r^emmmmunsfSSiSSi
 
 ^CLaJ^ ^Z^I^uUk. 
 

 
 LIBRARY ^ 
 
 UNIVCRSITY OF 
 CAL f 'kNia 
 SAN DIEGO 
 
 J

 
 The Sfo?y of Perugia
 
 All rights reserved
 
 .^ 
 
 c^eA^i^^g^y
 
 i:he Story of PcTugia 
 
 by Margaret Symonds 
 and Ltna Duff Gordon 
 
 Illustrated by M. Helen James 
 
 London: J. M. Dent ^ Co. 
 Aldine House .^ 29 and 30 Bedford St7'eet 
 Covent Garden^ W.C. * * 1898
 
 PREFACE 
 
 \A/HEN but a little while ago we undertook to 
 write a " guide book " to one of the better known 
 towns of Central Italy, we realised perhaps imperfectly 
 how wide and full was the field of work which lay 
 before us. The "story " of Perugia is, Jike the story 
 of nearly all Italian towns, as full and varied as the story 
 of a nation. Every side-light of history is cast upon 
 it, and nearly every phase of man's policy and art re- 
 flected on its monuments. To do justice to so grand a 
 pageant in a narrow space of time and binding was, we 
 may fairly plead, no easy task ; and now that the work 
 is done, and the proofs returned to the printer, we are 
 left with an inevitable regret ; for it has been impossible 
 for us to retain in shortened sentences and cramped 
 description the charm of all the tales and chronicles 
 which we ourselves found necessary reading for a full 
 knowledge of so wide a subject. 
 
 If this small book have any claim to merit it is 
 greatly due to the faithful and ungrudging help rendered 
 to its authors throughout their study, by one true 
 guide ; by many old friends ; and by the inhabitants 
 of the town whose name it bears for title. We can 
 never adequately express our sense of gratitude to the 
 people of Perugia, who from the poorest to the richest, 
 received us with excessive courtesy and kindness, 
 making our stay and study in their midst a pleasure as 
 well as an education. 
 
 Our book is intended for the general traveller rather 
 
 vii
 
 Preface 
 
 than for the student. We have offered no criticism, 
 and have quoted whenever we could from the pages of 
 contemporary chronicles. We have dealt with Perugia 
 as with the heroine of a novel, describing her particular 
 progress, and not confounding it with that of neigh- 
 bour towns, equally important in this way, and each 
 struggling, as perhaps only the cities of Italy knew 
 how to struggle, towards an individual supremacy in a 
 state lacerated by foreign wars and policies. 
 
 In dealing with one of the most vivid points in the 
 history of the town— the Rule of the Nobles — we have, 
 with some diffidence, incorporated into our narrative 
 the words of one who had already drawn his description 
 of the subject straight from the original source, treating 
 it with such a powerful sympathy as it would have been 
 impossible for us to rival. For further knowledge of 
 this terrible period we can but refer the student to 
 the chronicle of Matarazzo. {^Archivio Storico, vol. 
 xvi. part 2.) 
 
 With the art of Umbria we have dealt only shortly, 
 and from the point of view of sentiment rather than 
 that of criticism. For a severe and thorough know- 
 ledge of the technique and use of colours employed by 
 the men who lived through such scenes as we have 
 described in chapters II. and III. we must refer the 
 reader to the works of other authors. For our dates, 
 and facts in reference to art, we have relied on Kugler, 
 Crowe and Cavalcaselle, Rio, Vasari and the local 
 writers, Mariotti, I^upatelli, Mezzanotte, etc. 
 
 It remains to give a list of the books which we have 
 consulted for the history. Amongst these are the 
 Perugian chronicles contained in the Archivio Storico 
 (V Italia ; Graziani, Matarazzo, Frolliere, and 
 Bontempi ; Fabretti's chronicles of Perugia, and his 
 " J^ita del Condottier'i, etc." ; and the local histories of 
 Ciatti, Pellini, Bartoli, Mariotti, and Bonazzi. Villani 
 viii
 
 Preface 
 
 and Sismondi have been consulted ; Cieighton's " His- 
 tory of the Papacy during the Reformation,^' and von 
 Ranke's '■^History of the Popes.''' 
 
 Of the purely local histories mentioned above 
 Bonazzi's is the most important. His two bulky 
 volumes are excellent reading in spite of his sarcastic 
 and often unjust bitterness against the clerical party. 
 A number of local pamphlets, the names of whose 
 authors we cannot here enumerate, have been used for 
 various details, together with other books on a variety 
 of subjects, such as Dennis' " Etruria,'' Broussole's 
 " Pelerinages Ombriens,'' Hodgkin's " Italy and her 
 Invaders," etc., etc. 
 
 When all is told, by far the most valuable and trust- 
 worthy authority on Perugian matters is Annibale 
 Mariotti. A local gossip who combines with his 
 gossiping qualities an exquisite sense of humour, and 
 a real genius for investigation in matters relating to his 
 native town, is the person of all others from whom to 
 learn its actual life and history. Mariotti is an eminent 
 specimen of this class of writers, and no one who is 
 anxious to understand the spirit of Perugia should omit 
 a careful study of his works on the Popes, the People, 
 and the Painters of Perugia. 
 
 For personal help received we have the satisfaction 
 of offering in this place our sincere thanks to Cav. 
 Giuseppe Bellucci, professor at the University of 
 Perugia, whose wise and kindly counsel has led us 
 throughout to an understanding of countless points 
 which must, without him, have remained unnoticed or 
 obscure. Our notes on the museum arc practically 
 his own. We would mention also with grateful 
 thanks Dr Marzio Romitelli, Arcidiacono of the 
 cathedral of Perugia, who generously opened his 
 library to us, and many of whose suggestions have 
 been of service to us. To Count Ansidei, head of 
 
 ix
 
 Preface 
 
 the Perugian library, our sincere thanks are offered 
 here. 
 
 We must further acknowledge the help of Signer 
 Novelli of Perugia ; of Mrs Ross, Mr Hayllar, and 
 Cav. Bruschi, head of the MarucelJiana Library at 
 Florence. Lastly, of Mr Walter Leaf and Mr 
 Sidney Colvin in the revision of proofs. 
 
 The comfort of our quarters in the Hotel Brufani 
 needs no description to most Italian travellers, who are 
 already familiar with that delightful house ; but we are 
 glad to mention here our appreciation of the care and 
 thoughtful kindness shown to us by our English hostess 
 in the Umbrian town. The courtesy received by us 
 at headquarters from the Prefect of Umbria and 
 Baroness Ferrari his wife, made our stay, from a purely 
 social point of view, both easy and delightful. 
 
 To close these prefatory notes we can but say how 
 sincerely we trust that the following pages may serve 
 only as a preparation, in more capable hands, for further 
 and far fuller records of a city whose history is as 
 enthralling to the student of men as its pictures and 
 position must ever be to the lover of what is beautiful 
 in nature and in art. 
 
 August 2 1st, 1897. 
 
 Am Hof. Davos.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The earliest Origins of Perugia and Groivth of 
 
 the City r 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 The Condottieri and the Rise of the Nobles . 33 
 
 CHAPTER ni 
 
 rhe Baglioni. Paul III. and last years of the 
 
 City 5S 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 The City of Perugia . . . . . 82 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Palazzo Pubblico, The Fountain and the Duomo 109 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Fortress of Paul III. — S, Ercolano — iS". 
 
 Domenico — S. Pietro — S. Costanzo . 151 
 
 xi
 
 Contents 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Piaz'z.a del Papa, S. Scvero, Porta Sole, S. 
 
 Agostino and S. Francesco al Monte . t 7 8 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 F'la del Priori — Perugino's House — Madonna 
 
 della Luce, S. Bernardino and S. Francesco 201 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 Pietro Perugino and the Cambio . . . 216 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 The Pinacoteca . . . . . .230 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 Ihe Museum and Tomb oj" the Volunmii . . 267 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 /// Utnbria . . . . . .290
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Via del Aquedotto, shotving Toiver of the 
 
 Cathedral ..... 
 Lombard Arch on the Church of S. Agata 
 Pala%%o Baldesch'i 
 Arms of Perugia 
 Via delle Stalk . 
 Niccolo Piccinino 
 Palazzo Municipale 
 Fortress of Paul III. , shotving the Upper Part, 
 
 noiv occupied by the Prefettura, etc., and 
 
 the Loiver Wing, nvhich covered the site of 
 
 the present Piazza I P Armi 
 Perugia from the Road to the Campo Santo 
 Etruscan Arch, Porta Eburnea 
 Medieval Staircase in the Via Bartolo 
 Piazza Sopramuro, shotving the Palace of the 
 
 Capitano del Popolo and the Buildings of 
 
 the first University of Perugia 
 Convent of Monte Luce .... 
 
 Piazza di S. Lorenzo, seen from under the 
 
 Arches of the Palazzo Pubblico 
 
 xiii 
 
 5 
 >4 
 23 
 32 
 
 39 
 53 
 
 57 
 
 77 
 «3 
 87 
 89 
 
 lOI 
 
 107
 
 Illustrations 
 
 th 
 
 th 
 
 Remains of the First Pala%%o del Priori in the 
 Via del Ver%aro . 
 
 Oldest part of the Pala%%o Puhblico 
 
 The Reaper. Detail in a panel on the Fountain 
 
 Geometry. Detail in a panel on the Fountain 
 
 On the Steps of the Cathedral 
 
 In the Cloisters of the Canonica (or Seminary) 
 
 S, Francis .... 
 
 Porta Marzia .... 
 
 Church of S. Ercolano and Archiuay 
 Etruscan Wall 
 
 Detail of the Tomb of Pope Benedict XL 
 Church of S. Domenico . 
 
 House in the Via Pernice 
 
 Arco d^ August .... 
 
 S. Agostino and Porta Bulagajo 
 
 Church of S. Angelo 
 
 The Old Collegio dei Notari, said to be the 
 of Perugino 
 
 Torre drgli Scirri 
 
 Etruscan Arch of S. Luca 
 
 Mercy. Detail on Fagade of the Oratory of 
 S. Bernardino 
 
 Perugino : Madonna and Patron Saints of Peru- 
 gia^ painted for the Magistrates^ Chapel at 
 Perugia, noiv in the Vatican at Rome 
 
 First Translation of the Body of S. Ercolano 
 (Fresco in the Pinacoteca of Perugia) 
 xiv 
 
 ttudio 
 
 114 
 121 
 
 127 
 
 131 
 
 134 
 
 147 
 150 
 
 155 
 
 157 
 
 x66 
 179 
 189 
 191 
 
 195 
 
 202 
 203 
 205 
 
 209 
 
 243
 
 Illiuti'atiojis 
 
 I'AC.E 
 
 Gonf alone of the /innuticiation attributed to Niccolo 
 
 Alunno . . . . . .249 
 
 Adoration of the Shepherds. By Fioren%o di 
 
 Lorenzo . . . . . .253 
 
 Via Delia Pera under the Aqueduct on the ivay 
 
 to the University . . . . .269 
 
 Etruscan Mirror in Guadabassi Collection . 280 
 
 Tomb of Aruns Volumnius . . . . 287 
 
 The Temple of CHtumnus . . . . 301 
 
 Narui {^ivith Angelo Inn in foreground) . . 307 
 
 XV
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The earliest Origins of Perugia 
 afid gro'wth of the City 
 
 C OMETIMES in a street or in a country road we 
 meet an unknown person who seems to us wonder- 
 fully and inexplicably attractive. Perhaps we only 
 catch a passing vision ; the face, the figure passes us, 
 oftener than not we never meet again, and even the 
 memory of the vision which seemed so full of life, so 
 strong, and so enduring, passes with the years, and we 
 forget. But had we only tried a little, it would, in 
 almost every instance, have been possible to follow the 
 figure up, to learn what we wanted to know about it, 
 to understand the reason why the face was full of mean- 
 ing to us, and what it was which went before and gave 
 the mouth its passion, the eyes their pain and sweetness. 
 In nine cases out of ten we can, in this nineteenth 
 century, discover the birth and parentage, the loves and 
 hates, of any human being we may wish to know. 
 But this is not the way with cities, and although 
 they attract us in almost precisely the same fashion as- 
 people do, we cannot always trace their earliest origins. 
 There are certain towns we come across in travel, 
 of which we know very well that we want to know 
 
 A I
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 more. Perugia is one of these. It at once catches 
 hold of one's imagination. No one can see it and forget 
 it. A breath of the past is in it — of a past which we 
 dimly feel to be prehistoric. Boldly we set to work 
 to learn its history, and at first this seems an easy 
 matter : the later centuries are a full and an enthralling 
 study, for as long as men knew how to write they 
 were certain to write about themselves, and the writers 
 of Perugia had a wide dramatic field to work upon. 
 But then come the records which are not written — 
 which, in fact, are merely hearsay ; and further even 
 than hearsay is the period when we know that men 
 existed, but which has no history at all beyond a few 
 stone arrow heads, and bits of jade and flint. Yet, to 
 be fair to a place of such extraordinary antiquity as this 
 early city of the Etruscan league, one is unwilling to 
 leave a single stone unturned, and in the following 
 sketch we have gathered together, as closely as we 
 could, the earliest facts about a city which attracts 
 us, as those unknown people attract us whom we 
 meet, admire, and lose again in the crowd. 
 
 " It seems," says Bonazzi, the most modern his- 
 torian of Perugia, " that in the earlier periods of the 
 world all this land of ours (Umbria) was covered by 
 the sea, and that only the highest tops of the Apen- 
 nines rose here and there, as islands might, above the 
 waves. Then other hills arose, a new soil was dis- 
 closed, and great and horrid animals, whose teeth were 
 sometimes metres long, came forth and trod the terrible 
 waste places. In the silence of these squalid solitudes, 
 no voice of man had yet been heard, and the stars 
 went on their way unnoticed, across the firmament 
 of heaven, . . ." 
 
 But Bonazzi's science, though highly picturesque, 
 was not entirely correct, and the following account, 
 written by an inhabitant of Perugia who has studied the 
 
 2
 
 Earliest Origins of Perugia 
 
 history of his town and neighbourhood with faithful 
 precision and from the darkest periods of their exist- 
 ence, may well be inserted here. 
 
 ■'The city of Perugia," Prof. Belhicci writes, " is built upon 
 ;i piece of land which was formed by a large delta of the 
 |)rimeval Tiber. In very early times (during the period known 
 as pliocene) tlie 'I'iber. before running into tlie sea, formed in 
 the central basin of IJmbria lui immense lake. Tlie soil of 
 which tile actual plain of Umbria is now composed, and the 
 numerous low hills which surround it, are made up either of 
 river deposits such as sand and rubble left behind by the rush 
 of waters, or else by clay deposits which slowly formed them- 
 selves in the quiet bosom of the latce. The date of these 
 deposits is shown l)y the fossil remains which are found in 
 them: elephants, rliinoceros^ liippopotamus, stags, antelopes, 
 hyenas, wild dogs, &c.. ail of which indicate a mucli warmer 
 climate than that of the present day. In the period follow- 
 ing on tliis, the great lake of Umbria began to empty itself; 
 and as the soil washed gradually away, the waters forced a 
 passage through the mountains below Todi, and from that 
 time onward tiie Tiber gradually assumed its present course. 
 The characteristic fauna of tiiis second period distinguishes it 
 from the first. Numerous remains found in tlie primitive 
 gravel deposits of the Tiber prove the existence of man in 
 our neighbourhood during Iioth these periods (namely the 
 paleolithic and neolithic). But the final drying up of the 
 great lake basin or valley of Umbria was a very slow process, 
 and even in Roman times the extent of these stagnant waters 
 was so wide that the present town of Bastia on the road to 
 Assisi was surrounded by them on every side and went by the 
 name of Insula Kimiiuui. 'J'he final drainage of tlie lake was 
 not completetl till some time in 1400, when the river Chiagio 
 iiurst through tlie rocky dykes under Torgiano and loweret! 
 the level of the water by four metres. Thus central Umbria 
 at last assumed its present aspect. W'e stand upon the hill- 
 top at Perugia where once thousands of years ago the turbid 
 waters of the Tiber rushed along, and at our feet stretch 
 the green and fertile fields of Umbria, all the fairer for the 
 fertilising waters of that mighty lake which, in the dim and 
 distant past, had covered them completely.'' 
 
 We have no definite date or name for those first 
 men who came to live in this strange marshy wilder- 
 
 3
 
 The Sto?')' of Perugia 
 
 ness. We have only the relics of their patient industry. 
 An inexhaustible store of arrow-heads and other bar- 
 barous stone implements is found in all the hills around 
 Perugia, and splendid hatchet heads of jade upon the 
 shores of Trasimene. No doubt these men lived in holes 
 and caves, perhaps at the foot of this hill where the 
 present city of Perugia stands, or a little to the west of 
 it, but their history is dark and very far away. Dark 
 too and far away, as far as written facts remain, is the 
 history of that almost more mysterious race of men 
 which followed on the prehistoric one, namely, the 
 Etruscans. 
 
 This is no place in which to discuss the origin of 
 that extraordinary people whose language and parentage, 
 though they lived and laboured side by side with the 
 most cultivated and inquisitive of European nations, is 
 practically dead to us. It is enough at this point of 
 our history to note that the Etruscans were the first to 
 seal their personality, with the seal of a visible and 
 tangible intelligence, upon this corner of the world, and 
 it is quite probable that they made one of their earliest 
 colonies upon the jutting spur of a line of hills which 
 would have attracted them upon arrival. It is certain 
 that in course of time Perugia became one of the most 
 powerful cities of the Etruscan league. Her museums 
 are full of the pottery, tombs, inscriptions, toys, and 
 coins of the mysterious nation (see Museum, chapter 
 XL). 
 
 Innumerable myths grew up around the foreign 
 people, and individual historians described their advent 
 in individual places and pretty much at random. The 
 earliest chroniclers of Perugia, ignoring the men who 
 had perhaps existed for centuries before this unknown 
 nation landed, — ignoring too, the other settlers, — 
 pounced upon a plum so precious and romantic to stick 
 into the pie of legends that they were concocting ; they 
 4
 
 Earliest Origins ofPcrngia 
 
 peeled and stoned the plum to suit their fancy, and 
 having done so, stuck it in with many others to 
 swell the list of dubious tales in their long-winded 
 
 ? 
 
 '?y<^ 
 
 Jv 
 
 w'p'^v^ \ ::^]^:^^ff^'^^-^'-' 
 
 
 v:,k- 
 
 V i 
 
 
 VIA DKL AljUEDOTTO. S110WIN(; TOWER OF TllK CATIIEDKAL 
 
 manuscripts. As these chroniclers were nearly always 
 monks, it was natural enough that they should form 
 their shambling history on the one great history that
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 they possessed, i.e., the Bible. To them the Etrus- 
 cans were easily and most satisfactorily explained : 
 they descended from the first man, Adam, and they 
 were the sons of Noah. Nay, the monks made an 
 even happier hit, for they declared that Noah in per- 
 son climbed the Apennines and pitched his tent upon 
 the spur of hill where the present city stands ! Wc 
 can well imagine the old monk Ciatti, one of the 
 earliest historians of Perugia, sitting before his wooden 
 desk upon some dreamy night in May, his Bible 
 propped before him, all Umbria asleep beneath the 
 stars outside his window, and compiling the follow- 
 ing entrancing legends concerning the Etruscans and 
 their leader : " Serious writers hold Janus to be the 
 same as Noah, who alone among men saw and knew 
 all things during the space of six hundred years before 
 the Deluge and three hundred years after the Deluge. 
 The ancient medals which show the two faces of Janus 
 are engraved with a ship, to denote that he was Noah, 
 who, entering an ark in the form of a ship, was saved 
 by divine decree from the universal Deluge." ' Ciatti 
 next goes on to give a delightful description of the 
 arrival of Noah and his sons ; " they penetrated," he 
 says, "into Tuscany,- where, fascinated by the loveliness 
 of the country, the agreeable qualities of the soil, the 
 gentle air and the abundance of the earth, they deter- 
 mined to remain ; but feeling uncertain where they 
 should fix their dwelling, they were advised by certain 
 augurs to build Perugia on the spot where it now stands." 
 Some say that the name Perugia comes from the Greek 
 word for '* abundance." Certainly Ciatti was able to 
 weave this fact into his legendary web : " Whilst, wait- 
 
 1 One of the most common explanations of the ship on 
 Etruscan coins is that these people were the first to bring 
 ships to Italy. 
 
 - Umbria was originally incorporated in the province oi 
 Tuscany. 
 
 6
 
 Earliest Origins of Perngia 
 
 in^ for the Augurs," he writes, " two doves passed by 
 them, riying to their nest, one carrying a branch loaded 
 with olives and the other an ear of corn. Soon after 
 there came a big wild boar carrying on his tusks a 
 bunch of grapes. They took, these signs to mean good 
 omens, and they decided to build Perugia on the spot." 
 
 Ciatti must have been an honest chronicler. Had 
 we been given his early possibilities of making history in 
 our own fashion, we must inevitably have told a credu- 
 lous public that the ark itself rested upon the spurs of the 
 Apennines and disgorged its contents on the hill where 
 stands the present city of Perugia. But Ciatti withheld 
 his hand from this, and we too must bare our heads 
 before the fact of Ararat, and only hold to that of 
 Noah, in his five-hundredth year or so, wandering un- 
 wearied forth to form a mighty nation on the coasts 
 of Italy ! 
 
 But before leaving Ciatti and his early myths, we 
 must do him the justice to say that he was not utterly 
 ignorant of a dim nation and of dimmer monsters living 
 perhaps before the days of the Deluge. The old monk, 
 like other wise historians, sets to work to hunt up the 
 heraldry of his native city, and thus he explains the 
 origin of the grifHn on the city arms. The enthral- 
 ling hunt described savours surely of something in an 
 even earlier age ? 
 
 •• Now it so happened tliat, when the people of Perugia and 
 of Narni were at the height of their prosperity, they became 
 consumed by a very warlike spirit, and cultivated freely all 
 military exercises, and on one occasion they challenged each 
 other to a trial of prowess in a celebrated hunt. They agreetl 
 to meet in the mountains round about Perugia, which were 
 then the liaunt of fierce and terrifying wild beasts, and having 
 come to that mountain which now takes its name from the 
 event fMonte UrifTone) they found there a griffin, which the 
 Perugians captured and killed. After some dispute the 
 monster was divided, the skin and claws being best worthy 
 of preservation were taken by the Perugians, whilst tlie body 
 
 7
 
 I'he Story of Perugia 
 
 fell to the people of Narni. In memory of this occurrence 
 the Perugians took for their arms a white griffin — white being 
 the natural colour of that animal— while the people of Narni 
 took a red griflin, corresponding to the part which had fallen 
 to their share, on a white field." ^ 
 
 But, to pass from the realms of myth to those of 
 reality, it seems quite certain that the Etruscans — or 
 Rasenae as they are sometimes called — spread themselves 
 over a large part of Italy, building and fortifying their 
 cities, making roads and laws and temples, and casting 
 the light of an older art and civilisation upon the land 
 to which they came as colonists. One of the chief of 
 their cities was Perugia. Fragments of the old walls, 
 built perhaps three thousand years ago, still stand in 
 places, clean-cut, erect, and menacing, around the 
 Umbrian city. 
 
 The lives of the Etruscans can only be studied 
 through their art, and Perugia holds an ample store of 
 this in her museums. There, in those rather dreary 
 modern rooms, stone men and women smile upon their 
 tombs, and the sides of these tombs bristle with long 
 inscriptions written in an alphabet that we can partly 
 read, but in a language that we cannot understand. 
 Mirrors, and beautifully painted pots, children's toys 
 and ladies' curling-tongs — the Etruscan dead have 
 left no lack of records of their ways of living. But, 
 strong as was their personality, another and a stronger 
 force had struggled through the soil of Italy. Rome 
 had arisen to shine upon the growing world. It 
 remained for Rome to leave the stamp of veritable 
 history upon the city of Perugia. 
 
 1 Among the precious objects kept at the Palazzo Pubblico 
 which are described by Frollieri (see Arch. Storico, v. 16 part 
 ii.) are two talons of the griffin, whose capture we read of in 
 Ciatti. These had been given to the general of the Franciscan 
 order by the king of France, and in 1453 he handed the talons 
 over to the city of Perugia.
 
 Earliest Or'ig'ms of Perugia 
 
 Throughout the early history of Rome, we catch 
 dim rumours of an occasional connection or warfare 
 with the people of liltruria. It is not till 309 li.c. that 
 we have any distinct mention of Rome in connection 
 with Perugia. In that year the Roman Consul, 
 Fabius, fought a battle with the Etruscans under the 
 walls of the town. The Etruscans lost the day, 
 Perugia and other cities of the League sued for a truce 
 with Rome which was granted to them. Fabius 
 entered Perugia " and this was the first time," says 
 Bartoli, " that the banner of foreigners had waved 
 across our city." Perugia bitterly resented the rule of 
 the foreign power, and, breaking her truce, she made 
 several passionate efforts to regain her freedom. But 
 in vain. Her blood, perhaps, was old, and grown 
 corrupt, the blood of Rome was new and palpitating. 
 She was again and again overcome by Fabius. In 
 206 B.C. we find her, not exactly submitting to Rome, 
 but playing the part of a strong ally, and cutting down 
 her woods to help in the building of a fleet for Scipio. 
 Her history continues dark — overshadowed by that of 
 Rome. We hear a faint rumble of the Roman battles. 
 We catch dull echoes of Hannibal and Trasimene, 
 for Trasimene is very near Perugia. Did some of 
 iier citizens creep down perhaps, and get a vision of 
 the fight ? Did any of those much-bewigged Etruscan 
 ladies, who we know were very independent in their 
 ways, tuck up their skirts and follow through the 
 woods to have a look at the elephants and shudder at 
 the swarthy African ? 
 
