History of Perugia

The birth of Perugia is traced back to the Etruscans around the sixth - seventh century BC even if an inhabited center already existed in protohistoric times. The strategic border position between the Etruscan and Umbrian populations made it assume an important role in a short time, becoming the most important center of the Upper Tiber Valley .

Under the Roman conquest, Perugia became the scene of the civil war between Ottaviano and Marco Antonio suffering serious damage. Octavian himself, who became emperor, began a rebuilding work, making Perugia deserve the nickname of “Augustea Perusia” as evidenced by the inscriptions on the Etruscan arch and on the Porta Marzia. The city in the imperial period expanded further well beyond the Etruscan walls.

Given its position it was the subject of struggles and bloody events in the Middle Ages . Between the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was constituted as a municipality, giving itself orders with its consuls and podestà. It accepted the sovereignty of the popes once it became Guelph and after about two centuries of expansion and development, it was troubled from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century by conflicts and internal struggles that led to various lordships.

It was crossed by the so-called “ century of blood ” due to the struggles between the Oddi and the Baglioni who, with their “bad lordship” saddened Perugian life until 1540.
However, the struggles did not prevent the art of the Renaissance from expressing and having its works recognized in fact in those years, around 1485, Pietro Vannucci , master of Raphael and leader of Umbrian painting, was awarded the honorary citizenship the Perugino.

In 1531 Paul III, taking advantage of a popular revolt, sent the papal militias, destroyed the houses of the Baglioni family and built the Rocca Paolina in their place.
Later it passed under the dominion of the church with Pope Paul III until 1798, the year in which it suffered the French occupation.

Returning to the clerical domain it rose up in 1848 and 1859, insurrections that led to the destruction of the Rocca Paolina. In 1860 it finally became part of the new Italian state.

Today Perugia is a culture- loving and lively city, the university pours a very high number of students through its streets, while some important events such as Umbria Jazz and Eurochocolate attract enthusiasts and tourists from all over the world.