This is a guide to a new itinerary to discover Perugia’s ‘holy hill’: a journey through time from the Etruscans to the present day. After two decades of studies, research, works, and improvements, the splendid and original monumental complex of Perugia’s cathedral, located on the city’s hill, has acquired new vitality thanks to the Isola di San Lorenzo project, an island of history, art and culture in the heart of the historic centre. A monumental complex known throughout Italy and worldwide as a historical, artistic and archaeological site where the presence of man dates back twenty-six centuries.
The word ‘Isola’ here is the Italianisation of the medieval Latin word insula, which can be translated as block or neighbourhood. It narrates the architectural evolution of the ancient acropolis built on the so-called ‘hill of the sun’, and today identifiable with the complex consisting of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and its adjoining buildings: the bell tower, the loggia of Braccio Fortebracci, the upper and lower cloisters, the canons’ former houses, the former Seminary, the archaeological excavations of the Perugia Sotterranea and the Museo del Capitolo.
A presence visually stratified for a good 15 metres below street level with about one kilometre of visitable itinerary, winding through fascinating streets, tunnels and ravines, connecting four historical periods that characterised the city: Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance.
The guide presents new itineraries for visiting the Cathedral, the Museum and the underground passages, with a selection of photographs taken following the recent renovation and reopening of the sites to the public. The texts are by Elena Aloia, Chiara Basta, Egle Bracco and Maria Eletta Benedetti.