 We cannot tell. The next clear point in her 
 history is a terrible one for Perugia. She fell, but she 
 fell by a mighty hand, by that of the emperor Augustus. 
 In the year 40 b.c. the Roman Consul, Lucius 
 Antoninus, who, it may be said, was defending the 
 liberty of Rome whilst Mark Antony lay lost in a 
 
 9
 
 T'he Story oj Perugia 
 
 love-dream upon the banks of Nile, took, refuge within 
 the walls of Perugia from the pursuit of Octavius 
 (Augustus) who then laid siege to the town. For 
 seven months the brave little city held out, but she 
 was reduced to such a terrible distress of famine that 
 Lucius at last gave way, and opened her gates to the 
 conqueror. Octavius entered Perugia covered with 
 laurels. The citizens prayed for mercy. He spared 
 most of the men and women, but he excepted three 
 hundred of the elders and saw them singly killed before 
 his eyes. When they prayed for grace he merely 
 tossed his head back and repeated : " They must die." 
 This ordeal over, Octavius decided to postpone the 
 sack of the city until the following day. But one of 
 its citizens, Caius Cestius Macedonicus, hot with all the 
 shame of the thing, got up at night and made a funeral 
 pyre of his house. He set fire to its walls, and as 
 it burned he stabbed himself and died there. The 
 flames spread through the city, and before the morn- 
 ing Perugia was burned to the ground. Nothing 
 remained of all its buildings except the temple of 
 Vulcan, and in memory of this fire the town was 
 afterwards dedicated to Vulcan instead of to Juno to 
 whom it had formerly belonged. Octavius returned 
 to Rome bearing before him the image ot Juno, 
 which alone had been saved from the flames. Some 
 years later he agreed to rebuild the city, and hence 
 the letters Auntsta Perusia over her "ates. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 80 laying aside for ever Perusia Etrusca, that 
 city of strange beasts, strange people, and strange 
 myths, we face Perusia Augusta, or the Perugia of 
 Rome. 
 
 For some centuries, strange as it may appear, the 
 powerful old Umbrian hill-town seems to have fallen 
 contentedly asleep under the rule of her great protector. 
 10
 
 Earliest Origins oj Perugia 
 
 It was, as wc know, the policy ot Rome to adopt the 
 laws and customs of the ])eople whom she conquered 
 rather than to change them, and indeed the alteration 
 seldom went further than in name. The Etruscan 
 rulers therefore took the titles of Roman governors, 
 tliey did not really alter, and it is probable that the 
 laws of the very earliest settlement have never really 
 become extinct. The Lucomo of the Etruscans was 
 in all probability the descendant ol the earliest pre- 
 historic village chief, who developed into the Diumvir 
 or representiitive of the Roman Consul pretty much as 
 the present prefect succeeded to the position of the 
 Podesta of the middle ages. 
 
 Rome had always loved and studied the religions 
 of the older people, and Bonazzi infers that Rome 
 " delighted in nursing on the breast of her republic 
 those great masters of Divinity who could be made 
 such powerful political instruments for her service." 
 The Romans must have intermarried freely with the 
 Etruscans ; the mixture of names and lettering upon 
 their tombs points to this fact. But the strong fresh 
 blood of the younger race seems to have overcome that 
 ol the more corrupt one. Other tribes and other 
 tongues pressed in upon the first inhabitants and gradu- 
 ally the language, yes, and the memory of the strange 
 and fascinating people, died. 
 
 Of tlie Roman occupation little trace can be found 
 in the architecture of the city, beyond the walls and 
 gates and the inscriptions over some of these, together 
 with a sorry fragment of a Roman bath. It must be 
 remembered that the entire city was burned to the 
 ground after the siege — burned with all her wealth 
 of monuments and temples — and it does not seem as 
 though the Romans did much to beautify her with 
 grand buildings. Having no old buildings to use as 
 raw material, they were probably content at this period 
 
 II
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 to build strong walls and houses suitable for a fortified 
 town, thus fostering the warlike character of her in- 
 habitants which was to prove so great a point in follow- 
 ing centuries. 1 
 
 Roman rule was a very real piece of history, but it 
 is not possible to say that the period of myth and dark- 
 ness had wholly passed away. We possess a certain 
 knowledge of the Roman government, but the shadow 
 of the Gothic and Barbarian night closes in upon it like 
 a heavy pall ; and the next clear and startling point 
 about Perugia is her recapture by Belisarius followed 
 by the siege of Totila (or Baduila). 
 
 During those terrible centuries when Italy was 
 being ravaged by perpetual invasions, her lands 
 devastated by war and plagues and famine, and her 
 cities, as one historian says, " no longer cities, but 
 rather the corpses of cities," we find scant mentiort 
 of actual harm done to Perugia, for it was the north 
 which suffered first. However, as the Goths pressed 
 southward upon Rome, as Rome herself wavered and 
 sank beneath the weight of the northern hordes, and 
 of her own corruption, we gather that the Umbrian 
 cities too became a prey to the barbarians, and that 
 Perugia suffered the fate of all her neighbours. Her 
 historians seek in vain for stated records of this time 
 where all is darkness, but some dim facts shine out, 
 among them the steady growth of Christianity within 
 the city. 
 
 The first important date we find follows nearly six 
 hundred years after her capture by Augustus. It was in 
 536 A.D., that Justinian, who had conceived the mighty 
 plan of recovering Africa from the Vandals and Italy 
 
 1 Dare we presume that the University of Perugia dates 
 back to this period ? We certainly are told that the Roman 
 youth were sent here in early days to be instructed in the art 
 of augury. 
 12
 
 Earliest rights of Perugia 
 
 from the Goths, sent one of his best generals, Constan- 
 tine (under Belisarius), into Umbria to occupy the cities 
 there. Constantine made Perugia his headquarters and 
 for a while his possession of the town seems not to have 
 been disputed by the Goths. Witigis left her on one 
 side as he passed with his armies down to Rome, and 
 it remained for the indomitable Totila to wrest her (in 
 545) from the power of the Byzantine Empire. Totila 
 is a most prominent figure in the history of the city, 
 and many are the myths which centre round him. He 
 first attacked Assisi, and having conquered her, he 
 turned his greedy gaze upon the fair liill city opposite and 
 instantly desired to possess her also. But realising the 
 strength of her position, which was largely increased by 
 the occupation of a Byzantine general, he determined 
 to get her by foul means rather than fair, and so he 
 bribed one of her citizens to murder Cyprian, who was 
 then the general in command. The citizens rose in 
 eager revolt against this treachery, and Totila soon 
 found that he had undertaken no light thing when he 
 came to besiege the town. Indeed tradition says that 
 the said siege lasted seven years, and however much 
 this may have been exaggerated, it is certain that it 
 was made a hard one for the Goth. Perugia was taken 
 by storm, but after fearful fighting ; she fell, but she was 
 upheld to the last by a new power, namely that of her 
 faith. The story of S. Ercolano, the faithful Bishop 
 of the Perugians, is told in another place (see pp. 245- 
 246). It has been admirably illustrated by Bonfigli, 
 it has been described and hallowed in a hundred ways 
 througliout the city's chronicles, and it is vain for 
 modern historians to tell us, as they are inclined to 
 do, that Totila never set foot in Perugia. Bonfigli's 
 fresco is terribly convincing in itself, as are also the 
 naive and delightful records of Ciatti and Pellini. 
 Among the people of the town Totila has become one 
 
 13
 
 I'he Story of Perugia 
 
 of" its most important facts, and they declare that his 
 wife lies buried close to the Ponte Felcino together 
 with her husband's hidden treasure. 
 
 Gothic rule was short. Infinite and hurried changes 
 
 
 LOMBARD ARCH ON THE CHURCH OF S. AGATA 
 
 follow on this period. We next hear of the city in 
 the hands of the Lombards. Tlie Lombard occupa- 
 tion is almost as dark as the Gothic.^ In 592, Perugia 
 
 ' There is scarcely any trace of the Lombard occupation left 
 in the architecture of Perugia with the exception of the porch 
 over the door of S. Agata. in the Via dei Priori. 
 
 H
 
 Earliest Origifis of Perugia 
 
 became a Lombard Duchy ruled by the Duke Mauritius, 
 who turned traitor to his trust and delivered the city to 
 the Exarch of Ravenna. The news of the Duke's 
 treachery spread northward. Agilulf, King of the 
 Lombards, came hastening down to recapture the city 
 with a mighty army, and he made Mauritius pay for his 
 treachery with his head. This was in 593. A few 
 years later Perugia was restored to the Empire, but at 
 the beginning of 700, she, like many other cities of 
 Italy, attempted to shake herself free from Byzantine 
 rule. It is probable that she did not really succeed in 
 doing so, but this point is at any rate a great crisis in 
 her history, for it is the first time that we find her at 
 all tangibly connected with the Head of the Christian 
 world — with that power of the Church which was to 
 prove, throughout her future, alternately her safeguard 
 and her scourge. 
 
 It was about 727 that Leo the Isaurian, Emperor of 
 the East, terrified by certain evils in his kingdom which 
 he took to be signs of Divine anger, made his famous 
 decree against the worship of images. This proved of 
 course a most unpopular edict in Italy, and the reigning 
 Pope opposed it by every means in his power. Many 
 of the most powerful cities joined him, amongst them 
 Perugia, and Greek rule in Italy, already on the wane, 
 was greatly weakened, but we do not hear of any 
 settled breach with the Empire for many years to 
 come. Perugia was, as we shall see, merely advancing 
 towaids her own liberation, but the acquired protection 
 of the Popes proved useful to her in her next great 
 crisis. 
 
 In 749 Ratchis, King of the Lombards, laid siege to 
 the city, and her fall seemed inevitable. Then, in the 
 moment of her great need, with the Lombard army 
 beating in her very doors, the reigning Pope, S. 
 Zacharias the Greek, accompanied by all his clergy, and 
 
 15
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 by many of the Roman nobles, arrived at her gates, and 
 in words of extraordinary sweetness pleaded her cause 
 with Ratchis. We do not hear what phrases the old 
 man may have used to check a man on the verge of a 
 great victory. We only hear that the Lombard king 
 knelt down and kissed the feet of the Pope. " Thou 
 hast conquered me," he said, very simply, and then he 
 withdrew from the battle, and S. Zacharias passed into 
 the city, and was received with universal joy by her 
 citizens. And not only did Ratchis abandon the siege 
 of a town which he so greatly coveted, but, his whole 
 soul being moved by this new power, he renounced his 
 kingdom and his crown and retired to the monastery 
 Monte Cassino, where he became a monk, living there 
 until he died. 
 
 Thus closes another chapter of Perugian history. 
 Within a space of three hundred years, roughly speak- 
 ing, she had changed the nationality of her rulers four 
 successive times, whilst she herself may be said never 
 to have changed. Her internal history, her internal 
 government, had all along continued pretty much on 
 the first lines. Her entire future policy proves this. 
 In all the small wars which follow, and which lead to 
 her final supremacy over every other city in Umbria — 
 cities which at the outset had been as strong as herself, 
 and even stronger, we trace this masterful and incon- 
 testable personality — the personality of the griffin which 
 the old Etruscan settlers captured thousands of years 
 before upon the hill-tops and chose for their city arms. 
 * * * * -x- 
 
 In all the intense complication of the times which 
 follow it is almost impossible to unravel the exact 
 position of individual towns. At one moment we find 
 Perugia belonging apparently to the Duchy of Spoleto, 
 at another joined to the Tuscan League, at another 
 putting herself under the protection of the Pope, 
 i6
 
 Growth of the City 
 
 whilst all the time nominally belonging to the Empire. 
 Bonazzi remarks that one result of the perpetual con- 
 flict between I'lmperor and Pope was the liberty left 
 to the citizens ; in another place he says that in 
 the scant documents which contain her early history, 
 "Perugia is always mentioned alone, always managing her 
 own affairs." The said management dated back in all 
 probability to that of the very earliest settlement, which 
 was mainly agricultural, and managed by chiefs or a 
 Village Council. As the town grew, so likewise did 
 the numbers of its rulers. In Perugia, as in other 
 places, the original Village Council, which was first held 
 in the public square, was abandoned as politics grew 
 complicated. The Consuls, ten in number, two to 
 each Porta or gate, met in council on the steps of the 
 first Cathedral. The finest architectural building in 
 Perugia is notably the Palazzo Pubblico, but long before 
 the construction of this palace there was another building 
 which served the same purpose close to the Duomo in 
 which the different protectors of the city met. We do 
 not propose to trace the form of government here. Suffice 
 it to say that, in Perugia as elsewhere, we find the usual 
 titles of Consult and Podesta, then of the Heads of City 
 Guilds, the Priori (a very strong power in Perugia), 
 Capitano del Popolo and Cap'itano clella Parte Guelfa ; all 
 of whom recur again and again in her chronicles, play- 
 ing important parts as peace-makers or as arbitrators in 
 her turmoils and dissensions. 
 
 The historians of Perugia, naturally enough perhaps, 
 tend to speak of her as of an independent Republic, but 
 this she never was. She had her own rulers, she grew 
 powerful and individual, she finally became a great 
 capital, but she was never a free state like Florence 
 or Rome. Something in her extraordinary position, 
 something in the character of her people, warlike and 
 tenacious from the first, proved her final force. Great 
 B 17
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 wandering hordes and armies thought twice before they 
 attacked her walls. Thus she enjoyed long periods of 
 ease, and in her stormy breast she nurtured the ferocious 
 families which were to prove her strength, but equally 
 her bane in later years. 
 
 Being utterly cut off from mercantile expansion or 
 commerce of an ordinary sort, she used her concen- 
 trated force in subduing neighbouring towns, and thus 
 extending her dominion over Umbria. Her power 
 soon became recognised, and many little towns and 
 hamlets sent envoys to present acts of submission to the 
 growing power. When these were given freely she 
 received them graciously, and when withheld she some- 
 times showed a power of rapacity and cruelty which is 
 well nigh inconceivable. 
 
 Her history is full of wars against Siena, Gubbio, 
 Arezzo, Citta di Castello, Todi, Foligno, Spoleto and 
 Assisi, all chronicled at great length by her proud 
 historians. We have collected a few scattered facts 
 relating to these, which cast some light upon the 
 character of the Perugians, who, as their power 
 strengthened, began to show, not only a tyrannous 
 disposition, but an occasional spark of the grimmest 
 humour. Leaving aside other events, such as the 
 encroaching power of the Pope, we may now glance 
 at some of these. 
 
 The first act of voluntary submission came from the 
 island of Polvese in 1 130, and was received with great 
 solemnity in the Piazza di San Lorenzo and in the 
 presence of all the inhabitants of the city. A little 
 later more than nine hundred of the people of Castiglione 
 del Lago came to place their land on the shores of 
 Trasimene under the protection of Perugia. Citta di 
 Castello and Gubbio followed suit, and many of the 
 smaller towns and hamlets. But, if submission was 
 sweet, blows, one surmises, were well nigh sweeter to
 
 Growth of the City 
 
 the lieicc and savage owners ot Perugia, and lionid 
 were the skirmishes — one can scarcely call them battles 
 — which ensued from time to time when towns resisted 
 or rebelled against them. 
 
 Assisi and Perugia were ever an eyesore to one 
 another, and their inhabitants scoured the plain between 
 them like packs of wolves. In one of these savage 
 little contests tradition tells us that a certain Giovanni 
 di Bernadone, a youth of only twenty summers, was 
 taken prisoner by the Perugians and kept a year in the 
 Campo di Battaglia. The Palace of the Capitano 
 del Popolo in the Piazza Sopramuro now covers the 
 place where the youth was chained, and we may look 
 on it with veneration, for he was no other than that 
 sweetest soul of mediaeval history, St Francis of Assisi. 
 When Citt'a della Pieve dared to rebel, the 
 action of Perugia was prompt and effective. " Most 
 gladly did the youth of Perugia — hot with the dignity 
 of their city, and by no means disposed to forgive those 
 who despised or disobeyed her — assemble in arms," 
 says Bartoli. The army thus assembled was instantly 
 sent to the recalcitrant city, but the Pievese had 
 scarcely caught sight of it hurrying towards their gates, 
 than they sent their Procuratore, Peppone d'Alvato, to 
 sue for peace and beg forgiveness for their misdeeds. 
 This was kindly granted, but Peppone, accompanied 
 by some hundred and thirty Pievese, was forced to 
 come to Ripa di Grotto and there listen to the re- 
 proaches of the Podesta of Perugia, whilst the Bishops 
 of Perugia and of Chiusi, the Provost of S. Mustiola, 
 and the Arc'iprcte of Perugia, sitting on high chairs, 
 surrounded by various grandees, were in readiness 
 to enjoy the spectacle. All were dressed in their 
 fmest, but we are told that the Arc'iprete of Corciano 
 threw all his neighbours entirely into the shade by 
 the splendour and the brilliancy of his many-coloured 
 
 19
 
 The Story of Po'ugia 
 
 garments.' Peppone kneeling at the Bishop's feet with 
 his hand on the gospels, swore fiuth and loyalty to the 
 Perugians, and we hear that the Pievese returned home 
 " rejoicing " at the pardon obtained in this most humili- 
 ating fashion. This last fact we may take the liberty 
 to doubt, but it is certain that the Perugians enjoyed 
 the whole episode immensely, neither did they consider 
 the humiliation of their enemies complete. A further 
 punishment had yet to be thought of, and at last a 
 brilliant plan was resolved on. The Piazza of San 
 Lorenzo needed paving, and the Pievese were told 
 that they must provide all the necessary bricks for 
 this purpose, and this " puerile waspishness," as Bonazzi 
 describes it, so delighted the hearts of the Perugians 
 that, as we learn, not even the death of the great foe 
 of the Guelph cause, Frederick II., *' was able to give 
 them a keener sense of joy." 
 
 Perugia and Foligno had always regarded each other 
 with undisguised dislike, skirmishing about and ex- 
 changing insults wherever they happened to meet. 
 Once the people of Foligno had come bare-footed, 
 and with a sword and knite hung round their necks, 
 to implore pardon of Perugia, but they revolted 
 again, and the Perugians continued to attack and to 
 molest them. Three times in a single year (1282) 
 their lands were devastated, and finally the town was 
 taken, and the walls demolished, and imperative orders 
 were issued absolutely forbidding these to be rebuilt on 
 the western side. At last Pope Martin IV., amazed 
 and disgusted by the behaviour of a people to whom 
 he was honestly attached, interfered, but Perugia con- 
 tinued to molest her unhappy neighbour with a quite 
 
 1 The law obliging priests to dress in black was only made 
 after the fourteenth century. In i 203 a certain priest in his 
 will left his clothes to difTerent friends, and among them there 
 was notliing black except his hat. See Cantu. chap. Ixiv. 
 20
 
 Groivth of the City 
 
 peculiar animosity, whereupon the Pope, angered 
 beyond measure by their disobedience, excommuni- 
 cated them. " Into such a passion did the Pope fall 
 with the people of Perugia," says Mariotti, "that he 
 issued a most severe excommunication against them." 
 It was just at the time of the Sicilian Vespers. The 
 Perugians, irritated by their sentence of excommunica- 
 tion, determined to celebrate a kind of mock vespers 
 on their own account. Gregorovius says that this is 
 the first instance recorded in history of this strange 
 form of popular demonstration. " They made a Pope 
 and Cardinals of straw, and dragged them ignomini- 
 ous! y through the city and up to a hill, where they 
 burned the. effigies in crimson robes, saying, as the 
 flames leapt up, " That is such-and-such, a Cardinal ; 
 and this is such-and-such, another." 
 
 A strange scene, truly, in a half-civilised city ! But 
 political and religious causes came between and put an 
 end to these half childish squabbles. A little later the 
 Pope forgave the Perugians, and they continued their 
 evil ways, and persisted in destroying the peace of the 
 Umbrian towns. 
 
 Arezzo had the satisfaction of a victory over Perugia 
 in 1335, and in defiance and derision she hanged her 
 Perugian prisoners with a tabby cat hung beside them, 
 and a string of lasche dangling from their braces. ^ 
 But pranks like these were not allowed to pass un- 
 noticed, and Perugia did not fail to grasp her finest 
 banner with the lion of the Guelph all rampant on a 
 field of gules, and hurry out to subdue her insolent 
 
 ' Lasche — a small fish corrt-spomling to our dace, anil abundant 
 in tlic Lake of Trasimene. 'J'he PLM'Ugians were celebrated 
 for their greediness in old days, and their strong affection for 
 this particular fish l)ecame a by-word throughout all Italy, and 
 is constantly alluded to in Uml)rian chronicles. The tabby cats 
 probably alluded to the emlilem of the Raspiinti : a cat. 
 
 21
 
 77?^ Stoj'y of Perugia 
 
 neighbours. The people of Arezzo were humbled 
 to the dust, but by means too barbaric to be here 
 described. 
 
 Thus one by one the cities of Umbria became suffi- 
 ciently impressed by this forcible fashion of dealing 
 with insurrection, and they recognised that it would 
 be wise, though it might not be pleasant, to swear 
 allegiance to the imperious city. Gualdo next gave 
 up her keys, together with Nocera, but the latter 
 found it impossible to suppress a few oaths whilst 
 signing the documents, and there was a loud wail over 
 the laws imposed upon them. 
 
 ■• . . . e di retro le piange 
 Per grave giogo Nocera ron Gualdo," 
 
 says Dante, referring to the subject in the " Paradiso." 
 
 Perugia's culminating success seems to have been at 
 Torrita in 135S, when the Sienese were defeated, and 
 forty-nine banners brought back tied to the horses' talis, 
 and the chains of the Palace of Justice torn away and 
 hung in triumph at the feet of the Perugian griffin. 
 Even the powerful Florence accepted Perugia's help in 
 the Guelph cause, and so early as 1230 arbitrations had 
 been exchanged for the purpose of settling all questions 
 of commerce between the two cities.^ 
 
 All these victories, these repeated successes, tended 
 
 1 Perugia had a close connection with Florence, whom she 
 imitated in many ways. The Florentines were careful to 
 keep upon good terms with Perugia, and many were the em- 
 bassies exchanged iiy the two towns. We even hear that, 
 when the Guelpli party were exiled from Florence, the Peru- 
 gians, ever faithful to the Lion of the Guelphs, enabled them to 
 re-enter their city. Yet it must in truth be added, that the 
 two towns had several points of difference, and that they 
 occasionally met on the field of battle as well as in the council 
 chamber. 
 22
 
 Groivtb of the City 
 
 to increase Perugia's independence of spirit, and she 
 was very careful that no one, not even the Pope, should 
 infringe on her rights, or dispute her authority. Her 
 attitude towards the Church is somewhat difficult to 
 
 Wom^^-^ 
 
 WwaW^"^^:^' 
 
 
 I ' ' tR 
 
 
 
 ^^3 
 
 r.Ar.AZZO BALDESCIII 
 
 understand. It seems to have mystified Clement IV., 
 for he expresses his " dolorous wonder " that the 
 Perugians, who were such devoted allies of the Holy 
 See, could sometimes behave so wickedly towards the 
 clergy. And, curiously enough, the Perugians, lovers 
 
 23
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 of processions, of patron-saints, miracles, and all the 
 rest, could, and did, make laws to exclude all ecclesi- 
 astics from having anything to do with their charitable 
 institutions or donations to Churches.' 
 
 We find them protesting both with menaces and 
 oaths against any usurpation of the clergy, " In the 
 names of Christ, the Virgin, S. Ercolano, and S. 
 Costanzo." Even the Pope was taught a lesson, for 
 when John XXI. in 1277 asked for some lasche from the 
 Lake of Trasimene, the Perugians called a general 
 council in which it was resolved that the said lasche 
 should be sent to His Holiness, but accompanied by the 
 syndicate in order to show the Pope that the fish was 
 the property of the city, and a gift from its citizens 
 merely given to him for his Good Friday dinner ! 
 
 These somewhat petty hostilities did not, however, 
 materially affect the relations between the Papacy and 
 the citizens of Perugia, and all through the twelfth 
 and thirteenth centuries they remained on very friendly 
 terms with one another. 
 
 We have thought it best to give a general sketch of 
 the growth of the city, its customs and its wars, before 
 touching on one of the chief characteristics of its 
 history, namely, its close connection with the Papacy. 
 It will, therefore, be necessary to glance back over 
 some centuries, in order to follow the steps by which 
 the power of the Popes arose in Perugia. 
 
 At first Papal authority was purely nominal. To 
 the small towns of Italy, living each their concen- 
 trated and oftentimes tempestuous lives apart, the 
 great Emperors who passed down to Rome in search of 
 
 1 No cardinal was allowed to enter Perugia's gates before he 
 had arrived at a distinct understanding with the chancellor 
 that he came as friend and well-wisher to the city, and not as 
 legate with powers to infringe on the rights of the citizens. 
 24
 
 Growth of the City 
 
 crowns from the hands of Popes, must have appeared 
 as ghosts, their documents as unsubstantial as them- 
 selves. The fact that one of these, Pepin, conceded 
 large grants of land in Umbria, including Perugia, to 
 a Pope who never came to look at them, must have 
 seemed to the Perugians as little beyond a phantom 
 transaction after all. We next hear of Charlemagne 
 in 800 confirming an act by which Perugia, together 
 with a number of other towns and territories, was 
 placed under the alto domhi'to of the Holy See. In 
 962, Otto I. again confirmed the donation, but the 
 iron hand of Papal power was not felt for many cen- 
 turies in the rising town ; and indeed, however deep 
 the designs of the Church may have been from the 
 very beginning, they were well concealed, and the 
 first Popes who visited Perugia did so in the fashion 
 of people starting on a summer excursion, and not 
 at all in the character of conquerors. They would 
 come to the city with all their suite of Cardinals 
 and favourites, and take up their abode in the cool 
 and spacious rooms of the Canonica, which, as 
 Bonazzi with imperial pride declares, " became the 
 Vatican of Perugia." 
 
 Yet it is certain that the policy of the Holy See 
 was deep, and that the growing capital of Umbria 
 appeared no plaything in its eyes. The geographical 
 position of the city — perched as it is on a hill which 
 commands the Tiber and overlooks the two great high- 
 ways from the Eternal City to tlie North and to the 
 Eastern Sea — made it a most desirable possession for 
 the Popes, and it was inevitable that Perugia should, 
 sooner or later, submit to, or come into direct conflict 
 with, the power of Papal rule. The open acknowledg- 
 ment of such a situation was merely a question of time. 
 
