia attributed to Ambrogio Maitani; 'Madonna with Child' by Gentile da Fabriano (before 1408); polyptych of Sant'Antonius by Piero della Francesca (1460-70); polyptych by Beato Angelico (from San Domenico, 1437); 'Madonna with Saints' by Benozzo Gozzoli (1456).
Cappella dei Priori: the fresco cycle by Benedetto Bonfigli, completed between 1454 and 1480 and represents scenes from the life of the patron saints Ludovicus and Herculanus, with views of the town of Perugia as it was then.
Tablets of San Bernardino (1473) by Perugino and others, from San Francesco al Prato; more works by Perugino ('Christ Resurrected in the Sarcophagus', 1495; 'Madonna della Consolazione', after 1496; polyptych of St Augustine, 1500-1523), by Pinturicchio, by Bartolomeo Caporali, Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Lo Spagna and sculptures by Agostino di Duccio - these came from the facade of Maestà delle Volte (1473), from the main altar of San Lorenzo (1473-74) and from the facade of San Francesco al Prato.
The last floor houses more recent paintings as well as a section dedicated to the history of Perugia.
Corso Vannucci
Phone:. 0755741247
Opening time: 8.30 - 19.30

Housed in the former Dominican convent of San Domenico, the collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria was started by a donation from the patrician Francesco Filippo Friggeri of Perugia in 1790. The collection was enlarged in 1921 with the addition of the Bellucci Pre-historical and Palaeontological collection and in 1948 with finds from the archaeological sites of Cetona, near Siena.
The collection includes a number of Palaeolithic and Aeneolithic remains, found chiefly in Umbria, from the Bronze and Iron Ages, that date back to the inhabitants of the Apennine regions from the 16th to the 12th centuries BC.
The Etruscan archaeological remains from the area are particularly important and date back to the Villanova-period (9th - 8th centuries BC), as well as to the rich tomb gifts of the Hellenistic period: urns and sarcophagi, vases and gold objects, works in bronze and weapons.
The prime piece of the collection is the Cippo di Perugia (3rd –2nd century BC), which is the longest Etruscan inscription ever found. It is a boundary stone with a contract between the Velthina and Afuna families concerning the property of a piece of land, and includes a judiciary sentence.
The museum also displays African and ethnic pieces collected by the Perugian naturalist and explorer Orazio Antinori.
The former convent also houses the State Archives, where the library that had belonged to the Dominican convent is kept. It includes codices, some of which are illuminated, from 991 to 1851; the Annali Decemvirali (13th – 19th centuries); the Acts of the Papal Government from its establishment until 1860; and documents concerning abolished religious orders, corporations or welfare organisations.
C.so Cavour - P.za Giordano Bruno, 10
Phone: 0755727141
Opening time: 8.30 - 19.30