Perugia Sights and Activities

The Perugia City Museum Card is a fantastic deal, particularly for students. The “A” Card for €10 grants unlimited entry to one adult and one person under 18 to five museums and is valid for 48hr. The “U” Card for university students is only €6, and grants admission to five museums for one month from first use. All card holders may pick up a free video guide from the Galleria Nazionale as well. Participating sights include the Galleria Nazionale, Museo Archeologico, Pozzo Etrusco, and nine other smaller sights. The card is available at the ticket office of all participating museums. For information, contact the Consorzio Perugia Citta Museo. (V. Podiani 11☎075 57 72 805 www.perugiacittamuseo.it)

Perugina Museo Storico, 6km southwest of the city (☎075 52 76 796; www.perugina.it), All right, fine—here's a taste of what's to come: lots and lots of free chocolate. As if to reward you for schlepping outside town to find the factory, you are greeted in the lobby by a table overflowing with free samples of the freshest chocolate imaginable. Feel free to stuff your face—it's not like they can wrap this stuff up at the end of the day and sell it. Pull an Augustus Gloop and go to town. The museum itself is pretty interesting, too, particularly if you're into media history and social anthropology. The collection is mostly a jumble of wrappers, advertisements, packaging, and other ephemera from a century of Perugina chocolates—amazingly, the logo of the company's signature Baci chocolate has barely changed in 80 years. There's also a replica of a one ton Bacio (that's the singular of Baci) that was created for the annual chocolate-carving competition in Perugia a few years back. In less than 3hr., one ton of solid chocolate was consumed by the hordes in attendance. The m From the train station, take the A bus out of town to San Sisto. It passes right by the Perugina factory, which is enormous and cannot be missed. Reservations required for guided tours and the factory tour. Free. Open M-F 9am-1pm and 2-5:30pm. Takes credit cards. Wheelchair access.
Piazza IV Novembre, P. IV Novembre Competitive though central Italian cities may be, this piazza does not commemorate the destructive flooding of Florence on November 4th, 1966, but rather the Italians' version of Armistice Day on November 4th, 1918, when Austria-Hungary surrendered to Italy. The piazza itself is truncated by the steps of the Duomo, which shades the always crowded square. The fountain in the center of the piazza was decorated by the Pisanos and is a good local landmark. Always the epicenter of Perugia's BYOB nightlife, during the Umbria Jazz Festival the piazza is completely overwhelmed. That crunching sound underfoot as you push through the crush of bodies at 4am comes from a weekend's worth of plastic cups blanketing the ground. Bordered by the Duomo and the National Gallery. Wheelchair access.
Galleria Nazionale dell' Umbria, C. Vannucci (☎0755 72 10 09; www.sistemamuseo.it), If you're starting to get the feeling that Tuscan and Umbrian art museums aren't so much curated exhibits as they are a jumble of stuff thrown into a room a few centuries ago, then you'll be pleased by Perugia's major gallery. Shockingly enough, the art is well-lit and decently spaced out. There are even artificial walls in the middle of galleries so that important pieces can be displayed alone. This offers possibly the region's best opportunity to appreciate—rather than just see—Renaissance art. In P. IV Novembre, opposite the Duomo. Frequent special exhibits, ask at the desk. €6.50, students €3.25, under 18 and over 65 free. Open Tu-Su 8:30am-7:30pm. Last entry 1hr. before close. Does not take credit cards. Wheelchair access. Has air conditioning.
Minimetrò and Rocco Paolina, Around the (☎075 50 58 753; www.minimetrospa.it), OK, so maybe it's a little absurd to list a tram as a sight, but when you were a kid, didn't you consider the Monorail an integral part of Disney World? Perugia's Minimetrò is basically adorable. Teeny little red cars go buzzing up and down 3km of track between seven stations, and that's it. They come so frequently (about one per minute) that you can easily score a car to yourself if you feel like having a silly tram-car photo shoot. The cars are silent and fast, and when they turn around at the end of the track, it's pretty much the cutest thing ever. Truly, though, these things aren't just significant for being the most awww-inducing public transit vehicles around: excellent design and engineering allowed the creation of this fast and cheap rail system into the centro that doesn't impact the historic skyline. Similarly impressive is the series of T public escalators inside the walls of the city, particularly insi Escalator off of P. Italia. There are many signs for the Minimetrò stops. Minimetrò €1. Escalators free. Minimetrò operates M-Sa 7am-9:20pm, Su 8:30am-8:30pm. Escalator operates daily 6:30am-1:45am. Takes credit cards. Wheelchair access.
Pozzo Etrusco, P. Danti 18 (☎075 57 33 669), It's a big hole in the ground, but it's a really important one. This well was dug by the Etruscans in the third century BCE and watered the city for millennia. Perugians were forced to use the well again during WWII, when bombs destroyed water lines to the city. Now, you can descend a series of dark, wet, slimy steps into the well itself and stand over the water on a small footbridge. The damp walls continue to leak fresh water from the deep underground springs that the well has tapped since ancient times. Look for the entrance off P. Danti next to Dempsey's Bar and follow the covered alley down to the well's entrance. €3. Open daily 10am-1:30pm and 2:30-6:30pm. Does not take credit cards. No wheelchair access.