 Innocent III., who has been called the founder of 
 the States of the Church, was the first Pope who came 
 
 25
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 into direct personal contact with the Perugians. He 
 accepted from them an offer to be their Padrone, and to 
 exercise temporal power among them. Half playfully, 
 though with what deep and powerful designs we may 
 divine, he called the citizens his " vassals," and to a 
 certain extent they were willing to submit to his autho- 
 rity ; but in so doing they were careful to wring from 
 their " Padrone''^ a promise that their rights and privi- 
 leges should be respected. Thus for the time they 
 steered clear of the danger of subjection, continued to 
 govern themselves, and preserved that free and indepen- 
 dent spirit which hitherto, and in spite of every obstacle, 
 had marked them as a race. Innocent was beloved by 
 the citizens. He came amongst them at a time of much 
 civil discord, when the nobles and the people were pre- 
 paring for open strife. " He was a peace-maker," says 
 Bartoli, " and he kept his eye on all things ; and on this 
 city he looked with a peculiar partiality." The Pope 
 was anxious to promote the Crusades, and was on his 
 way to Pisa to try to make a peace between the Genoese 
 and the Venetians, whose quarrels interfered with his 
 schemes, when he fell ill at Perugia, and died there 
 in 1216.^ 
 
 No sooner had he breathed his last than all his 
 Cardinals hurried into the Canonica to elect his successor, 
 and such was the impatience of the citizens that they 
 even set a guard over these princes of the Church, and 
 kept them short of food in order to hurry their decision. 
 We are not therefore surprised to read that the Papal 
 Throne remained vacant for the space of one day only, 
 and that in consequence of this event the Perugians 
 claim the privilege of having invented the Conclave. 
 
 Honorius HI. succeeded Innocent, and he attempted, 
 but without success, to heal the ever-widening breach 
 between the nobles and the people. We have described 
 ^ For an account of his death, see chap. v. p. 143. 
 26
 
 Groivfh of the City 
 
 something of the wars outside, but Perugia herself within 
 her walls was a veritable wasp's nest during this period 
 of her steady rise. Her inhabitants became more rest- 
 less and unmanageable every year. In their perpetual 
 broils the nobles fought beneath their emblem of the 
 Falcon, and the popolo miriu/o (common folk), who 
 sided with them, received the unamiable title of Bec- 
 chcrini.^ The two extremes in the social scale joined 
 hands in a perpetual opposition to the popolo <^rasso 
 (well-to-do burghers), who were called Raspanti 
 [raspnre, to claw), a name probably suggested by 
 their emblem of the Cat. 
 
 Honorius in his plan of dealing with the complicated 
 situation can scarcely be described as disinterested ; 
 whilst apparently patching up peace, he really at- 
 tempted to force an acknowledgment of papal power. 
 His policy however, was fruitless, and the nobles 
 resorted to the usual expedient of retiring to their 
 country castles, for, as Bonazzi says, they " preferred 
 to tyrannise alone in the silence of their isolated strong- 
 holds rather than to divide their forces in the capital 
 of a powerful federation." But the situation threatened 
 to become intolerable, and we read that through the 
 years from 1223 to 1228 a "perfect pandemonium 
 reigned in and about the city." Cardinal Colonna 
 was sent to try and restore the balance between the 
 rival factions, but, finally, Gregory IX. was forced to 
 come in person, and through his influence the banished 
 nobles were recalled from exile, and a certain degree of 
 peace restored. 
 
 Gregory paid many visits to Perugia, much to the 
 annoyance of the Romans, who expressed their wonder 
 that the little hill-town with nothing but its brown walls, 
 
 ' Becclier'ini : probably dcrivei! from beccaio (butcher) or 
 beccheria (slaughter-house), which place I'eruo^ia greatly re- 
 sembled at times. 
 
 27
 
 'The Story of Perugia 
 
 towers, and landscape to recommend it, should be pre- 
 ferred by him to the plains and palaces of the Eternal 
 City. This fact is recorded about the year 1228, when 
 Gregory IX. was making an unusually long stay in his 
 excellent and quiet quarters in the Canonica (at S. 
 Lorenzo). The Romans were well aware, Bartoli 
 says, that it was because of their ill-behaviour that he 
 had retired into private life far away in the Umbrian 
 city, and they even accepted as a judgment on their evil 
 ways a certain most horrible inundation of the Tiber 
 which befell them at that period. Deputies hurried 
 across the land from Rome with supplications to the 
 Pope to return to his people, and Gregory went, but he 
 quickly returned to Perugia. The fame of S. Francis 
 of Assisi was then at its height. Gregory felt inquisi- 
 tive, but not altogether certain of the truth of the tales 
 which were spread abroad concerning this wonderful 
 man. He made numerous enquiries and sent his Car- 
 dinals to Assisi to gather all the information they were 
 able to collect about the Saint. But the final manner 
 of the doubting Pope's conversion is described with 
 such marvellous and touching piety in the " Fioretti " 
 that we have inserted it at length in our description 
 of the place where it occurred.^ In the same year and 
 place Gregory canonized S. Francis, '* to the splendour 
 of religion," says one historian. He also canonized 
 S. Dominic and Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, he sent 
 missions into the land of the unfaithful, and gave in- 
 dulgences of a year and forty days to all who would 
 give money to the building of S. Domenico. So we 
 may fairly say that he did not waste his time, but that 
 he managed to get through a large amount of business 
 during the time that he spent in Perugia. 
 
 It is difficult to define the exact mutual relations of 
 ' See page 149. 
 28
 
 Groivtb of the City 
 
 Pope and city in any corncT of Italy, but it is certain 
 that Perugia found Papal power useful to her in many 
 ways, and that on whatever side she happened to have 
 a quarrel on hand, she always turned to the Papal See 
 for help and arbitration. In spirit she was always 
 Guelph, fighting under the emblem of the Guelph lion, 
 and full of Guelph interests. Yet, although openly 
 exercising self-government, almost in the manner of a 
 free republic, under the protection and nominal rule of 
 the popes, she was at the same time patronised by the 
 emperors. In 1355 we read that her ancient privileges 
 were confirmed and new ones granted by the Umperor 
 Charles IV., who seems to have considered it worth his 
 while to gain the friendship of her citizens. 
 
 Up to this period we have only had to deal with 
 pleasant passing visits of the popes who sojourned in 
 the city for a while. The time came, however, when 
 the noose which Innocent had so lightly cast about their 
 necks began to pull and tighten. The Perugians re- 
 volted hotly against the Popes of Avignon, who, 
 incensed at their rebellion, attempted to check it by 
 every means in their power. To understand the pain- 
 hil struggles which follow, it is necessary to remember 
 that the end of the fourteenth and the whole of the 
 fifteenth centuries were the most prosperous period in 
 Perugia's history. She had grown steadily and uninter- 
 ruptedly both in power and riches, and in spite of terrible 
 obstacles, ever since the day when the Romans rebuilt 
 her walls more than fifteen hundred years before. In 
 these two centuries she erected her public buildings, 
 extended and settled her government, coined money, 
 started her university, settled with her habitual prompti- 
 tude all suspicion of rebellion, became one of the Tre 
 Communi of Florence, Siena and Perugia, and whilst 
 achieving all these things she continued to foster the 
 passionate feuds and hopeless enmities between the dif- 
 
 29
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 ferent factions which we have described above. Hav- 
 ing grown strong and prosperous it was natural that she 
 should resent any open attempt of a foreign power to 
 subject her, and such an attempt came in the middle of 
 the fourteenth century from the Papal See. 
 
 In 1367 the Spanish Cardinal Albornoz was busily 
 employed in recovering the States of the Church. 
 Perugia was at that time faithful to the Pope, and she 
 received the Cardinal with due honours and gave him 
 valuable help, especially in an expedition against 
 Galeotto Malatcsta of Rimini. Her goodwill how- 
 ever was of short duration, for the citizens saw them- 
 selves despoiled of Citta di Castello and of Assisi 
 during the Cardinal's campaigns, and this they would 
 not brook. They therefore sent a strong army at once 
 towards Viterbo, but it was beaten back with heavy 
 loss, and Urban V.'s authority was again firmly rooted 
 at Perugia. He sent his brother, Cardinal Angelico, 
 Bishop of Albano, as Vicar General to represent him in 
 the city. Thus the authority of the popes crept in 
 upon the town, and authority of some kind became 
 every year more necessary as the voice of the people 
 grew and strengthened and as the exiled nobles 
 quarrelled outside the walls. Papal authority was 
 finally represented in 1375 by an imperious French 
 abbot, Mommaggiore by name, whose doings and 
 buildings have been described in another place. (See 
 pp. 184-186.) The yoke that Mommaggiore — "that 
 French Vandal, that most iniquitous Nero," as the 
 chroniclers call him, — put upon the neck of Perugia, 
 jMoved unbearable to every party, and ail the different 
 factions for once joined together to break it. Florence 
 and other cities, castles, and fortresses which had 
 " unfurled the banner of liberty," joined in the revolt, 
 and in 1375 the abbot was driven in a very undignified 
 fashion from the city. A republic was then declared 
 30
 
 Groivth of the City 
 
 and the whole town rejoiced at having broken away 
 from the thraldom of the Popes of Avignon. In vain 
 did Gregory XL call the people of Perugia "sons ot 
 iniquity"; in vain did he hurl the most terrible ex- 
 communications against tliem ; ' the feud between the 
 city and the Pope was only laid to rest when the 
 latter died. It had lasted long, and had produced 
 something worse even than the struggle of two strong 
 powers, for it had served to increase the terrible civil 
 discord within the town. With the accession of Urban 
 VI. a treaty was concluded, and Perugia acknowledged 
 his right of dominion. In 1387 Urban arrived in the 
 city, and as he entered the gates a white dove rested on 
 his hat and refused to be removed by the servants who 
 ran forward to deliver His Holiness from the unex- 
 pected visitor. It answered the Pope's touch however, 
 and was handed to his chaplain, and everyone accepted 
 the event as an excellent omen. We will not linger to 
 judge of its excellence, we can only say that the bird 
 heralded an entirely new chapter in the history of the 
 town, which hitherto had developed under general 
 influences and many difl^erent hands. Her coming 
 history is that of single influences, of personalities, or, 
 in other words, of despots. The time had come when 
 Perugia was to show the fruit of her stern ambitious 
 character in the individual men whom she had reared. 
 The names of Michelotti, Braccio Fortebraccio, 
 Piccinino and of the noble families of Oddi and of 
 Baglioni are familiar to all who have merely turned 
 the pages of her history. Perugia, like other towns of 
 Italy, had at the end of the fourteenth century reached a 
 point of internal strife from which strong personalities 
 could easily rise up to dispute or to control the existing 
 
 ^ Some say that the iiull was found reposing in tlie hands of 
 S. Ercolano's statue, as nobody liad courage enough to present 
 it to the citizens. 
 
 31
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 government. Why it was exactly that the Popes did 
 not from the first forcibly interfere with the turbulent 
 doings of these men, it is difficult to tell. They were 
 constantly coming to the city, constantly appealed to 
 by the citizens and nobles, for ever interfering both by 
 menaces and arms, but it was not till more than a century 
 of blood and tyranny had passed, not till the glory of 
 the town was already on the wane, that the power of 
 the Church came down to crush Perugia like a sledge- 
 hammer. 
 
 Strangely enough it was a Pope who first gave the 
 city away into the hands of a private person or 
 Protector. 
 
 ARMS OF PERUGIA 
 
 32
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 T'he Condottier'i and the Rise of the 
 Nobles 
 
 " The confusion, exliaustion, and ili-moralisarion engcndiTed 
 
 hy these conHicts lietermined the advent of Despots 
 
 Tlie Despot delivered tlie industrial classes from the tyranny 
 and anarcliy of faction, substituting a reign of personal terrorism 
 that weiglied more heavily upon the nobles than upon the 
 
 artizans and peasants He accumulated in his despotic 
 
 individuality the privileges previously actjuired by centuries of 
 consuls, potkstas, and captains of tlie people." — See •' Age of 
 the Despots,".!. A. Symonds. 
 
 r^EEP gloom closed in upon Perugia towards the 
 end of the fourteenth century. The breach 
 between the nobles and the people continued to widen. 
 Sometimes one party was driven out of the city, some- 
 times another. Now and again both parties were re- 
 called, and a compact of peace arranged by an arbitrary 
 person from outside. But this last arrangement pro- 
 duced an even more terrible state of affairs, and crime 
 and bloodshed were the inevitable result. We read of 
 deaths by hundreds and not tens — cruel and indescrib- 
 able deaths, which make one shudder — and already 
 in the thick, of the strife the names of Oddi and of 
 Baglioni are stamped upon the records. 
 
 One of the strangest points in the history of the city 
 at this time was the fashion in which these feuds 
 between the rival factions were met by them. uWhich- 
 
 c 33
 
 The 8tory of Perugia 
 
 ever party was weakest retired for the time to the 
 country, leaving the city to their rival till time should 
 favour their own cause.' 
 
 Bonazzi gives an almost extravagant account of the 
 boorish manner of the exiled nobles' lives. Down 
 in the open country they hunted the abundant 
 wild boar and devoured his flesh when they came 
 home at night. They slept in dark and cavernous 
 halls, and were out at dawn across the fields and 
 forests, killing, hunting, fighting, according to the 
 order of the day. Yet, although they were banished 
 from the walls of their native town, they continued to 
 molest and to disturb the citizens, and whenever the 
 opportunity occurred, in they came again, sometimes 
 openly, sometimes after the manner of thieves. We 
 read of their entering the city at night across the roofs, 
 robbing the cellars and granaries, and murdering such 
 citizens as ventured to interfere. 
 
 Sometimes the order was reversed : tlie nobles got 
 possession of the town, and the people were forced 
 into the country. The terrible unrest of such a stale 
 of things may easily be imagined, and, added to these 
 great evils, or, probably, produced by them, came the 
 devastating plagues which ravaged the cities of Italy at 
 the end of the fourteenth century, and the almost equal 
 scourge of mercenary soldiers and private bands of 
 foreign adventurers, who roamed through the rich, ill- 
 governed towns and villages fighting for one family or 
 
 1 On all the lower hills and in the plains around Peruoia the 
 nobles had their strongholds — great walled citadels of bricks 
 and mortar, like the nests of prehistoric birds. Deruta was 
 one of these, belonging to the Baglioni in early times : Bettona, 
 another (where some descendants of the Baglioni still live in 
 a large red villa"). In the Palazzo degli Oddi — Via dei Priori 
 — some well-kept canvasses still show what the nests of the 
 Oddi looked like, and also where they lay. 
 
 34
 
 Condottier'i Isf Rise of the Nobles 
 
 another, or else engaged in pillaging upon tlu-ir own 
 account.' 
 
 In all these quarrels, in all this turmoil and con- 
 fusion, whichever party happened to be uppermost, the 
 person to appeal to was the Po])e, and endless were the 
 messages sent down from Rome. At last, in 1392, 
 both sides seemed to have wearied for the moment of 
 the incessant strife (the nobles at this time were 
 masters of the city, the Raspanti were away in 
 exile), and when the Pope, Boniface IX., appeared 
 in person, he was received with enthusiasm. We 
 hear that the Priori and the treasurers ot the city 
 robed themselves in beautiful new scarlet mantles, the 
 "companies" of the different gates danced through 
 the streets with unmitigated joy, and the people went 
 forth in crowds to meet him. But the breach between 
 the factions was too wide, the situation too com- 
 ])licated for a Pope, who arrived merely in the char- 
 acter of a peacemaker, to grapple with successfully. 
 The presence of Boniface brought no peace, and he 
 retired into the monastery of S. Pietro, which he 
 hastily converted into a fortress, demolishing its tower 
 in his eagerness to secure his own personal safety ; and 
 there, as he nervously wondered what next he had 
 better do, he heard the cries of " Down with the 
 Raspanti ! ^^ answered by "Death to the nobles!" 
 borne in upon the breeze. 
 
 Finally, in a manner peculiar to the Perugians, they 
 met together in council to dictate the action of the per- 
 son they had called in to act for them, and it was 
 settled that the Pope should have full power as arbi- 
 trator of peace between themselves and the Raspanti. 
 The Pope did exactly as he was asked. He recalled 
 the Raspanti, and they entered the city on the 17th 
 
 1 Sir John Hawkwood and liis Englisli soldiers became a 
 scourge in Umhria at this ]ieriod. 
 
 35
 
 The Stoj-y of Perugia 
 
 October 1393, not merely as a body, but headed by 
 a powerful personality — Biordo Michelotti, one of 
 Perugia's greatest citizens, and the first of the con- 
 dottieri who ever got rule in the city. 
 
 Exiled in early youth from his native town, Biordo 
 Michelotti had chosen the career of a condottiere, and 
 roamed through the length and breadth of Italy, fight- 
 ing the battles of different princes. Some say he had 
 fought for the French king against the English. He 
 was essentially a captain of adventure. His manner 
 was kindly, he was brave, honest, frank, and popular 
 among the people wherever he happened to go. 
 Beloved all over Umbria, many of the towns which 
 directly opposed Perugia's tyrannical rule had sub- 
 mitted to that of Biordo. All these successes did 
 not, however, satisfy the man in him, for the ruling 
 ambition of his life was to get the dominion over 
 his native city, and events were now combining to 
 procure for him his heart's desire. The Raspanti 
 rallied round him in their exile, and he became their 
 leader, and the champion of their liberty. The 
 nobles, seeing the power of his popularity, offered 
 him bribes to keep out of their way. But Biordo 
 lay low in his fortress at Deruta, and when the Pope's 
 offers of peace arrived he hailed them with delight. A 
 month later he entered Perugia at the head of about 
 2000 Raspanti, who had been exiled from their homes 
 for yeafs. They at once visited the Pope in token of 
 homage and gratitude, and their new lease of power 
 within the city was opened by the re-election of the 
 priors, who were chosen half from the burgher 
 faction and half from the nobility. By this means 
 it was hoped that a lasting reconciliation might be 
 made and an evenly balanced government established. 
 Yet such seemed impossible. Peace endured for the 
 space of one short month, and at the very first oppor- 
 36
 
 Condotticrl iff Rise of the Nobles 
 
 tunity — on the occasion of Bioido's absence tiom the 
 city — the smouldering lires of pai ty feuds buist out in 
 Hames as rampant as before. One of the Raspanti was 
 murdered by the nobles, and, just as the Podesta was 
 preparing to pass sentence on the assassin, Pandolfo dei 
 Baglioni, "that Perugian Satan," as Bonazzi calls him, 
 interfered on behalf of the criminal.' Whereupon the 
 Raspanti vowed vengeance, assassinated Pandolfo and 
 Pellini Baglioni on their own threshold, and murdered 
 sixty of their clan. The Ranieri, another noble 
 family, with their friends, took refuge in the strong 
 Ranieri tower, where they were forced to go without 
 food for three days. At last the people dragged them 
 before the Podesta, but as he refused to execute them, 
 the unhappy noblemen were conveyed back to their 
 tower, where they were finally butchered, and their 
 bodies thrown out of the windows. 
 
 Horriiied by these fresh atrocities, and again in 
 search of peace, the Pope loaded his mules and retired 
 with his Cardinals to Assisi. The tumults were just 
 subsiding when Biordo Michelotti returned, and this 
 time he took absolute possession of the city. He met 
 with no sort of opposition. The ring-leader of the 
 nobles, Pandolfo Baglioni, was dead, and the Pope 
 for the minute encouraged the attempt towards peace. 
 Biordo used his power well, and every year his fame 
 and honours increased. To the delight of the Peru- 
 gians, he succeeded to the command of Sir John 
 Hawkwood over the Florentine forces, and every- 
 where he pushed the interests of the town, wisely 
 concluding a treaty with Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the 
 powerful lord of Milan (1395). 
 
 The Pope, in the meantime, began to regret the 
 encouragement he had given to this very popular hero. 
 
 1 Pandolfo was thu first of the Baglioni who oiu-niy at- 
 tempted to get power in his native town. 
 
 37
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 Hib jealousy was roused, and he hired a condottiere 
 for a month, in order to fight the Peruvians. 
 The hostilities, however, ended with the month, 
 and nothing was accomplished beyond a demon- 
 stration of the Pontiff's jealousy. But there was 
 someone else beside the Pope who witnessed the 
 honours paid to Biordo with a jealous hatred, and 
 this was the Abbot of >S. Pietro. " The wicked 
 Abbot," as the people called him, belonged to the 
 noble family of the Guidalotti, and he probably 
 felt that the power of his family was too much 
 overshadowed by Michelotti. He had fresh cause 
 to murmur, therefore, when Biordo married Bertolda 
 Orsini of Rome, and the Lords of Urbino, Camerino, 
 San Severo, Gubbio, and other towns came up to ofFer 
 the happy pair rich presents, and to wish the bride- 
 groom well. Biordo's marriage was a splendid 
 pageant. The city decked herself magnificently to 
 do him honour, and all the people of the country 
 round sent offerings of grain, and wine, and eggs, and 
 cheese, everything which their small farms produced, 
 to sliow their leader how they loved him. 
 
 The Abbot sat at his window, and with no 
 kindly eye he watched the entry of the young bride, 
 close by the monastery walls. Madonna Contessa 
 Orsini came in escorted by the Florentine and 
 Venetian ambassadors. Her dress was made of cloth 
 of gold, she wore a garland of wild asparagus around 
 her head, and jewels sparkled in her hair. The 
 Abbot noted all these things, he saw the women 
 of Perugia running out to meet her, he saw them 
 throw flowers in her path, and then he returned to 
 his cell to brood upon his horrid plans of venge- 
 ance. For he had determined to place the town 
 once more beneath the sway of the Church, and 
 in this way to gain for himself a Cardinal's hat, 
 3«
 
 Coudotticri iff Rise of /be Nobles 
 
 as it was probably the Pope himself who urged him 
 to the deed. 
 
 On Sunday, in the 
 month of March 1398, 
 while the citizens were 
 attending a sermon at 
 S. Lorenzo, the Abbot 
 arrived on horseback at 
 the Guidalotti palace 
 on Colle Landonc, to 
 collect his fellow-con- 
 spirators, and some 
 twenty of them pro- 
 ceeded to Biordo's 
 house on Porta Sole. 
 Word was sent up to 
 Michelotti that there 
 was important news for 
 him, and he, suspecting 
 nothing, hurried down 
 to meet the Abbot with 
 a courteous greeting. 
 The Abbot stepped for- 
 w.ird, took his hand, 
 and kissed Biordo, at 
 which sign the rest o\ 
 the conspirators fell 
 upon their victim and 
 stabbed him with their 
 poisoned daggers, hit- 
 ting him such grievous 
 blows that soon he 
 lay weltering in a pool 
 of blood. The con- 
 spirators had first intended openly to announce the 
 deed in the piazza, but their courage failed them 
 
 39 
 
 VIA DEI.l.K STAI.LK
 
 The Siory of Perugia 
 
 and the- Abbot merely muttered the news to the 
 passers-by as he slunk away to S. Pietro with a 
 few companions. Two of the braver of the assas- 
 sins, however, stayed behind and, coming into the 
 piazza, cried: "We have slain the tyrant." The 
 citizens, who were at mass, rose with one accord from 
 their devotions, to avenge the death of their beloved 
 leader, and leaving the preacher to continue his sermon 
 to an empty church, they hurried to arms. The Abbot 
 meanwhile hastened from his monastery at S. Pietro to a 
 still safer refuge at Casalina. As he fled he looked 
 back upon the city whose hero he had murdered, and 
 he saw the flames and smoke break out from the palace 
 of those same Guidalotti he had hoped to benefit, 
 whilst the news of the death of his old father and 
 many of his family in the carnage of that day was 
 brought to him as a sorry consolation for his crime. 
 
 Biordo's blood was gathered together by the citizens 
 and put into a little silver basin, and above it they placed 
 the banner of Perugia with the white griffin upon a 
 crimson field ; and as one chronicler informs us, a 
 heart of stone must have melted at the sight of it. 
 
 Thus perished the first of that extraordinary series of 
 men who took upon themselves the terrible task of 
 governing single-handed the city of Perugia. Nearly 
 all died by violence, but the violence done to Biordo was 
 a cruel wrong. A short interval follows, and then the 
 greatest name, perhaps, of all the city's chronicles comes 
 up upon the scene, namely, that of Braccio Fortebraccio 
 di Montone. 
 
 The Perugians suspected the ungracious part that the 
 Pope had played in the murder of their leader, and the 
 suspicion made them restless and dissatisfied. It was 
 probably owing to this that they fell a prey to the cun- 
 ning wiles of the Duke of Milan. 
 40
 
 Condottieri iff Rise of I he Nobles 
 
 Gian Galcazzo had ingratiated hinisclt with the 
 citizens some time previously by giving them grain during 
 a time of famine, and he now came forward to reap the 
 benefit of his charity by getting himself accepted as Lord 
 of Perugia, which would facilitate his designs on Tus- 
 cany. Perugia's connection with Milan, however, only 
 lasted four years. On Gian Galeazzo's death, in 1402, 
 the Duchess of Milan made peace with Boniface IX., 
 and restored Bologna, Perugia, and Assisi to the 
 Church. The Perugians submitted to the Pope (they 
 seem not to have been consulted in the matter of the 
 donation), but with the strict understanding that the 
 exiled nobles should keep at least twenty miles distant 
 from the city. Boniface agreed to this arrangement. 
 Other popes before him had tried to patch up peace 
 between the parties, but he had not the courage to 
 attempt such difficult experiments. It remained for 
 Braccio Fortebraccio to tear through the tangled net- 
 work of Perugian politics, to unite within himself the 
 powers of both parties, and as the city's despot to raise 
 it to " unprecedented glory." 
 
 Braccio Fortebraccio was born at Montone in 136^. 
 He was the son of Oddo Fortebraccio, Lord of Mon- 
 tone, and of Jacoma Montemelini, his wife, of a noble 
 Perugian family. During his youth the Raspantl were 
 dominant in the city, and the boy grew up as an exile. 
 He had only his sword and an immense ambition with 
 which to force his way to future power. It was at that 
 time the fashion for young noblemen to win fame for 
 themselves by the life or trade of the condott'ieri. 
 Braccio therefore joined the famous Italian company 
 of 8. George, led by Alberigo di Barbiano, whose 
 advent crushed the foreign captains of adventure whose 
 lawless mercenaries had sent terror throughout the rich 
 plains and villages of Italy during the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 41
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 In the tents of Alberigo, Biaecio di Montone and 
 Sforza Attendolo ' learned together the science of war- 
 fare. Thence they two went forth to fight the battles of 
 princes, kings, and popes ; to create two separate methods 
 of combat, and to iill all Italy with tales of their great 
 valour and their rivalry. Braccio's ambition grew with 
 his success, and he soon aspired to acquiring the whole 
 of Italy. His first step towards this very large design 
 was the capture of his native city of Perugia. But as 
 he represented the party of the nobles, the Raspanli 
 manfully resisted any efforts he made to approach them. 
 " It is better even to submit to foreign rule than to make 
 peace with the nobles," they said ; and thus it came 
 about that they gave themselves over to Ladislaus, 
 King of Naples, and remained for some six years 
 in connection with the kingdom of Naples. When 
 Ladislaus died in 1414, the Perugians were seized 
 with terror, but the nobles saw their opportunity, 
 and all things seemed to favour the scheme of 
 Fortebraccio. 
 
