In 2023, we visited Perugia on our first trip to Italy. The underground city, i.e. what was left of the area where the most powerful family of Perugia lived before Pope Paul III ordered it destroyed after winning the Salt War of 1540, is a always amazing. I blogged that story during that visit. Some of the version we heard today was a little different, but the essentials are the same. Try to take on the power (at that time, the pope) and if you lose, you will suffer. Perugia was not out from under the thumb of the papal state until 1861, when Italy was unified as a monarchy.
The papal engineer was good– and so he recognized other good engineering, and conserved the Etruscan gate, which is pictured above, when he destroyed the protesting nobel’s neighborhood and built La Rocca.
This year, we had a nice, long, escorted visit to Perugia’s National Gallery of Umbria. It was an art history lesson of the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. Lots of changes in art are well documented in what we saw. Among the most significant is the addition of perspective, so that figures do not look flat when the Renaissance starts. This means we see backgrounds, and you can see the difference in the two Madonna and childs above.
Another difference is in the way the child is depicted. Our guide talked about the “agony” baby of the Middle Ages who has the face of an adult because he knows what is to come. In Renaissance Madonna and Child paintings, the child looks plump, happy, and in relationship with the mother. I have my own personal theory about the change in the way the child is depicted, though I’ve never read it anywhere. During the Balck Death, children were dying so often! I wonder if the plump, happy baby was a balm as some of the outbreaks subsided?
We were ready for a lunch break and I had a plan. In 2023, we had had porchetta sandwiches from a booth in a piazza. I knew just where to find it. It was as tasty as I recalled, and quite filling! We had a little time left to stroll around before the afternoon rendezvous, which was a chocolate tasting experience.
We’ve done chocolate tastings in many locations, especially closer to the equator in countries that can grow chocolate. This artisanal chocolate was single origin and we had a nice presentation. But I was so drowsy by the end that I needed an espresso, pronto!
After the chocolate, returned to the piazza to learn about the cathedral and the civic palace, then we had a wonderful walk around another side of the city, with this beautiful view of the valley below.
You can see how steep the hills of Perugia are. It’s a beautiful city with a lot to offer visitors. It is full of university students and has an energetic vibe. I am very happy that were were able to return this year.
Leave a Reply