DUOMO (CATTEDRALE DI SAN LORENZO). The rugged facade of Perugia’s imposing Gothic duomo was begun in the 14th century, but builders never completed it. Though not as ornate as other cathedrals in Tuscany and Umbria, the groin-vaulted interior and 15th- to 18th-century embellishments, lit by small chandeliers, are quite elegant. The church is also said to hold the Virgin Mary’s wedding ring, snagged from Chiusi in the Middle Ages, though the average visitor is unlikely to catch a glimpse of the guarded treasure. (P. IV Novembre. Open M-Sa 8am-1pm and 4-8pm, Su 4-5:45pm. Modest dress required. Free.)

COLLEGIO DELLA MERCANZIA AND COLLEGIO DEL CAMBIO. The walls of the audience chambers on either side of Palazzo dei Priori are covered in magnificent wood paneling and elaborate frescoes. The elegantly carved bench in the Collegio della Mercanzia (Merchants’ Guild) is a tribute to the Republic of Perugia, marking an advancement from the previous feudal system. In the Collegio del Cambio (Exchange Guild), the Sala dell’Udienza (audience chamber) holds Perugino’s frescoes, which portray heroes, prophets, and even the artist himself. The members of Perugia’s merchant guild have met in this wood-paneled structure since the 14th century. (Collegio della Mercanzia: C. Vannucci 15, adjacent to the police station. ☎075 57 30 366. Open daily Mar.-Oct. and Dec. 18-Jan. 3 Tu-Sa 9am-1pm and 2:30-5:30pm, Su and holidays 9am-1pm; Nov.-Dec. 17 and Jan. 4-Feb. Tu and Th-F 8am-2pm, W and Sa 8am-4:30pm, Su 9am-1pm. €1. Collegio del Cambio: C. Vannucci 25. ☎075 57 28 599. Open M-Sa 9am-12:30pm and 2:30-5:30pm, Su 9am-1pm. €4.50. Cash only.)

VIA ROCCHI. From behind the duomo, medieval V. Rocchi, both the city’s oldest street and a former aqueduct, winds through the northern city and straight underneath the impressive Arco di Etrusco, a perfectly preserved Roman arch built on Etruscan pedestals. Walk straight through P. Braccio Fortebraccio, the youth hang-out where V. Rocchi turns to C. Guiseppe Garibaldi, and follow it for 10min. toward the humbling Tempio di Sant’Angelo (also known as Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo), a fifth-century circular church constructed with stone and wood taken from ancient pagan buildings. The Porta Sant’Angelo, an arch and tower that welcomes visitors to the city, stands nearby, its top level offering a view of all of Perugia. (Past Palazzo Gallenga, to the right near the end of C. Garibaldi. ☎075 57 22 624. Open daily 10am-noon and 4-6pm.)

CAPPELLA DI SAN SEVERO. San Severo is home to The Holy Trinity and Saints, one of many collaborations by Perugia’s favorite mentor-student tag team, Perugino and Raphael, who painted the lower and upper sections, respectively. Opposite the chapel, a piazza wall holds a plaque with a quote from Dante’s Paradiso praising the city. (In P. Rafaello. ☎075 57 33 864. Open Apr.-Oct. M and W-Su 10am-1:30pm and 2:30-6pm; Nov.-Mar. 10:30am-1:30pm and 2:30-5pm. €2.50.)

BASILICA DI SAN PIETRO. This 10th-century church consists of a double arcade of closely spaced columns that lead to a choir. Its art-filled interior contains solemn, majestic paintings and frescoes depicting saints and soldiers, all in brilliant color on a dramatic scale. Look for Perugino’s Pietà along the northern aisle. At the far end through the arch is a small garden; its lower section offers a must-see view of the surrounding countryside. (V. Borgo XX Giugno, past P. San Pietro. Entrance to church is on the far left side of the courtyard; garden is through courtyard on right. Open daily 7:30am-12:30pm and 3-6pm. Free.)

CHIESA DI SAN DOMENICO. This cathedral, though a relatively unremarkable example of Italian architecture, is Umbria’s largest. The Gothic rose window brightens the otherwise simple, cream-colored interior, rebuilt in 1632. The intricately carved Tomb of Pope Benedict XI (1325) rests in the Capella del Santissimo Sacramento to the right of the high altar. (From P. Giordano Bruno, follow the main road, C. Cavour. Open daily 7am-noon and 4-7:30pm. Free.)

GIARDINI CARDUCCI. These romantic public gardens are named after the 19th-century poet Giosuè Carducci. From the garden wall, enjoy a splendid panorama of the Umbrian countryside; a castle or an ancient church crowns every hill. (Behind P. Italia at the far end of C. Vannucci, off P. IV Novembre. Free.)