 Braccio had joined the service of Pope John XXIII., 
 and by him had been made governor of Bologna ; but 
 when the Pope was deposed by the Council of Con- 
 stance, Braccio's allegiance ended, and he at once sold 
 the Bolognese their liberty, and with the 8z,ooo florins 
 which he gained by this transaction he collected a 
 strong army, the exiled nobles flocked to his standard, 
 and they marched at once upon Perugia. 
 
 At the news of Braccio's approach terror and con- 
 sternation spread through the city. The gateways were 
 built up, and the magistrates forbade anyone to leave the 
 town. But the Perugians, " being the most warlike of 
 the people of Italy," as Sismondi says, could not resist 
 so grand a chance of fighting, and seeing Braccio's 
 
 ' His son, Francesco Sforza. was aftenvards Duke of 
 Milan, 
 42
 
 Condott'ierl Iff Rise of I be Nobles 
 
 men clustering around the city's walls, they jumpeJ 
 down from the ramparts into their midst, and took the 
 soldiers unawares by the suddenness of their attack. This 
 was no real battle, but tumults of the sort were the 
 order of the day. In the dead of night men would rush 
 in panic into the pia/./.a, not knowing what had brought 
 them there, and only conscious of one fact : their desire 
 to make a fierce stand for their liberty. Braccio 
 made a fruitless effort to penetrate into the heart of the 
 city, and was driven back ignominiously. The women 
 threw down stones and boihng water on the assailants, 
 whilst they goaded their own men to fight, crying 
 aloud, " Now is your time to wound the enemy, — at 
 him with your swords your teeth and nails ! " 
 
 At last the Perugians called in the help of Carlo 
 Malatesta, J,ord of Rimini, and on the 15th of July 
 1 41 6, the two armies met between the Tiber and 8ant' 
 Egideo on the road to Assisi. The greatest generals 
 of Italy and her best soldiers, says Sismondi, took 
 part in the fierce fighting of that day. The parties 
 closed in deadly conflict ; for seven hours they fought 
 beneath the burning sun, and the heat was increased by 
 the dense dust that filled the air. " Most dolorous 
 were the sighs which were heard to issue from the 
 helmets," says Fabretti. Braccio was a wise general. 
 He had carefully prepared beforehand countless jars of 
 water foi' the refreshment of his men and horses after 
 each skirmish, and this in the end was the cause of 
 his victory. The Tiber was flowing five hundred paces 
 from Malatesta's soldiers, and they finally could bear 
 the terrible thirst no longer but hurried down to drink. 
 Braccio seized upon this moment in which to swoop 
 upon the enemy with all his force. The day was 
 won. Carlo Malatesta and his young nephew 
 Galeazzo Malatesta, were taken prisoners, and it " was 
 strange to note that the humblest of Braccio's soldiers 
 
 43
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 were driving prisoners before them like a iierd ot 
 cattle." 1 
 
 When the Perugians heard of the defeat they 
 immediately sent ambassadors to offer the government 
 of their city to Braccio. They seem after all their 
 previous fighting, to have at once submitted to their 
 fate, which as it turned out, was an excellent piece of 
 good fortune for them. They made preparations to 
 welcome their new despot in a manner worthy of the 
 man. Fine carpets, brocades, and long gold chains, 
 were hung from the palace windows, flowers lay thick 
 upon the pavement from S. Pietro to S. Lorenzo, 
 whilst elegant gold and silver vases were placed in the 
 windows of the Palazzo Pubblico. " Evviva Braccio, 
 Signore di Perugia," they shouted as he entered, and 
 thus the die was cast. 
 
 Anxious to conciliate both parties in the city, 
 Braccio assumed the attitude of Father of his Country 
 and succeeded in inspiring the people with an unusual 
 sense of admiration. Master of all Umbria and Prince 
 of Capua, many towns acknowledged his dominion, and 
 even Rome was forced to accept him at one period as 
 her lord. It is, therefore, scarcely to be wondered at 
 that Perugians have never ceased to lament that Braccio 
 died before accomplishing his vast designs for con- 
 quering all Italy, for they feel that they only just 
 missed the chance of rivalling the glory of imperial 
 Rome. 
 
 There are infinite records concerning the personality 
 of this extraordinary man. 
 
 1 Paolo Uccello's splendid picture in our National Gallery is 
 always said to represent ths battle of the Tiber. We have 
 however no proof that the youth with yellow hair is indeed, 
 as hitherto reported, a portrait of Galeazzo Malatesta. 
 
 44
 
 Condott'ieri Iff Rise of the Nobles 
 
 " He was of medium stature," says Campano, ■' witli a long 
 face and highly coloured, wliicii imparted great majesty to his 
 appearance. His eyes were not black, but very lirilliant ; they 
 sparkled with fun, yet with a certain gravity. His figure was 
 partly deformed and scarred by wounds. Whether grave or 
 gay he was always higli bred, so that his very enemies confessed 
 that among any number of ]iersons he would always be re- 
 cognised as leader and chief." 
 
 In the following lines Campano sums up his 
 character : — 
 
 " Braccio was grave and kindly of speech, without artifice 
 or trickery, a gift of nature rather than acquireil, though im- 
 proved by some study. None could soothe an angry person 
 with more grace than Braccio, none could exhort and inflame 
 his followers with more vehemence and ardour to the combat. 
 He was beloved by his soldiers, being neither haughty nor rough 
 spoken, and he united military severity with a certain civil 
 modesty and a courtier-like manner." 
 
 One of the most delightful traits of Braccio's character 
 was an intense hatred of idleness, and city-loafers he 
 nicknamed ^^ I consumator'i della p'tazxn'^ (wearers out 
 of the pavement of the public square). He encouraged 
 the Perugians to play as well as light, and it was he who 
 revived the ancient game of the " Battle of the Stones." 
 His soldiers would often join in the sport, and great 
 was the joy of the citizens when the latter were 
 vanquished. Braccio himself was not allowed to play ; 
 he would watch the game from an upper window, and 
 much as he often desired to join, his companions pre- 
 vented him, for it seldom happened that less than 
 twelve men lay killed or wounded at the end of the 
 day. This extraordinary and barbarous game deserves 
 an account in any history of Perugia. It dates back 
 to Roman times, and the credit of playing the 
 " fiercest game in Italy " belonged to Perugia alone, 
 and was believed to be the reason why her people 
 were " of such commanding mould both in spirit and 
 
 45
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 in body." Even the children joined during the first 
 two hours, so as to make them strong and warlike from 
 their infancy. 
 
 On the Sundays and feast-days of March, April, 
 and May, and into the middle of June, the citizens 
 met in the Campo di Battaglia, on the road to Monte 
 Luce, and there formed themselves into two parties, 
 one remaining on the level of the square, the other 
 just below. Till nightfall each party fought to drive 
 the other off the ground, and whichever side managed 
 to gain the middle of the square, carried off the palm of 
 victory. This wonderful "game" must have looked 
 like a miniature battle of a somewhat prehistoric kind ; 
 for the combatants were all swathed about the neck, 
 their legs encased in thick leather stockings, stuffed with 
 deer's hair and protected by greaves; thickly padded round 
 the body under their cuirasses, their feet in shoes of linen 
 cloth wrapped three times round and stuffed again with 
 the hair of deer. The warlike youths and men wore 
 on the top of everything else a helmet which projected 
 forward in the shape of a sparrow-hawk's head, and 
 thus protected, they were able to watch the stones 
 flying about their heads without being blinded. They 
 were called the '■'■ Armat'i^'' and were led to combat by 
 " Hurlers " {lanc'tatori), who wore a lighter apparel, 
 and threw the stones with extraordinary ability, there- 
 by exciting the citizens to combat. Old men sat at 
 their windows watching the fight with breathless 
 interest. If they saw that their side was losing, they 
 would sometimes tear off coat and mantle, hurry down- 
 stairs, and utterly regardless of their age, fling them- 
 selves into the thick of the fight. " It was a very 
 beautiful spectacle," exclaims Campano, "to witness 
 the fall, first of this one, then of that, as they were 
 wounded and tumbled to the ground, whilst others, 
 protected by a shield, hurled themselves upon their 
 46
 
 Con dottier} ly Rise of the Nobles 
 
 adversaries with the weight of their entire bodies, 
 diving in and out among the crowd and dealing blows 
 upon their eyes and faces with shield and sword and 
 buckler." 
 
 To us it seems strange that at a time when the 
 feuds of centuries lay smouldering and ready to burst out 
 at the smallest provocation, no rancour, no ill-will, 
 seemed to be harboured by the relations of the men 
 who fell dead or wounded in one of these terrible 
 " games. 
 
 Besides encouraging sports, fighting wars, and 
 arranging civil matters, Braccio had a passion for 
 building. He rebuilt the city walls in many places. 
 He added the loggia to the front of the Cathedral, 
 that the citizens might have a pleasant shelter in the 
 square in Avhich to discuss and settle their affairs, and 
 it was he who conceived a rather novel and practical 
 piece of engineering by bolstering up the houses of the 
 Piazza Sopramuro with strong walls from beneath. 
 
 Needless to say that the vanity of the Perugians was 
 immensely flattered by all the great doings of their 
 new leader, and their pride knew no bounds when, on 
 the Feast of S. Ercolano, the neighbouring towns sent 
 in their banners with extraordinary pomp in token of 
 their absolute subjection to the city's rule. So de- 
 lighted indeed were the people, that they at once sent 
 a message to the Pope to ask him to confirm Braccio's 
 dominion in Perugia. 
 
 The request was met in stony silence. The Papal 
 See was jealous of Braccio Fortebraccio, yet it could 
 not do without him, and so, for the time, it smothered 
 its wrath and mortification. Martin V. was in need of 
 Braccio's sword to help in regaining the lost possessions 
 of the Church, and he sent for him to Florence to 
 sign the necessary agreements. The visit was dis- 
 
 47
 
 'The Story of Perugia 
 
 astious, for even the Florentine street boys exulted in 
 the popularity of the hero : 
 
 " Braccio valente 
 Vince ogni gente 
 Papa Martino 
 Non val un quattrino *' 
 
 they sang in high, shrill voices below the windows of 
 His Holiness. The insult stung and rankled. 
 
 "Papa Martino non val un quattrino," muttered the 
 Pope in a miserable voice as he paced up and down, 
 complaining to his secretary. 
 
 In 1 42 3 Braccio had reached the height of his 
 power, but his ambition soared still higher, and at this 
 turn in his life his character seems to have undergone a 
 change. His vast plans for conquering Italy had un- 
 hinged him, and he became cruel where formerly he 
 had been kind, and deaf to the counsels of his friends. 
 The simplest and the quietest of his days had been 
 spent at Perugia, where his memory still lingers 
 like the aureole around some conquering saint. But 
 looking out across the plains and mountains of 
 Umbria and towards the Marches which were already 
 his, Braccio dreamed his mighty dream : that of 
 becoming the King of Italy. Aquila alone resisted his 
 power, and in the year 1423, he set out for his last 
 venture. It is said that before he started he left to the 
 care of his wife, Nicolina da Varano, a little casket, 
 with the injunction that she should not open it until 
 after his death, or his return home. When Braccio 
 died Nicolina opened the casket and she found inside 
 a black veil and a sceptre. It was thus the dead man 
 told his wife that the battle of Aquila decided whether 
 she should be a powerful queen or an unhappy widow. 
 
 The siege of Aquila lasted for a whole year, and 
 finally, in May 1424, a decisive battle took place in 
 48
 
 Co?id(jtticrl Isj Rise ofthc Nobles 
 
 the plain below the town, between Biaccio and 
 Caldora, who came to fight him in the name of Martin 
 V. It was a great light, and it ended in a tragic 
 manner : Braccio, the beloved of the Perugians, got 
 his death-wound at the hands of a Perugian citizen, 
 a Raspante, who had never forgiven the return of the 
 nobles to Perugia. 
 
 Caldora tended Braccio during his last hours with 
 every possible care. The doctors hoped to save him, 
 they said that the wounds in his head and throat were 
 curable, but Braccio wished to die ; he was determined 
 not to survive his defeat. He refused all nourishment 
 and during the three days that he lingered, he nevei' 
 spoke a single word. His dream had faded, and his 
 courage gone.' 
 
 In the papal circle there was great rejoicing at the 
 news of Braccio's death, for Martin V. knew well that 
 Umbria was once again his own. The Pope indeed 
 was small-minded enough to harbour his enmity to 
 the very last. Instead of allowing the fallen captain 
 to be quietly buried, he had him placed in uncon- 
 secrated ground outside the walls of Rome. The 
 bones of the great Braccio had but a troubled 
 career. They were brought to Perugia by Niccolo 
 Fortebraccio, and deposited for a while in the Church 
 of S. Costanzo, where they were met by the muni- 
 cipality and the whole city and tiien carried in 
 
 I .V poLt of Aqiiila. Ciunillo, points to a more tragic 
 cause of Braccio's death. We are given to understand that 
 young Francesco Sforza (the son of Braccio's great rival 
 Attendolo Sl'orza. who had met his death a few months 
 jireviously wliilst crossing the river Pescara on his way to 
 relieve Aquila) gave the surgeon's arm a slight nudge as he 
 was cleaning the wound, and drove the sharp instrument 
 straight into Braccio's brain. Nothing that we know of Fran- 
 cesco Sforza's character (he was afterwards Duke of Milan) 
 would lead us to suppose him cajjahle of sucii a deed. 
 D 49
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 tiiuniplial procession to the Churcii of S. Francesco al 
 Prato. All the shops were closed as the bones passed 
 up the streets, no bells were rung, horses and men were 
 draped in black. In this century, by a piece of rather 
 questionable taste the bones of the hero were once more 
 taken from their Church, and may now be stared at, like 
 the bones of the Etruscan ladies, under a bit of glass in 
 the museum of tiie University. Under them are written 
 in Latin the following lines : " O you who pass by, 
 stay and weep. I, born in Perugia, was received in 
 Montone as an exile. Mars subjected to me my native 
 land of Umbria, and Capua too. Rome obeyed me, 
 the world was the spectator and Italy the stage. But 
 Aquila marked my fall, wherefore my weeping 
 country locked me into this small urn. Ah ! Mars 
 laiscd me up. Mors brought me low. Therefore 
 pass on." 
 
 The news of Braccio's death caused the utmost con- 
 sternation in Perugia. If the great captain had saved 
 the town at a critical point, he may also be said to have 
 created a situation which was perhaps a still more critical 
 one for her citizens. Braccio was a noble. With his 
 advent in Perugia the party of the nobles had returned. 
 Terrible things were in store for the city. For a little 
 while, and partly through the efforts of a rather com- 
 plicated personality, they were postponed, but the time 
 of terror was at hand. 
 
 When Braccio died at Aquila, the Perugians prepared 
 to defend themselves they knew not well from what. 
 " Each man," says Graziani, " furnished himself with 
 flour, the ditches and walls were repaired both of the 
 city and the territory around it, and every one left the 
 open country and took refuge in fortresses and city 
 palaces." Two courses lay open to them, and of the 
 two they selected that which seemed least evil. They 
 submitted themselves once more to the power of the 
 
 50
 
 Condotticr'i bf Rise of the. Nobles 
 
 Pope; and on July 29tli, 1424, the delighted 
 Martin entered Perugia as its acknowledged lord 
 and ruler. 
 
 Jvike many famous people of tiiat day Martin had 
 studied at the Perugian University, and perhaps he had 
 preserved an affection for the city which he had known 
 in his youtli. Anyhow, the terms of peace which he 
 conclucied with the citizens were very mild, and as 
 usual, all the privileges obtained from Innocent III. 
 were preserved. But this time it was through the 
 nohles that the Pope had been called into the city. 
 The thin end of the wedge was surely and irretrievably 
 driven in, and the power of the nobles was as a matter 
 of fact sccuie. The Pope himself fostered the grow- 
 ing power, and amongst others, who on the occasion of 
 his advent received rich possessions from him, was 
 Malatesta Baglioni. Martin handed Spello over to his 
 rule, and thus helped to enrich a family whose members 
 were for a period to wiest the power from the Church 
 itself, and to set the town abla^e with crime and 
 bloodshed. 
 
 The nobles remained at the head of aifairs, but, as 
 we have said, there was one strong personality — a 
 Perugian citizen, Niccolo Piccinino — who made a last 
 effort, as Braccio Fortebraccio and Michelotti had done 
 before him, to become that strange creation of the day : 
 a condotltere despot. 
 
 Niccolo Piccinino was a follower of Braccio di 
 Montone, and his name remains stamped on the pages 
 of history for successfully leading the Braccian troops 
 to battle, and following out the famous tactics of his 
 master. For twenty years Piccinino maintained a 
 constant rivalry with Francesco Sforza, as Braccio 
 Fortebraccio had done before him with Attendolo 
 Sforza, the ancestor of a line of dukes. The ancestry 
 
 5'
 
 T'he Story oj Perugia 
 
 of Niccolo is both humble and obscure.^ Some tell us 
 he was the son of a Perugian butcher, others say, of a 
 peasant from Calisciana near the city, but it is difficult 
 to get any satisfactory information about him ; he was 
 practically little beyond an adventurer. As quite a boy 
 he left his home in the Umbrian hills, and started out to 
 seek his fortune amongst the captains of adventure in 
 the north. Later in life his career became closely 
 linked with that of Fortebraccio, who loved him be- 
 cause of his bravery and enthusiasm for the soldier's 
 career. Nature had not fitted Niccolo for the camp. 
 His health was bad, he was paralysed in one leg and 
 had to be lifted on to his horse, and because of his minia- 
 ture figure he got the nickname of " Piccinino " (the 
 Tiny One) ; but the small body contained an undaunted 
 spirit, and his tactics in the field were quick and decisive. 
 He never knew when he was beaten, but would turn to 
 strike again while the enemy were boasting of their 
 victory. On one occasion Piccinino crept into a sack 
 and had himself carried across the battlefield on a man's 
 shoulder. The enemy (probably Francesco Sforza) 
 imagined him to be at that moment in an opposite 
 direction, and the sudden appearance of Piccinino's 
 head from out of the sack, his piercing eyes gazing 
 at them over his carrier's back, caused general con- 
 sternation among the soldiers. Whether this strange 
 manoeuvre won the day history does not record. 
 
 In 1 440 Piccinino made a desperate effort to win for 
 himself the government of Perugia, but Papal power 
 was too deeply rooted in the city, and he had to rest 
 content with the title of Gonfalontere of the Holy 
 Church — Supreme Magistrate of the City but acting 
 in the Pope's name. 
 
 Perugia had a terrible time under this ecclesiastical 
 and military yoke. Three masters pulled her different 
 ^ Date of his birth uncertain (1386 ?j. 
 52
 
 CoJidottitrl <ff Rise of the Nobles 
 
 ways : Piccinino, the Pope, and the nobles, and each of 
 these three imposed taxes for their different uses. 
 Piccinino's is an unsatisfactory career. It is that of a 
 man pouring old wine into new bottles ; the trade of 
 the conclothere ruler was practically dead. The Pope's 
 tactics were unsatisfactory also. He tried to conciliate 
 two parties. He encouraged and patronised the nobles 
 and pandered to the populace by encouraging all kinds 
 of extravagant superstition. 
 There is a horrid tale about 
 tiie burning of a witch at 
 this time ; and religious pro- 
 cessions assumed such mon- 
 strous length that the streets 
 could hardly hold them, and 
 we read that the leading men 
 got entangled in the tail of the 
 procession which had not been 
 able to leave the piazza before 
 those who had left it long ago 
 returned to the starting-point. 
 Passion-preaching, too, became 
 the fashion, accompanied by 
 grotesque miracle - jilays in 
 which a barber from S. 
 Angelo represented our 
 vSaviour ; and all those things 
 only served to increase the morbid 
 people. In this complicated situation the nobles 
 came off best, and their power grew and strengthened 
 rapidly ; but the power was evil. As for the attitude 
 assumed by the former rulers of the city, it is difficult 
 to judge. A sort of stu])or seems to have fallen on 
 the hitherto vigilant Priori. A feeble effort was made 
 in 1444 to drive out the tormentors by payment of a 
 large sum of money to mercenary soldiers, but these 
 
 53 
 
 NirCOI.O PICCININO 
 
 pa 
 
 ssions of the
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 only took, the pay and continued to enjoy themselves at 
 the expense of the town. 
 
 Hitherto, at least, the nobles had been one party, 
 fighting for one cause. But now that the cause was 
 won, now that their own supremacy had been attained, 
 they began to fight amongst themselves. They hated 
 each other with a mortal hatred. We no longer hear 
 of lights between nobles and burghers, but of passionate 
 blood-feuds between the nobles themselves : between 
 the Oddi, Corgna, Staffa, Arciprete, Baglioni, and 
 others, and next we read of cousins murdering each 
 other for the sake of mere ambition. The slightest 
 pretext is seized upon for a skirmish between the men 
 who, through centuries, had stood together in opposi- 
 tion to the outside world. A hundred instances are 
 given of their quarrels at this period. The Delia 
 Corgna by way of an example, are one day preparing 
 to enhance the solemnity of a feast-day by decorating 
 the Arco dei Priori with box and laurel boughs, and 
 are interrupted in their pious labours by the Degli 
 Oddi, who begin to pull down the decorations. 
 There is some dispute about precedence, in their 
 quarter of the city — some trifling question as to which 
 family has most right to manage the local festival, a 
 bitter fight ensues, and the whole town is in a tumult. 
 
 Again on another occasion, one of Ridolfo Baglioni's 
 bastard sons wounds a certain Naldino da Corciano, a 
 friend of the Degli Oddi, and Naldino hurries off to 
 show his bleeding face to his allies. The Oddi, mad 
 with fury, rush all armed to the piazza, striking at 
 every Baglioni adherent whom they meet upon their 
 way. The Baglioni are not slow to appear, as ready 
 for the fight as anybody. The shops are closed, the 
 citizens arm themselves, a procession wending its way 
 to the Duomo is thrown into utter disorder, and even 
 the women thrust their heads out of the windows and 
 54
 
 Con (hit tier I iff Rise of the Nobles 
 
 throw down jugs and tiles and pitchers into the street 
 below. The Bishop, the Priori, and the learned 
 doctors of the law leave their houses and exhort the 
 nobles to lay down their arms ; and after a while a 
 truce is obtained, and the hubbub for the time subsides. 
 Such scenes as these were of almost daily occur- 
 rence in the city, and it was in vain that the Pope, 
 both by foul means and by fair, attempted to calm 
 tlie frantic passions of the rivals.' It was in vain 
 that S. Bernardino, carrying his crucifix before him, 
 came to preach of brotherly love and unity, in vain 
 the Blessed Colomba uttered mysterious warnings. 
 It was too late either for Pope or Saint to check 
 so strong a flood as the ambition of men like 
 the Oddi and the Baglioni. All over Italy at 
 this period the character of individual families had 
 grown too strong for outer influences to crush it, 
 and the heads of the Guelph femilies were everywhere 
 attempting to form themselves into ruling princes. In 
 the case of this struggle at Perugia the most successful 
 of the combatants were tlie Oddi and the Baglioni. 
 
 ^ While Alexander VI.. the Borgia I'ope, was staying at 
 Perugia in the summer ol 1495. '^^ made an effort to riti the 
 Cluircli of tile whole Baglioni family at one stroke. Init to 
 gatlier at once all its members into his net rec|uired some 
 diplomacy. With Borgia cunning he called to him Guido. the 
 head of the clan, and expressed a great desire to see. during 
 his stay in the city, a joust or tournament, |K)litely implying 
 that if organised tiy the illustrious house of Baglioni it must 
 surely he a magnificent success, fiuido, as shrewd and crafty 
 as any of his family, replied that he was ready to do anything 
 to gratify the Pope, and that he could think of nothing more 
 likely to be acceptable and pleasing to His Holiness than to 
 see the people of Perugia fully armed and equijiped ibr battle, 
 with the ciiiiJutticii of the Baglioni house and their retainers 
 ready for instant combat. Guido's covert tlireat was taken 
 with a smile, but very soon afterwards Alexander lift for Rdiuc. 
 antl spoke no more of tournaments. 
 
 55
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 The struggle between them was a struggle unto death. 
 Now one was driven from the city gates, and now 
 another; but fmally, in I488, the Oddi were ousted 
 altogether, and from that minute until the time when 
 the great Farnese Pope came down with guns and 
 stones and every implement of war as well as curses, to 
 quell them, the members of the Baglioni family 
 became the dominant faction of the city. They left 
 their country houses for ever. They fixed their 
 mighty eyries on the south side of the city, about 
 where the modern Prefettura stands to-day ; from 
 thence they dominated all the town, and there they 
 lived their wild ill-regulated lives, mingling the most 
 exquisite luxury with cruel vice. They were a 
 splendid and a beautiful race of men, and Italy rang 
 with their great names, but their rule was horrible. 
 
 " As I do not wish to swerve from the pure truth," 
 says Matarazzo, who himself adored them, " I say 
 that from the day the Oddi were expelled our city 
 went from bad to worse. All the young men followed 
 the trade of arms. Their lives were disorderly ; and 
 every day divers excesses were divulged, and the city 
 had lost all reason and justice. Every man adminis- 
 tered right unto himself, propria autoritate et mami 
 regta. Meanwhile the Pope sent many legates, in order 
 that the city might be brought to order ; but all who 
 came returned in dread of being hewn in pieces ; for 
 they threatened to throw some from the windows of 
 the palace, so that no cardinal or other legate durst 
 approach Perugia, unless he were a friend of the 
 Baglioni. And the city was brought to such misery 
 that the most wrongous men were most prized ; and 
 those who had slain two or three men walked as they 
 listed through the palace, and went with sword or 
 poniard to speak to the podesta and other magistrates. 
 Moreover, every man of worth was downtrodden by 
 
 5^>
 
 Condottieri Is' Rise of the Nobles 
 
 bravi whom the nobles favoured ; nor could a citizen 
 call his jMoperty his own. The nobles robbed first one 
 and then another of their goods and land. All offices 
 were sold or else suppressed ; and taxes and extortions 
 were so grievous that every one cried out. And if a man 
 were in prison for his head, he had no reason to fear 
 death, provided he had some interest with a noble." 
 
 iM ':■'■>■ ' ,-'i**M= / -'S „.^'''«4S* Lite 
 
 1 'f iPS*»^'"'^''^''ii!i'' 
 
 
 I'AI.A/.ZO MirNlCll'Ar.K
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The Bagliofii. Paul III. and last years 
 of the City 
 
 CO after centuries of steady struggle fate had at last 
 decreed that the nobles should have their way. 
 Because the way of the Baglioni is the most picturesque 
 point in all the annals of Perugia, because it was 
 crowned by one of the most horrible domestic tragedies 
 ot Italian history, and because, moreover, it happens to 
 have been so admirably and so vividly recorded, we are 
 sometimes inclined to regard it as the most important 
 fact about the town. We must, however, remember that 
 it was only one of the infinite points which make the 
 city's history, and that the rule of the Baglioni covers 
 a period of not more than fifty years. 
 
 By a rare coincidence it happened that exactly at 
 this period, i.e., during the ascendency of the Baglioni, 
 there was living in the city of Perugia a scholar by 
 name Matarazzo or Maturanzio.^ This scholar took 
 upon himself to record day by day the extraordinary 
 exploits of a family in whose good looks and deeds 
 of violence, their jousts and subterfuges, he may be truly 
 
 ' The well-known scholar, Francesco Matarazzo, was born at 
 Perugia in 1443, studied there, married, and died there in 
 1 518. It has been doubted wliether he really was the autiior 
 ol' the marvellous chronicle of the deeds of the Baglioni. bur 
 there is nothing to disprove this ; the dates coincide, and the 
 chronicle is always inchided in the list of his life-works. 
 
 5«
 
 T'bc Bag/iofi'i 
 
 said not only to have delighted but to have revelled. 
 To understand the Baglioni and the fashion in which they 
 were regarded by the men of their day : terror, hatred, 
 fear, and a cringing admiration being pretty well mixed, 
 one must study the chronicles of Matarazzo in the 
 original^ But as it would be impossible, and even 
 impertinent for us to try and retell the tale of this tragic 
 history in new English words, we have quoted at length 
 the words of one who studied it faithfully and recorded 
 it with a strange vibrating echo of the original language.- 
 We have merely inserted here and there a few notes and 
 details which seemed to add to the narrative. 
 
 "It is not until 1495 ^^'-^-^ the history of tlu- Baglioni 
 l)ecomes dramatic, jiossibly liecause till then thc-y lacked the 
 pen of Matarazzo. But from this yt-ar forward to their final 
 extinction, every detail of their doings has a ])icturesque and 
 awful interest. Domestic fmies, like the revel descried by 
 Cassandra above the jialace of Mycena:. seem to take possession 
 of the fated house ; and the doom which has fallen on them is 
 worked out with pitiless exactitude to the last generation. In 
 1495 tile heads of the Casa Baglioni were two i)rothers, Guido 
 and Ridolfo, who had a numerous jirogeny of heroic sons. 
 Krom (hiido sprang Astorre, Adriano — called for his great 
 strength Morgante — (lismondo, Marcantonio. and CJentile. 
 Ridolfo owneil Troilo, Gianpaolo, and Simonetto. The first 
 glimpse we get of these young athletes in Matarazzo's 
 chronicle is on the occasion of a sudden assault upon Perugia 
 made by the Oddi and the exiles of their faction in Septem- 
 ber 1495. The foes of the Baglioni entered the gati;s and 
 began breaking the iron chains, serragli, wliich liarred the 
 streets against advancing cavalry. None of the noble house 
 were on the alert except young Simonetto, a lad of eighteen, 
 fierce and cruel, who had not yet begun to shave hie chin. In 
 spite of all dissuasion, he rushed forth alone, bareheaded, in 
 
 ' The Baglioni are rarely mentioned without the title of 
 Mat^n'ijicii being added to their name. " I Magnifici Baglioni " 
 exclaimed a Perugian of the present day, ••/ Magnifid BiiLinti " 
 (The magnificent scoundrels^ were for them a fitter title! " 
 
 - See John Addington Symonds. '• Sketches in Italy."' 
 
 59
 
 The Story of Pcrngia 
 
 liis shirt, with a sword in his right hand and a buckler on his 
 aim, and fought against a squadron. 7"here at the barrier of 
 the piazza he kept iiis foes at bay, smiting men-at-arms to 
 the ground witli tiie sweep of his tremendous sword, and 
 receiving on his gentle body twenty-two cruel wounds. While 
 thus at fearful otlds, the noble Astorre mounted his charger 
 and joined him. Upon his lielmet Hashed the falcon of the 
 Baglioni with the dragon's tail that swept behind. Bidding 
 Simonetto tend his wounds, he in his turn held the sciuare. 
 Listen to Matarazzo's description of the scene; it is as 
 good as any piece of the Adcjrt Arthur: '' According to the 
 report of one who told me what he had seen with his own 
 eyes, never did anvil take so many blows as he upon his 
 person and his steed ; and they all kept striking at liis lord- 
 ship in such crowds that the one prevented the other. And 
 so many lances, partisans, and cross bow quarries, and other 
 weapons made upon his body a most mighty din, that above 
 every other noise and shout was heard the thud of those great 
 strokes. But he. like one who had the mastery of war, set 
 his charger where the press was thickest, jostling now one 
 and now another; so that he ever kept at least ten men of 
 his foes stretched on the ground beneath his horse's hoofs ; 
 whicli horse was a most fierce beast, and gave his enemies 
 what trouble he best could. And now that gentle lord was 
 all fordone witli sweat and toil, he and his charger ; and so 
 weary were they that scarcely could they any longer breathe. 
 Soon after the Baglioni mustered in force. One by one 
 their heroes rushed from the palaces. The enemy were driven 
 back with slaughter; and a war ensued which made the fair 
 land between Assisi and Perugia a wilderness for many months." 
 It must not be forgotten that at the time of these great feats 
 of Simonetto and Astorre young Raphael was painting in the 
 studio_ of Perugino. What the whole city witnessed with 
 astonishment and admiration, he. the keenly sensitive artist- 
 boy, treasured in his memory. Iherefore in the St George of 
 the Louvre, and in the mounted horseman trampling upon 
 Heliodorus in the Stanze of the Vatican, victorious Astorre 
 lives for ever, immortalised in all his splendour by the painter's 
 art. The grinning griffin on tiie helmet, the resistless frown 
 upon the forehead of the beardless knight, the terrible right 
 arm, and the feiocious steed — all are there as Raphael saw 
 and wrote them on his l)rain. One characteristic of the Baglioni. 
 as might be plentifully illustrated from their annalist, was their 
 eminent lieauty which inspired beholders with an entlnisiasm 
 
 60
 
 The Baglioni 
 
 ami a lovu tliey wcit' far liom ilcsi.-i\ iiij^ l)y tlieir virtues. It is 
 tliis. in combination with their personal lieroism, wliicii gives 
 a |)eciiliar dramatic interest to their doings, and makes tlic 
 chronicle of Mntaiazzo more fascinatin"- than a novel." 
 
 Matarazzo was not alone in his admiration for the 
 Baglioni. He tells us that whenever the " magnilicent 
 Guido," his son Astorre, or his nephew Gianpaolo 
 walked in the piazza every citizen paused at his work 
 to admire them, and if perchance a stranger passed 
 through Perugia lie was certain to make every effort to 
 see them. The soldiers would hurry from their tents 
 to see Gianpaolo go by, and anyone walking by this 
 noble's side seemed dwarfed and insigniiicant by reason 
 of his great stature and his noble form. Gismondo, 
 another of Guido's sons, was universally admired for 
 his splendid horsemanship. He would make his horse 
 leap into the air, while he sat straight and square in 
 the saddle, not stirring hand or foot. The citizens 
 looked on marvelling at these feats of skill and 
 daring. Gismondo was slim, and walked with the 
 lightness of a cat, so that no man in Perugia, how- 
 ever quick of hearing, knew when he was coming. 
 The richest and perhaps the handsomest of the Bag- 
 lioni family was young Grifonetto Baglioni, whose 
 beauty Matarazzo compares to Ganymede. He was 
 the son of Grifone and Atalanta Baglioni, and nephew 
 to Guido and Ridolfo. His father had been stabbed 
 at Ponte Ricciolo in 1477, and he lived with his 
 young mother in one of the most beautiful houses in 
 Perugia. This ])alace had been commenced by Mala- 
 testa Baglioni and finished by Braccio Baglioni, who, 
 because of the court of learned men he gathered round 
 him, and the splendid festivals with which he honoured 
 the lovely ladies of the city, was called " Lorenzo il 
 Magnifico di Perugia." The palace was entered by a 
 
 61
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 large and richly-ornanicntcd hall, hung with beautitul 
 pictures. At the opjjositc end of the room was a 
 painting of a woman of most venerable and majestic 
 bearing, and over her head the word Perus'ia. This 
 grave and queenly lady commanded a view o\ all the 
 celebrated men of the Umbrian city, for on one side 
 of the wall were portraits of the famous captains of 
 adventure, and on the other those of the most learned 
 of the doctors and scholars, with their names and a 
 description of their mighty deeds written in full below 
 them. Grifonetto lived in great magnificence. " He 
 kept numbers of horses, Barbary steeds, to run in the 
 races, jesters and other properties pertaining to a gentle- 
 man. He even kept a lion ; and all who went to the 
 house compared it to a king's court." 
 
 " In 1500, when the events ahoiit to be related took place, 
 Grifonetto was tiuite a youth. Brave, rich, handsome, and 
 married to a young wife, Zenobia Sforza, he was the admira- 
 tion of Perugia. He and his wife loved each other dearly, 
 and how, indeed, could it be otherwise, since • I'uno e I'altro 
 sembravano doi angioli di Paradiso?'! At the same time he 
 iiad fallen into the hands of bad and desperate counsellors. A 
 bastard of the house, Filippo cia Braccio, his half-uncle, was 
 always at his side, instructing him not only in the accomplish- 
 ments of chivalry, but also in wild ways that brought his name 
 into disrepute. Another of his familiars was Carlo Barciglia 
 Baglioni, an uncjuiet spirit, who longed for more power than 
 his poverty and comparative obscurity allowed. With them 
 associated Girolamo della Penna, a veritable ruffian, con- 
 taminated from his earliest youth with every form of lust and 
 violence, and capable of any crime. These three companions, 
 instigated partly by the lord of Camerino and partly by their 
 own cupidity, conceived a scheme for massacring the families 
 of CJuido and Ridolfo at one blow. As a conse(|uence of this 
 wholesale murder, Perugia would be at their discretion. Seeing 
 of what use Grifonetto by his wealth and name might be to 
 them, they did all they could to persuade him to join their 
 
 1 '-Both the one and the other appeared to be like two angels 
 of Paradise." 
 62
 
 The Bagl'ion'i 
 
 loniuiatioii. It would apjiear that tlit- bait Hr^t ortertd liim 
 was the sovert'ignty of tlie city, hut tliat lie was at last gained 
 over hy hfing; made to helieve that his wife, Zenohia, had 
 carried on an intiij^iie witli Gi.in|iaolo Haoljoni. The dissolute 
 morals of the family gave plausil)ility ti> an internal trick 
 which worked upon the jealousy of Orifonetto. Thirsting for 
 revenge, he consented to the scheme. The conspirators were 
 further fortified by the accession of Jeronimo della Statfa, and 
 three members of the house of Corgna. It is noticeable that 
 out of the whole number only two^Bernardo da Corgna and 
 Filippo da Braccio — were above the age of thirty. Of the 
 rest, few had reached twenty-five. At so early an age were 
 the men of those times adepts in violence and treason. The 
 execution of the plot was fixed for the wedding festivities of 
 Astorre Baglioni with Lavinia, the daughter of Giovanni 
 Colonna and (iiustina Orsini. At that time the whole Baglioni 
 family were to be assembled in I'erugia, with the single excep- 
 tion of Marcaiitonio, who was taking baths at Naples for his 
 health. It was known that the members of the noble house, 
 nearly all of them cnndottieri iiy trade, and eminent for their 
 great strengtli and skill in arms, took few precautions for their 
 safety. Ihey occupied several houses close together between 
 the I'orta San Carlo and the Porta Eburnea, set no regular 
 guard over their sleeping-chamJjers, and trusted to their per- 
 sonal bravery and to the fidelity of their attendants. It was 
 thought that tliey might l)e assassinated in their Ijeds. The 
 wedding festivities l)egan upon the z%x\\ of July, and great is 
 the particularity with which Matarazzo describes the doings 
 of each successive day — processions, jousts, triumphal arches, 
 bamiuets, balls, and pageants."' 
 
 Perugia, it seems, was turned into a veritable garden 
 of loveliness on this occasion. Rich velvets, brocades, 
 and tapestries hung from the palace windows, their 
 gorgeous colours mingled with long trails of ivy, with 
 many shrubs and the branches of blossoming trees, which 
 also lilled the streets. Colossal arches spanned the roads 
 at the different gates into the city. All vied together to 
 erect the finest arcli ; and one was hung all over with 
 tapestries showing the military exploits of the young 
 Astorre. As the Roman bride passed in, the ladies of 
 Perugia went to meet her, offering her rich presents. 
 
 63
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 Sonic were dressed in cloth ot gold and silver, others 
 in silk and velvet, and many ot them were lovely to 
 behold. But Lavinia Colonna excelled them all by 
 the glory of her broidered gown, and by the pearls and 
 jewels twisted in her hair. Simonetto Baglioni drove 
 round the city in a triumphal car, and as he went he 
 cast great quantities of sugared dainties to the crowd, 
 thus trying, by every means in his power, to add to the 
 merriment of the marriage-day, and to show that love 
 and comradeship united the Baglioni family. 
 
 But down in the Borgo S. Angelo men were silent 
 and morose, for they hated these tyrants of Perugia, 
 and held aloof from all rejoicings. They had noted 
 strange auguries of late, and a whisper went round 
 that evil was impending. On the first night of the 
 festivities a terrible storm arose, scattering the decora- 
 tions in the whirlwind. It was an awful night, and the 
 young Roman bride shuddered, as above the din of the 
 storm, she heard the sinister roars of the Baglioni 
 lions.' Lavinia and Astorre were lodged in the palace 
 of their traitorous cousin Grifonetto, and neither dreamt 
 of the treachery that was so near at hand. 
 
 " The night of the 14th of August was finally set apart for the 
 cor\&\xmm2it.\on oi el gran tradimeiito : it is thus that Matarazzo 
 always alludes to the crime of Grifonetto, with a solemnity of 
 reiteration that is most impressive. A heavy stone let fall into 
 the courtyard of Guido Baglioni's palace was to be the signal : 
 each conspirator was then to run to the sleeping-chamber of 
 his appointed prey. Two of the principals and fifteen bra-ut 
 were told off to each victim : rams and crowbars'were prepared 
 to force the doors if needful. All happened as had been anti- 
 cipated. The crash of the falling stone was heard. The con- 
 spirators rushed to the scene of operations. Astorre. who was 
 sleeping in the house of his traitorous cousin Grifonetto, was 
 slain in the arms of his young bride, crying, as he vainly strug- 
 
 1 Two lions had been given to Gianpaolo and Astorre by 
 the Florentines in recognition of services rendered for them 
 against the Pisans. A third was kept by Grifonetto. 
 64
 
 T'hc liagliofii 
 
 j^leil, ' Miscro Astonv da- more come polnoiK- 1 'i Simonctto, 
 Hew to arms, exclaimiii};; to his brotlier, • Non tlubitare Gis- 
 moiulo, mio fiatello ! '-' He. too, was soon (Ic-spatclied.'' 
 Filippo (la Biaccio, after killino' him. tore from a ^reat 
 woiiiui in his side the still qiiivcrinjj lu-art, into which he 
 lirove his teeth with savage fury. Old (Juido died j^foan- 
 ing, • Ora c gionto il ponto mio,''* and Oismondo's throat 
 was cut while lie lay holding back his face tliat he might be 
 spared the sight of his own massacre. The corpses of Astorre 
 and Simonetto were stripped and thrown out naked into the 
 streets. Men gathered round and marvelled to see sucii heroic 
 iorms. with i'aces so ]iroud and fierce even in deatli. In especial 
 the foreign students likened them to ancient Romans. But 
 on tiieir fingers were rings, and these the rufHans of the 
 place would lain have hacked off with their knives. From 
 this indignity the noble limbs were spared; then the dead 
 Baglioni were hurriedly consigned to an unhonoured tomb. 
 Meanwhile the rest of the intended victims managed to escape. 
 Gianpaolo, assailed by Grifonetto and (Jianfrancesco della 
 Corgna, took refuge with his sijuire, Maraglia. ujion a 
 staircase leading from his room. While the squire held 
 the passage with liis |)ike against the foe, (Jianpaolo effected 
 hir: flight over neighbouring house-roofs. He crept into the 
 attic of some foreign students, who, trembling with terror, 
 gave him food and shelter, clad him in a scholar's gown, and 
 heljied him to fly in this disguise from the gates at dawn. He 
 then joined his brother Troilo at Marsciano, whence he re- 
 turned without delay to punish the traitors. At the same 
 time Grifonetto"s mother Atalanta, taking with her his wife, 
 /.enobia. and the two young sons of Gianpaolo, Malatesta ami 
 Orazio, afterwards so celel)rated in Italian history for their 
 great feats of arms and their crimes, fled to her country-house 
 at Landona. Grifonetto in vain sought to see her there. She 
 drove him from her presence with curses for the treason and 
 
 ' •' Unha]5py Astorre, dying like a poltroon." 
 
 - '• Have no fear, Gismondo, my brother." 
 
 •' " Simonetto might have lived." sighs Matarazzo, •■ iiiit Jiis 
 great courage killed him, for he scorned to flee." '• Indomitusque 
 Simon " had been written of him. and as the citizens drew near 
 to look the last on these young brothers, they told each other 
 that even now, struck down by so cruel a fate, Simonetto 
 appeared still unvancjuished and untamed. 
 
 ^ ■' Now my time is come." Matarazzo tells us that Guido was 
 a fatalist ("era homo che credeva al destenato sempre,"p. ii8). 
 E 65
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 the tratricidc that he had planned. It is very cliaiacteristic of 
 these wild natures, framed of fierce instincts and discordant 
 passions, that his mother's curse weighed like lead upon 
 the unfortunate young man. Next tiay. when Gianpaolo 
 returned to try the lucic of arms, Grifonetto, deserted by the 
 companions of his crime and paralysed by the sense of his 
 guilt, went out alone to meet him on the public place. The 
 semi-failure of their scheme had terrified the conspirators : 
 the horrors of that night of blood unnerved them. All had 
 fled except the next victim of the feud. Putting his sword to 
 the youth's throat, Gianpaolo looked into his eyes and said, 
 • Art thou here, Grifonetto ? Go with God's peace : I will 
 not slay thee, nor plunge my hand in my own blood, as thou 
 hast done in thine.' Then he turned and left the lad to i)e 
 hacked in pieces by his guard. The untranslatable words 
 which Alatarazzo uses to describe his death are touching from 
 the strong impression they convey of Grifonetto's goodliness : 
 ' Qui ebbe sua signoria sopra sua nobile persona tante ferite 
 che suoi membra leggiadre stese in terra." i None but Greeks 
 felt the charm of personal beauty thus.'- But while Grifonetto 
 was breathing out his life upon the pavement of the piazza, 
 his mother. Atalanta. and his wife Zenobia, came to greet him 
 through tlie awe-struck city. As they approached, all men 
 fell aside and slunk away before their grief. None would seem 
 to have had a share in Grifonetto's murder. Then Atalanta 
 knelt by her dying son. and ceased from wailing, and prayed 
 and exhorted him to pardon those who had caused his death. 
 It appears that Grifonetto was too weak to speak, but that he 
 made a signal of assent, and received his mother's blessing at 
 the last: "And then the noble stripling stretched his right 
 hand to his youthful mother, pressing the white hand of his 
 mother ; and afterwards forthwith he breathed his soul forth 
 from his beauteous body, and died with numberless blessings 
 of his mother instead of the curses she had given him before." 
 " After the death of Grifonetto and the flight of the con- 
 spirators, Gianpaolo took possession of Perugia. All who 
 were suspected of complicity in the treason were massacred 
 
 1 " Here his lordship received upon his noble person so many 
 wounds that he stretched his graceful limbs upon the earth." 
 
 - The scholar, Francesco Matarazzo, went, as a matter of 
 fact, to Greece in his youth in order to copy passages from the 
 Greek classics. It is therefore possible that he acquired his 
 love of the human form actually in Hellas. 
 
 66
 
 The Bagliofii 
 
 iijion tlic piazzii iincl in tlic cathedral. .\t tlic (.-xix-'U^c ot nioie 
 than a hundred murders, the diiel' oi' tlie Baglioni found him- 
 self master of the city on the 17th of July. First he caused 
 the cathedral to be washed with wine and reconsecrated. 
 'I'hen he decorated the Palazzo with tlie heads of the traitors 
 and with their portraits in fresco, painted hanging Iiead 
 downwards, as was the fashion in Italy. Next he estalilislied 
 liimself in what remained of tlie palaces of his kindred, hanging 
 file saloons with black, and arraying his retainers in the 
 deepest mourning. Sad. indeed, was now the aspect of 
 Perugia. Helpless ant! comparatively uninterested, the citizens 
 had been spectators of tliese bloody broils. They were now 
 bound to share the desolation of tiieir masters. Matarazzo's 
 description of the mournful palace and the silent town, and of 
 the return of Marcantonio from Naples, presents a picture 
 striking for its vivitlness.' In the true style of tlie Baglioni. 
 Marcantonio sought to vent his sorrow not so mucli in tears 
 as by new violence. He prepared and lighted torches, meaning 
 to burn the whole ciuarter of S. Angelo ; and from this design 
 he was with difficulty dissuaded iiy his brotlier. To such mad 
 freaks of rage and passion were the inhabitants of a mediaeval 
 town in Italy exposed ! They make us understand the nrdinan^c 
 di giusti-zia, by which to be a noble was a crime in Florence. 
 
 •' From this time forward the whole history of the Baglioni 
 family is one of crime and bloodshed. A curse had fallen on 
 the house, and to the last of its members the penalty was jiaid. 
 (Jianjiaolo himself accjuired the highest reputation throughout 
 Italy for his courage and sagacity both as a general and a governor. " 
 
 Gianpaolo is the last member of the Baglioni brood 
 who succeeded in ruling over his native city, maintaining 
 the despotic traditions of his predecessors by a system of 
 unconscionable brutality. The personality of this tyrant 
 is strongly brought forward in Italian histories. Frol- 
 liere gives the following account of the fascination of the 
 outward man : 
 
 •• Gianpaolo during his life-time was the favoured one of 
 
 I '• Everything." he says, '• seemed darkened and full of 
 tears; all the servants wept, and the doors and the rooms, and 
 every house of the other members of the Baglioni were all like 
 the palls of the dead. And throughout the city there was no 
 soul who played or sang; and few there were who smiled." 
 
 67
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 Htaveii and ot iortune. He was liaiulsomf and oi a gracious 
 aspect, pleasant and I)enign ; eloc|iient in his conversation, and 
 of great prudence ; and every gesture harmonised with his 
 words and manner. In his desire to please all, even strangers, 
 if percliance he was unahle or unwilling to serve them, he 
 showed himself so gracious and so willing, that they left 
 him satisfied and pleased. He was much given to the love of 
 women and he was greatly loved hy them hy reason of his 
 delicate and lordly bearing. He was. indeed, a valiant and 
 a gallant knight, of admirable and almost divine talent and re- 
 source, as was shown in many of his enterprises and his actions."' 
 
 But there was a very different side to this in the 
 character of Gianpaolo, and we hear that on one 
 occasion 
 
 . . . "he had it in his mind to murder four citizens of Perugia, 
 his enemies. He looked calmly on while his kinsmen Eusebio 
 and Taddeo Baglioni. who had been accused of treason, were 
 hewn to pieces by his guard. His wife. Ippolita de' Conti.was 
 poniarded on her Roman farm ; on hearing the news, he ordered 
 a festival in which he was engaged to proceed with redoubled 
 merriment. ""- 
 
 Gianpaolo was also a good diplomatist, as cautious 
 as he was cruel, and one of the most striking pictures 
 in Perugian history is that of his reception of Julius II. 
 in I 506, on which occasion the Pope came to visit the 
 tyrant in person. The Baglioni was perfectly well 
 aware that Julius had come for the purpose of re-estab- 
 lishing papal dominion in the city ; but he was too 
 cautious to shove His Holiness over a wall which he 
 was building at the time, and thus to counterfeit the 
 papal plans and set all Italy ablaze with admiration at 
 the audacity of his action ; 
 
 •• While Michelangelo was planning frescoes and venting his 
 bile in sonnets, the fiery Pope had started on his perilous career 
 of conquest. He called the cardinals together, and informed 
 tliem that he meant to free the cities of Perugia and Bologna 
 
 1 See Archivio Storico. vol. xvi. part ii. page 437. 
 
 - John Addington Symond's ■' Sketches in Italy," p. 83. 
 
 68
 
 The lUiglioni 
 
 from rliL-ii' tyrants, (ioil. lie said, would protect Hii Cluircli ; 
 he could rely on the support of France and Florence. Other 
 popes had stirred up wars and used the services of Generals: 
 he meant to take the field in person. Louis XII. is re]iorted 
 to liave jeered amono' his courtiers at the notion of a hijrh- 
 priest riding to the wars. A few days afterwards, on the 
 lytli of August, the Pope left Rome attended hy twenty-four 
 cardinals and 500 men-at-arms. He had previously secured 
 the neutrality of Venice and a promise cf troops from the 
 French court. WHien Julius reached Orvieto. he was met hy 
 (Jianpaolo. the i)loody and licentious despot of Perugia. Not- 
 withstanding Baglioni knew tliat .fulius was coming to assert 
 jiis supremacy, and notwithstanding the Po]ie knew that this 
 might drive to des|)eration a man so violent and stained with 
 crime as Baglioni. tliey rode togetlicr to Perugia, where Gian- 
 ])aolo jiaid homage and supplied his haughty guest with 
 soliliers. The rashness of this act of Julius sent a thrill of 
 aiimiration througliout Ital)\ stirring that sense of tfrribilila 
 which fascinated the imagination of the men of the Renaissance. 
 Machiavelli. commenting upon the action of the Baglioni. 
 remarks that the event |:>roved how ditlicult it is for a man to 
 he perfectly and scientifically wicked."' 
 
 '■ At last the time came for Gian])aolo to the l)y fraud and 
 violence. Leo X.. anxious to remove so powerful a rival from 
 Perugia, lured him in 1520 to Rome under the false jM-otection 
 of a ]ia])al safe-conduct. After a short imjirisonment he had 
 him heheaded in the Castle of S. Angelo. It was thought that 
 Gentile, his first cousin, sometime Bishop of Orvieto. init after- 
 wards the father of two sons in wedlock with (Jiulia Vitelli — 
 such was the discipline of the Church at this epoch — had con- 
 trihuted to the capture of Gianpaolo, and had exulted in his 
 execution. If so, he paid dear for his treachery; for Orazio 
 Baglioni, the second son of (Jianpaolo and captain of the 
 Church under Clement VII., had him murdered in 1527, 
 together with his two nephews Fileno and Annihale. 'Phis 
 Orazio was one of the most hloodthirsty of the whole brood. 
 Not satisfied with the assassination of Gentile, he stahbed 
 Galeotto, the son of Grifonetto, with his own hand in the 
 same year. Afterwards he died in the kingdom of Naples 
 while leading the Black Bands in the disastrous war which 
 followed the sack of Rome. He left no son. Malatesta, his 
 
 I .lohn Aildiiigton Symonds, " Life of Michelangelo," vol. 
 i. p. 1X4-1 X5. 
 
 69
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 ilJer brotlier, became one of the most celebrated generals of 
 the age. holding the batons of the Venetian and Florentine 
 republics, and managing to maintain his ascendency in Perugia 
 in spite of tin- ])ersistcnt opposition of successive popes. But 
 his name is best known in history for one of the greatest 
 public crimes. Intrusted with the defence of Florence during 
 the siege of 1530, he sold the city to his enemy, Pope Clement, 
 receiving for the price of this infamy certain privileges and 
 immunities which fortified iiis hold upon Perugia for a season. 
 All Italy was ringing with the great deeds of the Florentines, 
 who for the sake of their liberty transformed themselves from 
 merchants into soldiers, and withstood the united powers of 
 pope and emperor alone. Meanwhile Malatesta, whose trade 
 was war. and who was being largely paid for his services by 
 the beleaguered city, contrived by means of diplomatic pro- 
 crastination, secret communication with the enemy, and all 
 the arts that could intimidate an army of recruits, to push 
 atfairs to a J^oint at which Florence was forced to capitulate 
 without inflicting the last desperate glorious blow she longed 
 to deal her enemies. The universal voice of Italy condemned 
 him. When Matteo Dandolo, the Doge of Venice, heard 
 what he had done, he cried before the Pregadi in conclave, 
 ' He has sold that people and that city, and the blood of those 
 poor citizens ounce by ounce, and has donned the cap of the 
 biggest traitor in the world.' Consumed with shame. 
 corroded by an infamous disease, and mistrustful of Clement, 
 to whom he had sold his honor, Malatesta retired to Perugia, 
 and died in 1531. He left one son, Ridolfo, who was unable 
 to maintain himself in the lordship of his native city. After 
 killing the papal legate, Cinzio Filonardi, in 1534, he was 
 dislodged four years afterwards, when Paul III. took final 
 possession of the place as an appanage of the Church, razed 
 the houses of the Baglioni to the ground, and built upon their 
 site the Rocca Paolina. . . . 
 
 . . . '• Ridolfo Baglioni and his cousin Braccio, the eldest son 
 of Grifonetto, w^ere both captains of Florence. The one died in 
 battle in 1554, the other in 1559. Thus ended the illustrious 
 family. They are now represented by descendants from 
 females, and by contadini, who preserve their name and boast 
 a pedigree, of which they have no written records,"' 
 
 ' The name is still common in Perugia and owned by some 
 of the best families in the place, and the splendid villas near 
 Bettona, Torgiano, and Bastia are all inhabited by people ol 
 the mighty name of Baglioni, 
 
 70
 
 T'he Baglloiii 
 
 Thus the Baglioni practically killed themselves — 
 stamped out their own power through their own 
 passions. It remained for the Church to crush if 
 possible the spirit of liberty and of self-government in 
 the people of Perugia. It is as though a mighty 
 wheel spun round and we next find the city wholly 
 and entirely in the clutches of Rome. 
 
 When the last strong member of the terrible brood, 
 Ridolfo Baglioni, forced his way back into Perugia 
 with the evident intention of ruling there, he seems 
 to have ignored the fact that he had something more 
 powerful to face than the opposition of the people. 
 Ridolfo set fire to the people's palace, but he went 
 much further, he assassinated the Pope's Legate. 
 This outrage gave the final push to Rome, who had 
 so often and so impotently interfered before, and Paul 
 Farnese, the reigning Pope, listened, we hear, with 
 the profoundest displeasure to the account of this 
 barefaced murder. He at once took the high hand. 
 He sent troo])s from Rome to drive out Ridolfo, who 
 retired before them to seek a better fortune elsewhere. 
 He then had the walls of Spello, Bettona, Bastia, 
 and other strongholds of Ridolfo Baglioni demolished, 
 and finally, in ordt-r to make his policy more per- 
 manent and decisive, the great Farnese Pope arrived 
 in person at Perugia. 
 
 Paul's arrival is one of the most impressive .points 
 in the annals of the town. The rule of the Baglioni 
 had been so powerful and so picturesque that in 
 tracing it one is inclined to ignore the undercurrent 
 of affairs in the city. As a matter of fact the old 
 order of rule had not really died out under that of the 
 nobles, and in the description of Paul's reception we find 
 the familiar names of companies and Priori occurring 
 again and again with all their followers and titles. 
 
 71
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 The Perugians, wearied to death by the despotic 
 rule of the nobles, hailed the advent of a much more 
 despotic Pope with blind and excessive joy. Paul 
 came in triumph, and in triumph he was received. Great 
 arches were built for him and for his cardinals to pass 
 beneath, and since tlie town had not sufficient money 
 to spend on his reception they even melted down a 
 beautiful silver ship belonging to the city plate chest. It 
 was on the last day of August 1535, and at about mid- 
 night, that "His Blessed Holiness" arrived at the 
 gates with fourteen cardinals and some companies of 
 600 or 700 horse and 700 infantry. The Pope 
 rode up on horseback, dressed in scarlet. Drums 
 and tambours heralded his approach. The cardinals 
 rode by two and two. On either side of His Holiness 
 rode his two nephews : the Cardinals Alexander 
 Farnese and Guido Ascanio Sforza. The Priori, all 
 in new and gorgeous robes, preceded by the Holy 
 Eucharist, came out to meet him, and through their 
 ambassador or nun%io they presented to His Holiness 
 a silver basin containing the keys of the city. Then 
 a learned doctor of the University delivered "a short 
 but elegant address," to which the Pope listened atten- 
 tively, and for that night the Pope turned in to sleep in 
 the monastery of S. Pietro. Thefollowing dayhe entered 
 the city with extraordinary pomp and took up his abode 
 in the Palazzo Pubblico, where the Priori had vacated 
 their own rooms in order to give him proper space ; 
 and thither all the professors and all the members of 
 the city guilds and confraternities arrived that afternoon 
 to kiss his foot. 
 
 Paul's first visit to Perugia may be called a 
 triumphal progress rather than anything else. He 
 gave great gifts of grain to the city, and he conferred 
 countless benefits upon its churches and its clergy. 
 B\it he came to rule, and not to pamper or caress. For 
 72
 
 "Tbi" l)cigl}o?i} 
 
 a time all went well. The convents and the monas- 
 teries grew fat and prosperous, the Baglioni were away, 
 and the people apparently at peace ; but storms were 
 brewing. After three years of passive submission 
 Perugia found cause to revolt against her new ruler 
 as she had done against her old. In 153S Paul III. 
 sent out his decree for raising the price of salt by 
 one half in all the pontifical states, and the Perugians 
 revolted at once against an imposition wliich they had 
 good reason to feci unjust. ^ 
 
 Revolution was declared. Alfano Alfani, the chief 
 of the magistrates, tried to calm the fury of his country- 
 men, and at first only humble entreaties were sent down 
 to Rome imploring Paul III. to remove a tax so odious 
 to the people. But the Pope was too much in need of 
 money to listen to these prayers. His only answer 
 was an excommunication, which punishment was not 
 unfamiliar to the people of Perugia. During the 
 month of March 1539 the city lay under an inteidict, 
 no masses were said, no sacraments given, and the 
 churches seemed as the monuments of a people long 
 since dead. Every day the murmurings of the Peru- 
 gians grew and strengthened, and finally they took the 
 high-handed measure of arranging matters for themselves. 
 They elected twenty-five citizens who were called "the 
 twenty-five defenders of justice in the city of Perugia," 
 and before many days were out the " twenty-five " had 
 obtained unlimited power. They exercised an inde- 
 pendent and undisputed authority and pushed xha priori 
 entirely to one side. Their endeavours to protect tlieir 
 liberty and resist the Pope's authority soon roused his 
 anger. The Farnese was not a person to be trifled 
 
 ' By tlic treaty concludeci witli Martin V. (1424) after 
 FortL-braccio's lieatli. Perugia was alisolved from every tax 
 not in force during- the time of Boniface IX., and Paul had 
 accepted this treaty on his accession. 
 
 7.^
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 with, and this barefaced rebellion of the little Umbiian 
 city had to be crushed by prompt and powerful means ; 
 so the Pope sent his son, Pier Luigi Farnese, at the 
 head of 10,000 Italians and 3000 Spaniards to meet 
 the rulers in the field. 
 
 A strange piece of history follows. The Perugians 
 veer round utterly and call in as their leader Ridolfo 
 Baglioni to help them against a Pope, whom but three 
 short years ago they had welcomed as their best bene- 
 factor. 
 
 Ridolfo went forth to fight against the Papal troops 
 with a mighty flourish of trumpets, but we only hear 
 faint rumours of a skirmish near Ponte S. Giovanni 
 where one or two men were killed, and a few more 
 tumbled off their chargers. The whole account reads 
 like a farce, and yet we know that men and women re- 
 garded it with deadly earnest at the time. Tlie city was 
 all unhinged. An extraordinary religious phase which 
 had nothing to do with the Church came over her. The 
 large crucifix which is still to be seen in S. Lorenzo, 
 was placed above the main entrance to the Duomo, and 
 here the people came to pray and tell their beads with 
 an unwonted fervour. Continual processions wound 
 their slow way up from S. Domenico to the Cathedral 
 square, and we hear that the cries for mercy were 
 deafening throughout the city. 
 
 On a dark night, by the flickering light of many 
 torches, Maria Podiano, the Chancellor of the Com- 
 mune, delivered a touching oration, and in the sight of 
 all the citizens he placed the city keys at the foot of 
 the great crucifix on the outside of the Cathedral — 
 Christ was to be their defender, Christ their leader, to 
 fight against a Pope ! ^ 
 
 1 The place where this great crucifix stood (the cross itself 
 is hidden by a window) can still be seen on the south side of the 
 Duomo, and every night a lamp is burned above it in com- 
 
 74
 
 The Bagl'ioiii 
 
 But it was impossible that Perugia should be able to 
 stand against such an army as that of Paul III., and 
 Ridolfo Baglioni was the first to see that his side must 
 lose. With less loyalty than might have been expected 
 from this would-be despot of Perugia, he edged to- 
 wards peace, and finally, on the 3rd June 1540, 
 peace was concluded between Pier Luigi Farnese 
 and Ridolfo Baglioni. Thus it happened that once 
 again Perugia was cast under the shadow of Pontifical 
 Rome. Neighbouring towns had abandoned her at 
 the moment when she wrestled for her liberty ; 
 Ridolfo Baglioni had given her but a half-hearted 
 help, and the Perugians were driven to confess that 
 the only course which now lay open to them was an 
 apology to the Pope. Twenty -five ambassadors were 
 therefore sent to Rome. Dressed in long black robes 
 with halters round their necks, the unhappy Perugian 
 envoys crouched in the portico of S. Peter's awaiting 
 tlieir absolution. 
 
 Pardon was obtained, but at a heavy price. The 
 ambassadors returned home bearing the news that Paul 
 had forgiven the city ; but the titles of Preservers of 
 Ecclesiastical Obedience, borne by the Pope's magis- 
 trates, warned Perugia quite sufficiently that her old 
 forms of government were wiped away for ever. 
 A few days later and the foundations of Paul III.'s 
 fortress were laid on the site of the razed palaces of the 
 Baglioni, and the citizens were compelled to lend their 
 help in the erection of this colossal stronghold which 
 was to prove their bane for centuries to follow. On 
 its inner walls it bore the following inscription, which 
 fully indicated the feelings and intentions of the 
 
 memoration of that fantastic ceremony. How little probably 
 does the ciistodi\ who strikes the match, guess for what purpose 
 lie does so. No doubt he imagines that he is lighting up to 
 make the street below more clear for passers-by. 
 
 75
 
 I' he Stoi'y of Perugia 
 
 indomitable Farnesc- : Ad coerctndam Ptrusinoriim 
 Audac'iam.'^ 
 
 Writhing beneath the yoke of priests, the Perugians 
 soon regretted even the rule of the Bagllonl : " Help 
 me If you can," Malatesta Baglloni had cried as he lay 
 dying at Bettona In 1531, "for after my death you 
 will be made to draw the cart like oxen " ; and Frol- 
 liere, chronicling these words, remarks: "This has 
 been fulfilled to the last letter, for ail have borne not 
 only the yoke but the goad." - 
 
 In the same vear ( 1 540) as that In which Paul III. 
 laid the foundations of his famous fortress, a society, 
 which proved of invaluable service in furthering the 
 work and wishes of the Papacy, sprang forth into 
 vigorous life, and gradually the chief power in Perugia 
 fell into the hands of the .Jesuits. These agents of the 
 Pope proceeded to convert the city wholesale by means 
 of religious ceremonies, general confessions, preachings 
 in every square, and in all the corners of the streets, 
 and colossal processions, headed by missionaries wear- 
 ing crowns of thorns and bearing enormous crosses. 
 Industries died out, poverty, famine, and pestilence 
 decimated the city, and in 1728, from a petition pre- 
 sented to Clement X., it appears that Perugia was 
 reduced to such a state of wretchedness as to bring 
 tears to the eyes of those who remembered her former 
 
 prosperity. 
 
 '-;;- * * * * 
 
 The final history of Perugia, down to the present 
 day, may be compressed into a very few lines. Up to the 
 
 ' This immense and extraordinary Iniilding has been fully 
 descrihed in another place (see chap. vi.). Plate, p. 77, will ex- 
 plain how powerful was the position tiiat it held, and how well 
 calculated it was to strike terror into the minds of the citizens. 
 But according to one authority the Latin inscription c|uoted 
 al)ove was never written on its v\alls. 
 
 - See " Archivio Storico Italiano," vol. xvi.. part ii. p. 443. 
 76
 
 77
 
 T'he Baglio?!/ 
 
 end of the last century, she was practically ruled by the 
 Popes, and was a city of the Papal States. Her immense 
 convents and churches were iilled with monks and nuns. 
 In I 549, Julius III. restored to her some of her ancient 
 privileges of which Paul had deprived her, and in some 
 sort she regained her old forms of government, but she 
 could never again be called by her historians an inde- 
 ])endent State. In 1797, during the general upheaval 
 of Europe which followed the revolution in France, 
 she underwent a quite new phase, and became a French 
 Prefecture under the title of Dcpartimento del Trasimeno. 
 General la Valette levied tribute from the citizens, who 
 were further harassed by the sudden break up of the 
 Roman Republic and an Austrian occupation. After 
 tlie Battle of Marengo, in 1800, Perugia ceased to be 
 Pontifical, and in 1809 she was formally annexed to 
 the French Empire, and made a canton of Spoleto 
 under a sub-prefect. By Napoleon's orders the con- 
 vents of both sexes and of all orders were suppressed, 
 the bishops and prelates were sent to Rome in carriage 
 loads, and the poor monks and nuns were unfrocked 
 and literally carted through the streets to their homes. 
 When a turn came in the fortunes of the empire, Perugia 
 became the victim of another change, and with the 
 })artial introduction of the papal sway, the monks and 
 nuns returned to their convents. 
 
 In spite of its tyrannies, the Napoleonic occupation 
 liad given the Perugians a taste for better things than 
 a papal despotism, and they never again found rest in 
 the care of the Pope. They fretted and chafed under 
 the Pope's people ; the Pope's fortress became a veri- 
 table eye-sore to them, the daily sight of its walls 
 burned into their hearts like red-hot nails, and whenever 
 they could they pulled a part of it down. 
 
 At last, in 1859, they rose in open rebellion, 
 and Papal troops were sent by Pius IX. to besiege the 
 
 79
 
 T'bc Storv of Perugia 
 
 town. Some 2000 of the Swiss Guard, led by 
 Colonel Schmid, arrived from Rome to quell the 
 insuriection. Bonazzi gives a vivid account of the 
 atrocities these men committed in the city. They 
 killed all whom they laid hands on in their raids as 
 they passed through the streets, crying aloud as they 
 went that " their master the Pope had given them 
 orders that none should be spared." S. Pietro was 
 forced, and, notwithstanding the protests of the Abbot 
 and his monks, its vestments were torn to tiireads, 
 gold and silver ornaments carried away, and not 
 even the archives with their wealth of long accumu- 
 lated missals escaped the vandalism of the papal troops. 
 (See p. 162.) 
 
 In ih!6o the Swiss were fmally dislodged by Victor 
 Emanuel's envoy. General Manfredo Fanti ; and, un- 
 ai med and closely guarded by a double file of the 
 King's soldiers, the last representatives of papal power 
 were driven from the fortress of Paul III., and having 
 passed a night in the cathedral, they were ousted for 
 ever from the precincts of Perugia. Paul III.'s 
 fortress had now been entirely pulled down by an 
 infinite number of willing hands, and the present great 
 buildings of the Prefettura, which represents the modern 
 government of a prosperous town, took their place on 
 the former site of the Baglioni palaces. 
 
 -5«- -if * * * 
 
 With the loss of Perugia's independent existence in 
 I 540 the light of romance was lost to her history. 
 But from that minute, and in spite of all her anguish 
 and humiliation, she learned the final lesson of how to 
 live at peace within herself, and be at peace with all 
 her neighbours. This lesson she had never learned 
 through all her battlings in the past. She had risen 
 fighting, and fighting she had flourished. It would be 
 inaccurate to say that fighting she fell. 
 80
 
 T'he Bagliofii 
 
 Perugia never fell. She was merely caught and 
 tamed. Anyone familiar with the cities of Umbria 
 will at once recognise in this, their head, something 
 forcible, strong, grand, and enduring, which neither 
 nobles, emperors, nor popes were able to beat out of 
 her ; something which has kept her what she was at 
 the beginning : Perugia, the city of plenty, and fitted 
 her to be what she is now : Perugia the capital of 
 Umbria; as grand in her unity with her great mother, 
 as she was powerful in her strife. 
 
 8 1
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 The City of Perugia 
 
 " C'est une vieille ville du moyen age, ville de defense et de 
 refuge, posee sur un plateau escarpe, d'ou toute la vallee se 
 decouvre." — H. Taine. Voyage en Italic. 
 
 LjAVING glanced thus rapidly over the history of 
 Perugia we turn with fresh interest to examine 
 the city itself, and to trace through what remains of its 
 earliest walls and houses, the character of those same 
 fascinating, if pugnacious persons, who built those walls, 
 fought over them, lived and died within them. 
 
 Perugia is an excellent mirror of history, combining 
 on its surface not only a reflection of the immortal past 
 but of a prosperous present, and with the exception of 
 ancient Roman influences, which, for some obscure 
 reason, have almost entirely vanished, it would be diflicult 
 to find a nest of man more perfect or unchanged in all its 
 parts. Battered and abused by warfare and by weather 
 the stones of the middle ages may be and are, but they 
 have not been destroyed, and there is something grand 
 and clean in the modern buildings which confirms, 
 rather than destroys, the aesthetic charm and splendour 
 of the old. 
 
 Perugia is very distinctly the living capital of the 
 province. After travelling through Umbria and study- 
 ing one by one the little dreamy old-world cities — each 
 perched upon its separate hillside, which seem to have 
 fallen asleep long centuries ago, letting the silence of 
 82
 
 T'he City of Perugia 
 
 the grass close in on their paved streets, as the need 
 of self-protection vanished — one returns to Perugia 
 and recognises that she, at least, has never died. She 
 is often very silent, very brown and grim ; she has iicr 
 
 
 
 i:'if/W!il^^ 
 
 ' ''y^^ 
 
 f. 
 
 /^ 
 
 I'F.RUniA FROM TIIK ROAD TO THE CAMI'O SANTO 
 
 dreams, but the hope in her: the desire for rule and 
 power, has never really vanished. The most remark- 
 able change about the town, if we are to take what we 
 read of her history for certain fact, is the change in her 
 
 83
 
 T'hc Story of P('?v/g'ia 
 
 people. The inhabitants of Perugia, in every class, 
 are unmistakably gentle and amiable, both in mind 
 and manner. They are courteous to strangers, kind, 
 helpful and calm. Even the street boys ask one for 
 stamps instead of pennies. In their leisure they are 
 gay, and in their work persistent. They are never frantic 
 or demonstrative. As one sits at one's window on 
 warm spring nights, one almost wishes the people in 
 the street would either fight or sing, but they do neither. 
 They take their pleasures calmly, and hang upon their 
 town walls by the hour, gazing out upon a view they 
 love. Perhaps in their inmost hearts they are counting 
 the numberless little cities, all of which their fathers 
 won for them in battles of the past. The fact of their 
 supremacy may make them thrill, but there is nothing 
 to mark their triumph in their faces. 
 
 This is no place in which to discuss the rapid change 
 of personality in the Perugians. We note it as a fact, 
 and pass to a description of the town itself, which 
 certainly contains abundant marks of that same " war- 
 like " character which time has washed away from the 
 minds of its inhabitants. 
 
 The city is built, as we have shown in our first 
 chapter, on one of the low hills formed after thousands 
 of years by the silting up of the refuse brought down 
 by the Tiber, and not, as one naturally at first imagines," 
 on a spur of the actual Apennines which are divided 
 from her by the river. Much of the power of the 
 town in the past may be traced to her extraordinary 
 topographical position. Perugia stands 1705 feet above 
 the level of the sea, and i2co above that of the Tiber. 
 She stands perfectly alone at the extreme edge of a 
 long spine of hill, and she commands the Tiber and 
 the two great roads to Rome.^ But looked at from 
 
 ' The topographical position of Perugia distinguished her in 
 very early times. " It is believed," says Mariotti, " that the 
 84
 
 T'hc City of Perir^'ia 
 
 ;i merely picturesque point of view, few towns can boast 
 of a more powerful charm. Perugia, if one ignores 
 her history, is not so much a town as an eccentric 
 freak of nature. All the winds and airs of heaven 
 play and rush around her walls in summer and in winter. 
 The sun beats down upon her roofs ; one seems to see 
 more stars at night, above her ramparts, than one sees 
 in any other town one knows of. All Umbria is 
 spread like a great pageant at her feet, and the pageant 
 is never one day or one hour like the other. Even in 
 a downpour, even in a tempest the great view fascinates. 
 In spring the land is green with corn and oak trees, 
 and pink with the pink of sainfoin flowers. In winter it 
 seems smaller, nearer; brown and gold, and very grand 
 at sundown. On clear days one can easily trace a whole 
 circle of Umbrian cities from the Umbrian capital. To 
 the east Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Montefaico, and Trevi. 
 The hill above Bettona hides the town of Spolcto, but 
 its ilex woods and its convent of Monte Luco are 
 distinct enough. To the south Todi and Deruta 
 stand out clear upon their hillsides ; and to the east 
 the home of Perugino, Citta della Pieve, rises half 
 hidden in its oakwoods. Early in the mornings you 
 will see the mists lift slowly from the Tiber; at night 
 the moon will glisten on its waters, drawing your fancy 
 down to Rome. Strange lights shine upon the clouds 
 behind the ridge which covers Trasimene, and to the 
 north the brown hills rise and swell, fold upon fold, to 
 meet the Apennines. In autumn and in winter the 
 
 Via Cassia, wliicli led irom Rome to Chiusi, passed by IV'rugia. 
 or ratlier the Via Vajcntana, which was one of the ancient 
 military roads passing througli Tuscany. Other writers have 
 placed Perugia on the Fia Aiinlia. She had beside the principal 
 military roads, several others which served her for communica- 
 tion witii the neighbouring Etruscan cities, and it is mo>t likely 
 that modern roads leading to Chiusi, Orvieto, C;ul)bio, &c., 
 preserve many parts of the old roads." — See Mariotti.\a\. i. \t. tj.
 
 'The Story oj Perugia 
 
 basin of the old Umbrian lake will often fill for days 
 with mists, but the Umbrian towns and hamlets rise 
 like the birds above them, and one may live in one of 
 these in splendid sunshine, whilst looking down upon 
 a sea of fog which darkens all the people of the plain. 
 
 The inhabitants of Perugia swear by the healthy 
 nature of their air, and indeed, were it not for the 
 winds, the most fragile constitution would probably 
 flourish in the high hill city. But It must be confessed 
 that there come days when man and horse quiver like 
 dead leaves before the tempest, and when the very 
 houses seem to rock. Indeed, it would be almost 
 impossible to exaggerate the arctic power of a Perugian 
 whirlwind. Yet the average temperature is mild, and 
 myrtles grow to the size of considerable trees in the 
 villa gardens round the town. 
 
 To fully understand the city of Perugia, the mar- 
 vellous fashion of its building, and the way in which 
 its houses have become a part of the landscape and 
 seem to creep about and cling to the unsteady crumb- 
 ling soil, one should pass out into the country through 
 one of its gates, and, rambling round the roads and 
 lanes which wind beneath its walls, look ever up and 
 back again towards the town. In this way only 
 is it possible to understand what man can do with 
 Nature, and how, with the centuries. Nature can gather 
 to herself man's handiwork and make of it a portion for 
 herself. Birds and beasts have built in this same 
 fashion, but rarely except in Umbria have men. 
 
 " The unstable quality of the soil on which Perugia 
 is built," writes Mariotti, " has made strong walls and 
 very costly buildings a necessity," and he goes on to 
 point out the different and expensive ways in which the 
 town has been bolstered up with solid masonry. The 
 Etruscans were the first to recognise this necessity. 
 They may have been a peaceful and a rather bour- 
 86
 
 T'he City oj Perugia 
 
 geois set ot human beings, differing in all ways fioiu 
 their combative successors, but they understood the 
 science of building, and their walls, which encompassed 
 only about one-third of the space covered by the 
 
 ^rj 
 
 '•:%^p> 
 
 ^r^ 'j<i^:=A"'^ :r — -'"V^ 
 
 
 ETRUSCAN ARCH. I'ORTA KBURNKA 
 
 mediaeval town, remain a monument of si)lendid solid 
 masonry wherever they can be traced. 
 
 The Etruscan walls are a marked feature of some 
 Umbrian cities, and although it is rather the fashion to 
 
 «7
 
 I'he Story of Perugia 
 
 dispute their authenticity in Perugia, the bits which 
 remain of them there are probably quite genuine. 
 They have, however, become such a part of the 
 mediaeval and the modern town, and are often so em- 
 bedded in later buildings, that without close study it is 
 difficult to trace them ; we have therefore marked their 
 course in red on the map of the town. 
 
 Five of the present gates of the town, namely, Porta 
 Eburnea, Porta Susanna, Porta Augusta, Porta Man- 
 dola, and Porta Marzia are the genuine old gates of the 
 Etruscan town, and although the Romans altered them 
 a little, enlarging them from below, a great part of 
 their masonry is the work of the Etruscans, and from 
 three to four thousand years old. Of these gates, the 
 Porta Augusta is familiar to every one, as it is one of 
 the most remarkable and impressive features of the town. 
 Rome and the Renaissance have combined to give it a 
 fantastic and a fascinating appearance, even as these same 
 influences have made a miniature museum of the now 
 disused Porta Marz-'ia. Strangely enough the woi k of 
 the Etruscan masons is far better preserved than any 
 which followed them, and the great blocks of travertine 
 neatly placed (as some suppose without mortar) on one 
 another, are easily distinguishable from those built above 
 and below them. Perugia always felt a certain respect 
 for her oldest walls, and even in the fifteenth century, 
 when she was in her prime, and bristling with new 
 towers and churches, the work of the dead people was 
 respected. In 1475 ^^^ '^^'^ ^-^^^ ^ ^"'^ ^^'"^ Passed for 
 the preservation of the Etruscan walls, as " they were 
 very marvellous, and worthy to be preserved into all 
 eternity." 
 
 Beyond the city walls nothing remains of the Etrus- 
 cans at Perugia, except what is found in their tombs. 
 That the town was rich in temples and other beauties we 
 may gather, but these, together with the houses, were 
 88
 
 '^/,3^^^fe 
 
 I 
 
 
 ,f'-m^k-:^m^^n 
 
 
 mu. ■ ■ U. - ■ ■1/4 
 
 '''■ l\ ■■ K' r*-^ "■■' Fii. * Vwllk/ ' ..,»«*°^ 
 
 ,:'/;'' ii- 
 
 ',' I'M /I: |i| .^^|l|Si^^ i 
 
 ^^liCi^« 
 
 MliDl.T;VAL STAIRCAtE IN Till; VIA BARTOI.O 
 
 89
 
 The City of Perugia 
 
 destroyed when Augustus took the town in 40 b.c, 
 and when her devoted citizen, Caius Cestius, set fire to 
 his native city, to cover her disgrace. Of the Roman 
 occupation, which covered a ])eriod of many centuries, 
 no trace remains in Perugia. The present town is 
 therefore a monument of the purest mcdiasval building 
 crowned by some rare and beautiful bits of Renaissance 
 architecture. 
 
 But before entering into a description of the city, it 
 may be well to insist once more on the fact already 
 made plain in our history, that if men made Perugia, 
 men also marred her.' The impatience of man is 
 everywhere discernible in her streets her palaces and 
 churches, and only the latest buildings have their towers 
 and stones intact. The towers of S. Pietro, S. 
 Domenico, and others have had their tops all truncated 
 by popes, by nobles, and by people in moments of their 
 fury or their vengeance. The city was built for war- 
 tare and defence, and not for beauty, luxury and peace. 
 In these comparatively quiet times of ours we go about 
 in foreign towns and look for art, and art alone. We 
 seem to forget that art is but a small affair — -a little land- 
 mark in the history of nations. There is an art in 
 Umbria, an art so pure, so sweet, so tender that think- 
 ing of it we may easily forget the history of her men, or, 
 if remembering, we seem to dream a dual dream. The 
 art of Perugia was, maybe, the outcome of her almost 
 fanatical religion, but the wars of her inhabitants have 
 
 1 Even aftLT the Perugians liad ceased to fight among them- 
 selves, their unhappy churches and palaces were battered about. 
 " That wind of the desert," says Bonazzi, '• that simoom of Pon- 
 tifical dominion did not pass over our city in vain." Paul III., 
 in l)uikling liis fortress, did infinite damage to the soutii of the 
 old town; and the work of destruction, as far as the gems of 
 painting go. was completed by Napoleon Bonaparte, whose 
 raids among the masterpieces of Perugia were quite imperial 
 in their extravagance. 
 
 91
 
 T'hc Sttory of Perugia 
 
 always been her lite-blood. The very Hrst walls were 
 built for defence, or, as some say, to store the crops, 
 the corn and hay, in ; and the houses of the earliest 
 medieval town were also built purely with a view to 
 personal safety and protection. Bonazzi gives a curious 
 account of the growth of the city, and the almost fantastic 
 fashion in which its inhabitants hammered its houses to- 
 gether, and then proceeded to live in them. " There 
 were," he says, describing the town in about i iCO and 
 I 200, "few monuments or buildings of importance up to 
 the sixteenth century. The houses were all on one floor, 
 the sun barely reached them ; some of them were 
 of stone and bricks, but the greater part of mud, 
 clay and straw. Hence incessant and considerable 
 fires, increased by the lack of chimneys. And they 
 were so inconveniently arranged that often eight or 
 ten persons slept in a single room. A motto, a 
 saint, some small sign took the place of our modern 
 numbers, and the lamp which burned in front of 
 the many shrines served to light the streets at night- 
 fall. There were no flags or pavements then upon 
 the streets, which took their names from the churches 
 or houses of the nobles which happened to look down 
 upon them ; these were narrow and tortuous, simply 
 because they giew without any method or premedi- 
 tation, they were horrible to behold as all the dirt 
 was thrown into them, and because of the herds of 
 swine which passed along them, grunting and squeaking 
 as they went." ^ Bonazzi next goes on to trace the 
 topography of the mediaeval town, which was much 
 smaller than the present one, and lacking in large 
 monuments. There was no Corso in those days, no 
 Piazza Sopramuro, no Palazzo Pubblico. Where 
 
 1 Bonazzi says that the present Via Vecchia was one of 
 the very earliest of the streets, and that peopte have tramped 
 up and down it for at least twenty-five liundred years. 
 92
 
 T'bc City of Pcnigia 
 
 the present cathedral now stands tliere was only the 
 little old church of S. Lorenzo and a big and beauti- 
 ful tower with a cock on the top of it. The towers 
 of Perugia were a most marked feature of her archi- 
 tecture and, indeed, in old writings she is always 
 mentioned as Turrena because of them.' "About 
 this time," says Bonazzi, " another great work be- 
 gan in our city, which was continued into the fol- 
 lowing centuries. The feudal lords who came in 
 from their own places in the country to inhabit the 
 town, brought with them each the tradition oi his 
 own strong tower in the abandoned castle. Great 
 therefore was the competition between them of who 
 should build the highest, and this each noble did, 
 not so much for decoration as for a means of de- 
 fence and of otfence, and according to the amount 
 of power possessed by himself or by his neighbour. 
 
 In the shadow of the massive feudal 
 
 towers," Bonazzi writes in another place, "like 
 grass which is shaded by giant plants, rose the little 
 houses of the poor. The more elegant houses were 
 of terra-cotta (bricks) without plaster or mortar, 
 and their windows wcie arched in the Roman fashion."' 
 
 • One historian says that there were as many as a hundred 
 rowers, but the more prudent Mariotti will only allow of 
 forty-two. Only one or two remain, yet in old days they, 
 lii<e the city walls, were most carefully preserved, and it appears 
 that Sextus IV. •• fulminated excommunications and fined by 
 a fine of fifty ducats any person \vl)o dared to pull do\vn a 
 tower."' Of those which remain the Torre ilegli Scirri at 
 Porta Susanna is the most conspicuous. The hell tower 
 of the Palazzo Pubhlico is another; and in many of the 
 streets one can trace their mutilated trunks between the 
 house walls. 
 
 - These graceful arches have been almost everywhere 
 bricked up and replaced by square window posts, perhaps 
 because it was easier to fit glass into a square than into 
 an arch. In Oubbio and some of the smaller Umbrian towns 
 the arched window has in many houses been left untouched. 
 
 93
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 After 600 tliey were roofed with flat tiles in imitation 
 of the Lombards." 
 
 The city gates were always closed at nightfall, 
 and some of the streets were blocked by means of 
 huge iron chains which stretched across the road, 
 preventing the passage of horse or carts, from one 
 house to another. One can still see the hooks and 
 holes belonging to these somewhat barbaric defences 
 in some of the more solid houses of Perugia ; and 
 in the neighbouring town of Spello the chains 
 themselves have been left hanging to one of the 
 houses. In 1276 we read that the law of closing 
 the city gates was abolished, but a little later on it 
 was again found necessary to barricade the town at 
 nightfall, and during some of the fights between the 
 nobles in 1400 and in 15CO we hear of the difficulties 
 which one or the other party had to combat in the 
 " chains across their path." 
 
 Strange scattered relics of this nest of mediseval man 
 linger and come down to us even in the nineteenth 
 century. Amongst these are the porte del mortuccio, 
 or doors of the dead. All the best houses had these 
 doors alongside of their house-doors, but they are 
 bricked up now and quite disused, and might easily 
 be ignored in passing through the streets. The porta 
 del mortuccio is tall, narrow, and pointed at the top ; 
 it is, indeed, just wide enough to pass a coffin through. 
 It seems that in very early days, even so far back 
 as the Etruscans, there was a superstition that through 
 the door where Death had passed. Death must enter 
 in again. By building a separate door, which was 
 only used by the dead, the spirit of Death passed 
 out with the corpse, the narrow door was closely 
 locked behind it, and the safety of the living was 
 secured, as far as the living can secure, from Death. 
 Other charming details of the mediaeval city are the 
 94
 
 The City of Perugia 
 
 liouse doors. They arc built of travertine or p'letra 
 Serena^ and have little garlands of flowers and fruit 
 bound with ribbons, and delicate friezes above 
 them. Some of them have very beautiful Latin in- 
 scriptions, whicli show a strong religious sentiment. 
 We quote a few of them here : Janua coeli (door of 
 heaven, over a church) ; Pulchra janua uhi honesta 
 domus (beautiful the door of the house which is 
 honest) ; yl Deo cuncla — a domino omnia (all things 
 from God) ; Or a ut vivas et Deo vives (pray to 
 live and thou shalt live to God) ; Prius mori 
 quam fadari (die rather than be disgraced) ; /// 
 parv'is qu'ies (in small things peace) ; Sol'icitudo mater 
 dtvitiarum (carefulness is the mother of riches) ; 
 Ecce spes I.H.S. mea semper (Christ always my 
 hope). 
 
 Over one or two of the doorways in Perugia you 
 will fmd almost byzantine bits of tracery with figures 
 of unknown animals — beasts of the Apocalypse — carved 
 in grey travertine all round them. One of the very 
 earliest bits of mediaeval building is the fragment of a 
 door of this sort, belonging to the first palace of the 
 Priori, which is now almost buried in the more modern 
 buildings of the sixteenth century. There is another 
 amusing procession of beasts over a gateway below 
 8. Ercolano. These odd animal friezes were probably 
 iirst designed for some sort of closed market where 
 beasts were sold, and tlie old Pescheria has medallions 
 of lasche on its walls. 
 
 As for the ways and manners of the people who 
 inhabited this mediaeval city, Ciatti and other writers 
 supply us with plenty of fantastic information : 
 
 "Perugia lies beneath the sign of the Lion and of 
 the Virgin," Ciatti says in his account, which is as 
 usual, unlike the account of anybody else, and highly 
 entertaining, " and from this cause it comes that the 
 
 95
 
 T'hc Stoj-y of Perugia 
 
 city is called Leon'tna ^ and Sanguiiiia, and the habits 
 of the Pcrugians are neither luxurious nor effeminate. 
 Like those of whom Siderius writes, they came forth 
 strong in war, they delighted in fish, were humorous in 
 speech, swift in counsel, and loved the law of the 
 Pope. . . . The women," he continues with a certain 
 monastic indifference to female charm, " were not 
 beautiful, although Siderius calls them elegant ; - the 
 genius of Perugia was ever more inclined to the 
 exercise of arms than the cultivation of beauty, and 
 many famous captains have brought fame to this their 
 native city through their brave deeds. In Tuscany the 
 Sienese have the reputation of being frivolous, the 
 Pisans astute and malicious, the Florentines slow and 
 serious, and the Perugians ferocious and of a warlike 
 spirit." 
 
 Concerning the clothes and the feasts of this com- 
 bative race of people who lived for warfare rather than 
 for delight, we hear that they were accustomed to wear 
 a great deal of fur, the nobles using pelisses of martin 
 and of sable, the poor, sheep or foxes' skins. The 
 fur tippets still worn by the canons of cathedrals in 
 Italian towns in winter are probably a remnant of these 
 days. For the rest an adaptation of the Roman tunic 
 was perhaps worn by the men, whilst the women kept 
 to the tradition of the Etruscan headgear. " Victuals," 
 
 1 In old days the Perugians actually kept a caged lion in 
 their public palace, so Ciatti was probably quite correct as far 
 as this first statement is concerned. 
 
 ■- Ciatti was neither fair nor true to the women of the town. 
 The Madonnas of Bonfigli and Perugino disprove his testimony 
 in the sixteenth century even as our own eyes contradict it in 
 the nineteenth. We have only to go to mass in S. Lorenzo 
 to realise the simple grace of the young Umbrian peasant girls, 
 and in some of her palaces we may have the happiness of seeing 
 some of the fairest women, antl certainly the most elegant, of 
 modern Italy, 
 96
 
 The City oj' Pcn/g'ui 
 
 Bonazzi tells us, " were of a coarse description, more 
 lard and pepper was eaten in those days, than meat 
 and coffee in ours. But at the feasts of the priests 
 and nobles an incredible quantity of exquisite viands 
 was consumed ; great animals stuffed with dainties were 
 cooked entire, and monstrous pasties served at table, 
 from which, when the knife touched tiiem, a living 
 and jovial dwarf jumped out upon the table, unex))ectcd 
 and to the great delight of all the company." 
 * * ^ * * * 
 
 But from the Age of Darkness men awoke both in 
 their manners and in their buildings. Perugia of 
 the Middle Ages shook the sleep from off her heavy 
 eyelids, and with that passionate impulse towards Light 
 which was perhaps the secret of the Renaissance, she 
 too strove toward the Beautiful, and in a hurried, 
 fevered fashion, she too decked herself with fairer 
 things than castle towers and hovels. The fourteenth 
 and the fifteenth centuries were, as we know, the Age 
 of Gold in later art, and Perugia, in spite of all her 
 tumults, in spite of her feuds, and even her passionate 
 religious abstinences, woke with the waking world. 
 Most of her churches, and most of those monuments 
 which mark her as a point for travellers, date from that 
 ])eriod. " And at that time," says the chronicler 
 I'abretti, " there was so great a building going on in 
 different parts of the city that neither mortar nor stones 
 nor masons could have been procured even for money, 
 unless a number of Lombards had come in to build. 
 And tiiey were building the palace of the Priori 
 (Palazzo Pubblico), they were building S. Lorenzo, 
 Santa Maria dei Servi, S. Domcnico, S. Francesco, 
 the houses of Messer Raniero . . . the tower of the 
 Palazzo, and numerous other houses of private citizens 
 all at that same time." 
 
 But it was not merely a love of beauty which 
 G 97
 
 Ihe Story of Perugia 
 
 prompted the Perugians to this sudden departure in 
 the way of architecture ; the spirit of the great saint 
 of Umbria had much to do with it. In Perugian 
 chronicles and histories we find a strange silence about 
 the influence of S. Francis on a city which was only 
 separated by some fourteen miles from Assisi. Yet 
 it is not possible that so strong a force as that of 
 this man's preaching could have been kept outside the 
 walls of the neighbour town, and Ciatti declares that at 
 one time nearly a third part of the inhabitants of 
 Perugia took the Franciscan habit. In 15CO and 
 1600 there were more than fifty convents in Perugia, 
 many of which had sixty to eighty inhabitants, but that 
 was during the rule of the popes. Of the great 
 period of building in the fourteenth century, which 
 included many fine churches and convents, the 
 buildings of the people and not of the priests remain 
 intact. The splendid Palazzo Pubblico and Pisano's 
 fountain in the square belong to this period. But 
 because the work of the Renaissance is so conspicuous 
 and charming we have described it in another place, and 
 in our description of the town have lingered rather over 
 the fragments of the Etruscan and the mediseval city. 
 
 As it would be impossible in this small book to give 
 anything beyond a cursory sketch of all the different 
 buildings of the town, we have decided to deal with 
 the details of some of the principal ones, leaving the 
 rest For the discovery of those whose leisure and intelli- 
 gence will always make such exploration a delight. 
 There is no lack of excellent guide-books to Perugia. 
 Of the fuller and rarer ones we would mention those 
 of Siepi and Orsini and the more modern one of Count 
 Rossi Scotti. These are in Italian. Murray's last 
 edition of "Central Italy" contains clear and excellent 
 general information, and there are several small local 
 guides — the best of these by Lupatelli — which can be 
 98
 
 T'he City of Perugia 
 
 had in the hotel. No one who really desires to study 
 the town should fail to read the fascinating books of 
 its best lover, Annibalc Mariotti ; and the works of 
 Conestabile and Vermiglioli are invaluable for students. 
 All these can be had in the public library of the town 
 where there is a pleasant quiet room in which to study 
 them, and the excessive courtesy of whose head — Count 
 Vincenzo Ansidci — makes research an easy pleasure 
 there. 
 
 The topography of Perugia is simple: "The entire 
 city," says Mariotti, "since the very earliest days, was 
 divided into five quarters or rion/, which from the centre, 
 that is to say, the highest point of the town, and with as 
 gentle an incline as the condition of the ground allows, 
 stretch out in five different directions like so many sun- 
 beams across the mountain side. These gates are : 
 Porta Sole to the east, Porta Susanna to the west 
 (formerly called Trasimene), Porta S. Angela 
 (formerly Porta Augusta) to the north, Porta S. 
 Pietro to the south, and Porta Eburnea to the south- 
 west. Each of these separate gates bears its own 
 armorial design and colour. Porta Sole is white and 
 bears a sun with rays ; Porta Susanna blue, with a 
 chain ; Porta S. Angelo red, with a branch of 
 arbutus ; Porta S. Pietro yellow, with a balance, and 
 Porta Eburnea green, with a pilgrim's staff." 
 
 Owing to the extraordinary situation of the town 
 there are hardly any level squares or streets. The 
 two considerable flat open spaces on either side of the 
 Prefettura, the site of the Prefettura itself and of the 
 hotel Brufani are artilicial spaces, the result of the 
 demolition of Paul III.'s fortress (see chap. vi.). We 
 imagine that many intelligent persons have passed through 
 the comfortable hotel of Perugia not realising at all the 
 artificial nature of the ground on which it stands. The 
 Corso and the Piazza di S. Lorenzo may be said to be 
 
 99
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 the heart of the town ; its pulse beats a Httle lower 
 down in the Piazza Sopraniuro where fruit and vege- 
 tables are sold and where there is a perpetual market- 
 day.^ The other big open square is the Piazza 
 d'Armi, on a lower level of the hill and to the south 
 of the town. There the cattle fair is held on Tuesdays, 
 and there the beautiful white Umbrian oxen, with skins 
 that are liner than the cattle of the plain, and the grey 
 Umbrian pigs, and tall Umbrian men and girls can be 
 seen in all their glory. Here too is the convent of S. 
 Giuliana with its splendid cloisters and little Gothic 
 campanile, and here above all do the soldiers of Perugia 
 practice their bands, their horses, and their bugles every 
 morning. 
 
 There are three things lacking in Perugia, as there 
 are naturally in all hill-cities, and these are gardens, 
 carriages, and running water. But all these things 
 have been delightfully overcome by the inhabitants. 
 As a matter of fact, there are plenty of hidden gardens, 
 behind the houses in the town, but in almost every 
 house you will see that iron sockets or rings have 
 been fastened to the walls below the windows, and in 
 
 ' This square is one of the most charming points in the city. 
 In old days it was a very disreputai)le and untidy suburban 
 square or tiioroughfare. The last witcii burned in Perugia 
 was burned in this place. All the refuse of the city was cast 
 out upon it. In this way. and upheld by the first Etruscan wall, 
 an artificial space of flat land was procured which the houses to 
 the east of tlie piazza now occupy, but these were always threat- 
 ened by destruction as the soil below them was constantly giving 
 way, and one of Fortebraccio's great works was the bolstering 
 up of these houses with strong arches and walls from below. 
 The reason of the name of the square is that its pavement 
 actually covers the Etruscan wall. It is a beautiful and pictur- 
 esque place, full of fine detail. The buildings of the old 
 University (1483) have almost an echo of Oxford in their 
 square window frames ; the palace of the Capitano del Popolu 
 has a grand door in pietra serena with the figure of Justice 
 carved above it. 
 100
 
 / 
 
 
 
 PIAZZA SOPRAMURO, SllOWINfi THE PALACE OF THE CAPITANO DEL 
 POl'OLO AND THE BUILDINfJS OF THE FIRST UNIVERSITY OF PERUGIA 
 
 lOI
 
 The City of Perugia 
 
 these, pots of geraniums, daisies, and carnations are hung 
 and tended with excessive care. Some of the better 
 palaces or convents have stone brackets in the shape of 
 shells for window gardens, and even in the dusk of 
 grim December days the old stone walls seem green 
 and living. The lack of carriages is really only felt 
 in winter when the inhabitants seem to fall for the 
 while asleep, leaving the streets to assume their 
 mediaeval character, and to be swept by winter 
 hurricanes ; in spring and summer the place is gay 
 enough ; indeed the Corso is a very good specimen of 
 Umbrian Piccadilly on a fme May evening, and there 
 are plenty of carriages in the tourist season. But go 
 into any palace of Perugia and you will find the sedan 
 chairs of our grandfatliers ready for instant use, proving 
 that carriages are quite a modern innovation in the town. 
 
 The need of running water is, of course, the most serious 
 point about so big and prosperous a city, and a running 
 stream to turn a paper mill would heal more ills than all 
 her pictures and her wide calm view. The great rushing 
 stream of the Tiber down at the foot of the hill seems 
 like a sort of solemn mockery to people who have only 
 wells and a little river from the hill to drink from and 
 wash their linen in. We have realized this on winter 
 nights when the Tiber was out in flood in the moon- 
 light down below our windows, and small drops freez- 
 ing, one by one, on Pisano's fountain behind us in the 
 square. 
 
 Yet the town is prosperous. Its inhabitants and 
 those of the commune have increased by some six 
 thousand since the days of its first prosperity. 
 Commerce, it is true, seems somewhat at a standstill. 
 There is the commerce of travellers, which is by no 
 means inconsiderable ; and there is the commerce of 
 Mind. This last Perugia has always had since the 
 days when she grew powerful, and the University of 
 
 103
 
 T'he St 07')' oj Perugia 
 
 Perugia has played a constant and important part 
 throughout her annals. It was founded in the end of 
 the fifteenth century, and its management, Hke other 
 things in the city, was chiefly in the hands of the 
 people and their representatives, the Priori. Five 
 Savi, one from each rione, were told off to regulate 
 its affairs and to elect its professors. Urban VIII. 
 brought it under the management of the Church, but 
 this did not in any way alter its first rules and laws. 
 We hear that " the Emperor Charles IV. bestowed 
 upon the University all those distinctions which were 
 enjoyed by the most celebrated universities of the 
 Empire," and Napoleon confirmed these and added 
 much to the magnificence of Perugia's univeisity. It 
 was during the Napoleonic rule that the college was 
 transferred from its old quarters in the Piazza Sopra- 
 muro to the vast new buildings at Montemorcino. 
 Her three main branches of study are jurisprudence, 
 science, and theology. Several of the popes studied 
 in Perugia. S. Thomas Aquinas lectured here, and 
 many distinguished men of science and of law passed 
 through their first schools in the Umbrian hill town. 
 The two great lawyers Baldo Baldeschi and Bartolo 
 Alfani were students in the University of Perugia, 
 and Alberico Gentile, who afterwards lectured in 
 Oxford, studied here at the University. The affairs 
 of war were never allowed to interfere with those of 
 the mind, and we hear that a guarantee of safe conduct 
 was given to any scholar who came here from a 
 distance. 
 
 The arts of peace, such as the manufacture of wool 
 and silken stuffs, were known in the middle ages in 
 spite of the want of water (the hand and foot looms 
 of Perugia are almost prehistoric in their simplicity), 
 and in 1297 we hear of the magistrates of Perugia 
 sending an embassy into Lombardy to fetch two friars
 
 The City of Perugia 
 
 thence who should teach their townsfolk the secrets of 
 weaving. This art was zealously kept up for many 
 years, but finally it fell into decay. A branch of it 
 has lately been revived by a Milanese lady, and thanks 
 to her efforts we arc again able to buy the strange flame- 
 patterned carpets which we find on the altars of so many 
 of the older Umbrian churches. 
 
 Except in the Corso, life seems very quiet in 
 Perugia. Yet though there is poverty, there is none 
 of that feeling of decayed splendour, of arrested magni- 
 ficence and luxury which we feel in so many cities 
 of Italy. The Perugians were probably never very 
 luxurious. There are one or two beautiful old palaces, 
 but they are plain to look at, and the palaces of the 
 nobles had a bad time of it and were constantly pulled 
 to bits as their different owners were driven into the 
 country. The town is a town of a strong people ; it 
 is dignified and peaceful. When the wind is not 
 battering about its roofs and howling through its 
 narrow streets one becomes aware of an extraordinary 
 silence. 
 
 And in that silence the questions rise — one cannot 
 stiffe them : Where are the BeccJnr'ini and where are 
 the RaspantW Are the Baglioni really dead, and the 
 Oddi, where are they? And the Flagellants and the 
 Penitentl — have even their ghosts departed ? Will not 
 a pope ride in at the gates with his nephews and his 
 cardinals and take up peaceful quarters in the grim 
 Canonica ? Will not some warlike Abbot come and 
 batter down the church towers to build himself a 
 ])alace ? Will no procession pass us with a banner of 
 Bonfigli, and women wailing that the plague should be 
 removed ? . . . 
 
 The snow falls silently upon the roads in winter. 
 No blood of nobles stains it. In May all Umbria is 
 
 105
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 green with crops. No condottiere comes to trample 
 down the corn. But high upon her hill-top Perugia 
 stands as she stood then, and in her silence seems to 
 wait for something yet to come. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 Before closing this chapter we would once again 
 repeat that no one with a few hours' leisure should 
 forbear to wander round the outer walls of the town 
 before leaving Perugia. With only one break : that 
 which is formed by the deep ravine (or bnlagnjo in the 
 local dialect) between Porta Sant Antonio and Porta 
 S. Angelo, one can walk on quite good paths and roads 
 under the outer walls of the entire city. The Via della 
 Cuparella is a pleasant lane reached by passing out 
 through Porta Eburnea. It skirts under the mediasval 
 and Etruscan walls to the west of the town and re- 
 enters the city again a little below Porta Susanna. 
 This lane is one of the most sheltered corners in 
 Perugia, and .we have wandered up and down it in the 
 early days of January, and found the sleepy lizards basking 
 on its banks and yellow aconites in all the furrows. The 
 trees bud early there ; their young green shimmers like 
 a vision of immortal youth against the grim walls of 
 the mediaeval and Etruscan city up beyond. 
 
 Another charming walk is that along the eastern 
 side of the town, passing out through Porta S. Ercolano 
 and through the Corso away along the broad high-road 
 to the convent of Monte Luce, which is quite one of 
 the most fascinating buildings of Perugia, with its front 
 of white and rosy marble, its court-yard and rose 
 window, and the splendid block of its nunnery walls 
 covering the crest of the hill behind the church. 
 The convent was built early in the thirteenth century 
 on the site, some say, of an Etruscan temple dedicated 
 to the Goddess Feronia, but more probably in the 
 sacred wood or lucus from which it derived its name. 
 1 06
 
 The City of Perugia 
 
 It was one of the most prosperous convents of the 
 country, and Mariotti gives a delightful account of a 
 visit paid by the great Farnese Pope, Paul III., to 
 its Abbess. The Pope, it seems, gave himself the 
 permission to visit the nuns, who received him, 
 *' marvelling," as the most learned nun of her day 
 relates, "that the Vicar of God on earth should so 
 far humiliate himself as to visit such vile servants, as 
 we were." The Pope came into the church and took 
 
 Sfei. 
 
 ^ . ».r ^'m '''-^ i-lifi^^:^ 
 
 
 
 if 
 
 \: 
 
 \ 
 
 CONVKNT or MONTK LUCE 
 
 the seat prepared for him in the choir, "all of his own 
 accord, without being helped by anybody, and like a 
 meek and gentle lamb . . . and being seated, he said to 
 the sisters, 'Come everyone of you and kiss my foot.' " 
 Then the Abbess and the sisters kissed the feet of the 
 Pope. A long conversation and exchange of compli- 
 ments followed, and finally at sundown the Pope 
 departed, " very greatly edified." 
 
 From Monte Luce one road winds down to the 
 
 107
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 Tiber, passing under the charming villa of Count Rossi 
 Scotti, and another back into the city, first through a 
 strange row of wooden booths which are opened on the 
 feast day of Monte Luce (August 15th), and then on 
 through the walls of Monimaggiore's fortress and back 
 into the town through Porta S. Antonio. 
 
 But it is not possible to describe all the details of a 
 place which, like all fair things, should be explored 
 to be enjoyed. The discovery of its hidden lanes, 
 its little wayside villas, and its churches must be 
 left as it was left to the present writers, who 
 never will forget the tramps they took in the brown 
 winter twilight, the drives on warm spring afternoons 
 when honeysuckle scented all the hedges, and the 
 strange excited feelings which possessed them when 
 they found the hidden wayside house or chapel, 
 which had no written record to tell them who had 
 built it, and nothing but its own Perugian charm to 
 endear it to them, and to give it history. 
 
 108
 
 chaptl;r V 
 
 Piilivzzo Pnbblico^ The Fountain^ und 
 the Diiomo 
 
 IN Professor Freeman's small sketch of Perugia he 
 says very truly that the most striking points of the 
 city — Mtruscan, Mcdia-val and Renaissance included — 
 are those which are gathered together in the Pia%%a 
 di San Loren-z,o. 
 
 The whole atmosphere of the square is unique and 
 impressive : individual as are the piazzas of the largest 
 and the smallest towns in Italy which have battled for 
 tlieir independence throughout the course of centuries. 
 The buildings have been changed about, burnt, battered 
 and rebuilt, but the spirit of the middle ages has never 
 really left them. Sitting on the steps of the Duomo we 
 seem to feel it creep up round our feet telling us stories 
 of a past which is immortal. It was here that the 
 people of Perugia fought and judged, preached and re- 
 pented, loved maybe, and most certainly hated. It was 
 in this little pulpit above our heads that S. Bernardino 
 ])reached, and saw the books of necromancy and the 
 false hair of the ladies burned; here that the Podesta 
 and the people received ambassadors with deeds of sub- 
 mission from terrified neighbour towns. On the spikes 
 of the railing round the fountain one set of nobles stuck 
 tlie heads of others whom they hated, whom they 
 slaughtered ; and down those steps of the palazzo op- 
 
 109
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 |)Osite, the great procesbion of tlie Priori came on days 
 of solemn ceremony, and uj) through the dark gateway 
 of the Canonica the Pope and all his cardinals passed in 
 when they arrived from Rome. Truly the spirit of the 
 past history is not dead. It is painfully and supremely 
 living. The Piazza di S. Lorenzo on a December 
 night with windstorms hurrying the sleet across its 
 great grim walls is more absolutely filled with the terri- 
 bilita of humanity than anything we ever realised. 
 
 One strange fact to trace in the square is the splendid 
 preservation of the municipal buildings as compared to 
 the almost ruinous condition of those of the church. 
 The strife between the people and the papacy is carved 
 as it were upon the very hearts of the monuments, and 
 whereas the palace of the people has remained com- 
 paratively perfect — a beautiful finished building which 
 delights the eye — the palace of the popes has been 
 battered and abused almost to destruction at the hand 
 of man, of fires and of time. Almost the only lovely 
 detail which still clings to the face of the cathedral is 
 the small pulpit whence the saint of Siena preached to 
 the people ; and this in itself is a symbolical fact, for it 
 was the power of a single human soul which, for an 
 instant tamed, if it could not quell, the passion of the 
 Perugians. The power of the church, as church, never 
 really mastered them. Paul III. mastered them, but 
 he did so in the character of a warrior and tyrant. 
 
 As far as position goes the cathedral entirely domi- 
 nates the municipal palace. It stands so high that in 
 any distant view of the city it seems to soar above the 
 other buildings. As we have seen before, the Peru- 
 gians had but little patience with architectural or 
 aesthetic matters. " They always preferred Mars to 
 the Muse," says Bonazzi. Some grim and enduring 
 respect kept their hands off their municipal palace when 
 once it had been completed to their satisfaction, they 
 
 I lO
 
 PalaZ'Z'O Pubblico 
 
 took tlic piccaution of putting a large iron fence round 
 their fountain, but their cathedral suffered. They were 
 zealous during the time of their prosperity to have a 
 large and splendid church, but they never found time 
 
 
 ■1iM.'-Vk I ■IS. •:'\^si::'-| 
 
 
 Slii»fk'j^t5,i- 
 
 7 ^- '. 
 
 PIAZZA Dl S. LORENZO, SEEN FROM UNDER THE ARCHES OF 
 THE PALAZZO PUBBLICO 
 
 to finish or adorn it. They left the brickwork 
 naked, hoping for some chance fight to furnish them 
 with marbles for it, and in 13H5 they were able to 
 secure those which had been prepared for the cathedral 
 of Arezzo. But they did not keep them. Pellini 
 
 II I
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 gives a weird account of the bringing; of these marbles. 
 "These things being accomphshed," he says, refer- 
 ring to a very inhuman siege and conquest over the 
 unfortunate Arezzo, " some outward sign of the 
 acknowledged victory was necessary ; so many marble 
 stones were brought back to Perugia with some paintings 
 upon them which had been formerly in the cathedral 
 of the city ; and the oxen and carts which brought 
 them hither, with all the men who worked to bring 
 them, were dressed out by our city with red cloth ; 
 but of those said stones, although they were certainly 
 put up outside the walls of our cathedral, no sign at 
 all remains." A little later Pellini explains their loss, 
 for the people of Arezzo got back their marbles. 
 " They started on their journey back to Arezzo," says 
 the faithful historian, who will acknowledge no possible 
 conquest of his own city, " and were put up on a part 
 of their ehurch where they may now be seen, white 
 and red in colour, and very lovely to behold." 
 
 Throughout the history of Perugia, in the fifteenth 
 and sixteenth centuries, we hear of fights and skir- 
 mishes in the square, but it was always the cathedral 
 and not the palace which was turned into a fortress. 
 In 14^9 one of the endless fights between the Baglioni 
 and the Oddi occurred, and the cathedral became a 
 castle. Guido Baglioni arrived in hot haste from 
 iSpello, and proceeded to turn the Oddi out of Perugia. 
 " Girolamo della Penna," says Villani, " deserted his 
 brother Agamemnon and joined the Signori Baglioni, 
 taking with him Silvio del Abate and others, and, to- 
 gether with the Baglioni, they took possession of S. 
 Lorenzo, placed artillery there, and fortified the church, 
 its loggia, and its roof in every way they knew of." 
 The Duomo, on this occasion, proved such an ex- 
 cellent stronghold, that the Oddi outside were entirely 
 discomfited, and had to abandon the siege and retire 
 1 12
 
 Pala%'zo Piibbl'ico 
 
 once more to the country. Another remarkable in- 
 stance of fighting between the two pugnacious famihes 
 is given by Fabrctti, which ilhistrates, moreover, the 
 slight power possessed by the Pope at that period. " At 
 the end of October 1488 there was a great fight in the 
 Piazza degli Aratri, and then the Baglioni collected in 
 the piazza, and an ever-increasing throng of supporters 
 assembled round them. And on that same day the 
 brother of the Pope (Innocent VIII.) arrived, and 
 as he passed by the piazza the people called out, 
 ' Chiesa, ch'icsa.' He was accompanied to the steps 
 of the Palazzo Pubblico by Guido and Grifonetto 
 Baglioni, who hoped that he might manage to arrange 
 matters. But the Priori looked out of the windows 
 above them, and seeing the Baglioni in the street 
 below, they began to throw down large and heavy 
 stones in the hopes of wounding Guido Baglioni. The 
 hubbub continued with renewed force, and only at dusk 
 did stillness fall upon the city." 
 
 Palazzo Pubblico. 
 
 Having glanced thus rapidly over the geneial his- 
 torical interest of the piazza, it may be well to describe 
 the buildings separately, taking the Pala%%o Pubblico 
 first. Anyone who comes to Perugia, even for a 
 single afternoon, will naturally hurry to this point and 
 spend an hour or two in the Cambio and Pinacoteca ; 
 but if a little time remains he should wander further 
 through its public corridors and halls and archives, 
 its council chambers, library, and prisons. All these 
 are gathered together with a certain indifference to 
 the first lines of architecture in the shell of the mas- 
 sive old buildings, and by penetrating these myste- 
 rious regions one seems better able to understand the 
 spirit of historical Perugia. The iron force of thie 
 H 113
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 people's law — that force which alone kept head above 
 the breakers of foreign wars and civil discord in the 
 past — slumbers, but is not dead, in the halls where it 
 once reigned. A hum of modern life, a host of 
 
 
 'l:^:m^. 
 
 
 ■#ySj 
 
 t-jS'' 
 
 REMAINS OF THK FIRST PALAZZO REl PRIORI IN THE VIA DEL VERZARO 
 
 modern busts and portraits now clash with, now 
 mellow, the sombre walls and passages. At the other 
 end of the Corso there is a grand new Prefettura, 
 where the Prefect of all Umbria manages Umbrian 
 114
 
 Palazxo Piibblico 
 
 matters, but the pulse of the old city beats on in its 
 old veins. The Priori, with their golden chains and 
 crimson gowns, have vanished, but the men and women 
 of the land are pretty much the same. They wear big 
 collars of foxes' fur on their long winter cloaks, just as 
 they did in mediaeval times, and they bring their claim? 
 of business into their first house of business, they swarm 
 and hum within the corridors, and trample up and 
 down the wide stone staircase with dignified deter- 
 mination stamped upon their features. In the rooms 
 to which they go the clerks sit writing steadily amidst 
 their piles of archives and of blue-books. Few 
 probably of all these people know, and fewer care, 
 about the Peruginos and Bonfiglis in the rooms above; 
 for the natural man or woman desires to pray before 
 his saints and not to pay to stare at them. 
 
 We hear that the present palace was finished in the 
 middle of the fourteenth century. Long before that 
 date there had been a public hall where the rulers of the 
 city met to discuss and settle its affairs. ^ But this build- 
 ing was comparatively small and cramped, and the new 
 meeting-house was undertaken with superb disregard to 
 expense. A rough calculation from the many bills 
 shows us that upwards of 14,041 Hire was spent on 
 the building of it, but it took nearly one hundred and 
 thirty years to build, and the fact that it was finished 
 at different periods — a bit being added at intervals 
 
 1 It is difficult to reconstruct these earlier buildings, which 
 have almost entirely vanished with time and different fires 
 l)iit they lay more to the west of the piazza, and formed a fine 
 group, with a great flight of steps leading up to them from 
 the square. The church of the Maesta delle Volte iielonged 
 to them ; also the exquisite little arch which is left standing 
 alone at the head of the Via del Verzaro. For an accurate 
 idea of the first plan of the buildings in the piazza it would be 
 well to look at a picture in the Pinacoteca, which hangs in the 
 small room out of the Sala di Alaiwtto. 
 
 "5
 
 'The Story of Perugia 
 
 down the Corso — may account for the waving and 
 irregular line of the east front, which is one of its 
 most marked features. 
 
 The first architects employed were natives of Perugia : 
 Fra Bevignate and Messers Giacomo di Servadio and 
 Giovanello di Benvenuto. The original plan of the 
 building was probably a perfect square, reaching from its 
 present north front down to where the great door now 
 stands. One should examine the building from the 
 back in order to understand it fully. At one time we 
 hear that Lombard workmen were called in to assist in 
 the " very heavy labour," which, perhaps, gives a certain 
 Lombard look to parts of the brickwork round the 
 windows. 
 
 The citizens took a vast interest in the erection of 
 their public palace, and allowed many private houses 
 and even churches to be pulled down in order to make 
 room for it. As in the decoration of the cathedral, so 
 also for the palace, a neighbouring town was ransacked 
 to furnish ornaments, and the unhappy Bettona was 
 stripped of marbles to supply the magnificent Priori with 
 their pillars and their friezes. Different portions of the 
 huge edifice were given to the principal city guilds to 
 decorate, and it was probably a spirit of emulation in 
 these societies which produced the costly beauties of the 
 separate parts. The chapel was decorated by the Mer- 
 chants' Guild, and also the principal door, which was 
 dedicated to St Louis of Toulouse. It is a beautiful 
 piece of work, rich and lovely in its smallest detail, and 
 carved in the grey stone called p'tetra serena, which 
 always looks a little cold and dusty, like the fur on a 
 grey mole's back, but which lends itself to a certain 
 attractive style of polished carving peculiar to old door- 
 ways in Perugia. 1 Through it one passes into an im- 
 
 1 All the emblematic heraldry of the city may be followed on 
 this big doorway. The three patron saints of the city. S. Er- 
 
 ii6
 
 Pala%^o Piibbl'ico 
 
 mcnse hall, from which a staircase leads into the rooms 
 of the palace above. In former times there were no 
 steps, and persons of distinction and of wealth rode up 
 on horseback to the council chambers. 
 
 A splendid open-air staircase leads up to the north 
 entrance of the palace, which is, perhaps, the most 
 impressive architectural point in all Perugia. Some 
 years ago this fme outer staircase was pulled down ; but 
 it has been rebuilt with extreme care and taste, and 
 probably exactly on the original lines. One can fancy 
 the great procession of the Podcsta and the Priori 
 proceeding up and down these steps on days of solemn 
 ceremony. " Four mace-bearers went before them," 
 we are told, " bearing in their hands a silver staff richly 
 covered with beautifully wrought figures, with the 
 griffin on the top in enamelled relief. Without these 
 mace-bearers it was not lawful for magistrates to go 
 out." Each of the ten Priori wore round his neck 
 " a heavy golden chain, the emblem of his office ; and 
 on solemn occasions the magistrate was preceded by six 
 trumpeters to herald his approach with silver trumpets, 
 which same were about four metres in length, beautifully 
 enamelled, and with streamers of red satin on which 
 the white griffin of the city was depicted." 
 
 The principal door, from which the Priori probably 
 emerged, is guarded by great brazen beasts : a griffin 
 and a lion, emblems of the city and the Guelphs. 
 These creatures are very typical creations from the brain 
 
 colano (Herculanus), S. Costanzo, and S. Louis of Toulouse 
 stand in the centre. The last of these was the son of Charles 
 II. of Na])les, and a great grandson of Louis IX. of France. 
 Tile Perugians. who were always strong Guelphs, chose him as 
 their patron saint when Roi)ert I. King of Naples, and l)rother 
 of Louis, took arms against tiie Ghibellines at Genoa. S. Louis 
 was also tile ])articular patron of tlie Palace of the Priori. The 
 two lions wiio support the pillars of the doorway are symbols 
 of tile Guelpli cause. 
 
 117
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 of some Peiugian artist, and among the most impressive 
 objects of their sort in Italy. They were originally 
 made for a fountain in the square by a certain Maestro 
 Ugolino, who received the modest sum of ten pounds 
 for making them. In i 308 the fountain was destroyed, 
 and a little later they were hoisted up to their present 
 position. Long chains and keys hung from their claws 
 in early days. " At the feet of these beasts," says 
 Rossi, " the bars and keys of the doors of Assisi were 
 hung as glorious trophies in 1321; and in 1358 the keys 
 of the Justice Hall of Siena. The undisciplined 
 militia which entered Perugia on the 3rd August 1799 
 pulled them down secretly, ('in the silence of the 
 night' Mariotti says,) and thus took from the citizens 
 of the present day the satisfaction of restoring to their 
 rightful owners these disgraceful mementos of patriarchal 
 warfare with cities, who to-day are their best friends. 
 The fragments which remain have not the slightest 
 historical interest ; they are merely the bars from which 
 the above-mentioned articles once hung." 
 
 The door with the brazen beasts above it leads 
 straight into the Sala del Notar'i — a splendid vaulted 
 hall, its ceiling covered with frescoes, surrounded 
 by high wooden stalls and steps of walnut. This big 
 hall was given over to the lawyers of Perugia in 
 1583. They bought it, and their CoUegio down 
 below, from the city for the sum of 1 000 scud'i ; 
 and they at once decorated their fine new quarters, 
 and settled comfortably into them, doing all their 
 business there till early in the century. By the 
 code of Napoleon they were, however, deprived of 
 their privileges, and during the imperial French rule 
 the hall was used as a criminal court. The lawyers 
 seem to have been utterly unhinged in their arrange- 
 ments. They never returned to the pleasant haunts 
 from which the Emperor ousted them, and the 
 118
 
 Palazzo Pubhlico 
 
 big hall is now used for public concerts and 
 lectures. 
 
 The room which corresponds with this one on 
 the upper storey is now the Public Library, with a 
 magnificent collection of over 50,000 volumes, some 
 valuable manuscripts and beautiful painted missals. 
 
 Leaving the Sola del Notari one crosses the 
 main staircase of the palace, and passes into the 
 living heart of the building, into a network of 
 separate rooms and offices which it is not necessary 
 to describe at length. The Sala del Cons'iglio Comuni- 
 tati'vo, or d' Udien-za, is beautifully decorated with 
 crimson damask, and delicate arabesques, and has 
 a fine open fire-place carved in p'tetra serena. 
 Adone Doni's picture of Julius IIL (see page 181) 
 is hung in this room, and from it one can gain a 
 pretty accurate knowledge of what the Priori and the 
 potentates of Perugia looked like in their gala 
 clothes. In the Scda degli ylrchivi there is a fresco 
 of Parnassus by Baroccio. The colour is very 
 fresh still, and the nymphs seem hopelessly out of 
 place above the piles of dusty archives. 
 
 There is a curious history connected with the Sala 
 del Malconslglio — that room with the exquisite fresco 
 by Fiorcnzo di Lorenzo over its main entrance 
 door.' It was here that the celebrated debate took 
 place concerning the English prisoners (Hawkwood's 
 men) whom the Perugians succeeded in capturing 
 during the great fight down by the Tiber. The 
 prisoners concocted a letter as they lay in their cells, 
 and in the most pathetic terms they appealed to their 
 capturers ; " We too are Christians," they urged, "but 
 we die of thirst. Have mercy upon us, have mercy on 
 your poor captives, jc^wr English vassals.^^ The Peru- 
 
 ' It is said that Fiorenzo painted this fresco to commemorate 
 the fact that he had been himself a Pr'iorc in 1472. 
 
 119
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 gians, moved, or more probably Mattered by the cringing 
 words, in a moment of ill-timed leniency, let their 
 captives free. They lived to regret the action. A 
 short time later Hawkwood and his men attacked them 
 in another battle on the bridge of S. Giovanni. The 
 English gained an easy victory, i 500 of the Perugians 
 fell, and the Podeslu and the German captain of their 
 troops were taken prisoners together with a host of 
 other men. Thus it came about that the room in 
 which the council met to decide the release of the 
 English was thenceforth called the Sala del Malcon- 
 stgl'io in memory of the lamentable decision witnessed 
 by its walls. 
 
 Hawkwood's men were not coniined, as it happens, 
 in the prisons of the Palazzo Pubblico, but no pity can 
 be too great for those who were, for the Perugians were 
 by no means dainty in their treatment of prisoners in 
 medieval times. The street which runs from the Piazza 
 down into the Via del Priori is still called the Via della 
 Gabbla because of the large iron cage which used to 
 hang above it from the upper windows of the palace. 
 In this cage the Perugians were wont to imprison 
 thieves and other malefactors, and not even the 
 clergy escaped the horrid degradation. In 1442 
 we read of a priest, Angelo di Marino, who robbed 
 Roberto di Ser Francesco di Ferolo of some of 
 his possessions : " the missing articles," says Fabretti, 
 " were found concealed in the campanile and under 
 the altars, and, together with Angelo, the brothers 
 of the priest were discovered to be accomplices, also 
 a friar of S. Fiorenzo and many other priests and 
 excellent citizens. On the 29th the said Angelo 
 was piit into a round cage, and with a cord he was 
 dragged up into the corner wall of the Palace of the 
 Podesta and there he remained for two days, and 
 in the night he was put into prison and in the 
 I 20
 
 :'^m 
 
 
 "^••' /'!" ^ ••''; ^ i ^ iii-^;' kk.- 
 
 
 !;■ 
 
 
 s^^:*^^ 
 
 
 
 OLDEST I'ART OF Till: V.W.XllO I'UUlil.lL'l)
 
 Pahrzzo Pubbl'ico 
 
 loggia of that palace twelve sacks ot stolen goods 
 were stored and round that cage there was a garland 
 of false keys . . . and on the 28th of January the 
 said Angelo was once again put back into the cage 
 at midday, and it was very cold and there was 
 much snow, and he remained there till the first day 
 of February, both night and day, and that same 
 day he was brought out dead and laid upon his 
 bier in the piazza, and he was buried in the passage 
 of S. lyorenzo which leads into the cloister." 
 
 A big "open -air" prison looked into the Via 
 ilella Gabh'ia : a sort of large cavern in the fathom- 
 less walls of the old building, and here no doubt 
 the wretched prisoners sat huddled in chains together, 
 a prey to all the pigs and passers-by. A cork- 
 screw staircase leads up from the lower prisons to 
 the higher storeys of the palace, and into this, merely 
 in the thickness of the wall, separate cells arc built, win- 
 dowless, undrained, airless places, where other unfor- 
 tunate persons were put by the "men of warlike spirit." 
 
 There were even rougher modes than these of 
 dealing with malefactors. On one occasion we hear 
 of the most barbarous butchery of some gentlemen 
 whose offences were purely political. Some were 
 " thrown from the windows of the Palazzo Pubblico, 
 and others were hanged from the lum'tere, or long spikes 
 which project from its lower walls." "^rhc /i/miere were 
 intended for the heads of Perugia's enemies, and one 
 can fancy the faces of the butchered men looking down 
 on the unforgiving citizens, whilst their blood dripped 
 into the street. All through Perugia's history we find 
 references to the lumiere : "On the 3rd of July 1541, 
 the head of Ciancio de Burelio was borne along by one 
 of the twenty-five rebels of the Pope, a student killed 
 him : iiis head was put on a lumiere outside the Palace 
 of the Podesta " (Fabretti, iii. 22). 
 
 123
 
 Tthe Story of Perugia 
 
 There were strange ways of catching prisoners in 
 Perugia. We find one statute which shows us that 
 every artizan was obHged to hang certain hooks and 
 gaffs to his house walls "ready to help in the capture 
 of a criminal, and all were expected to help in this said 
 capture." ' 
 
 But if there was rude cruelty shown to prisoners it is 
 fair to say there was also an occasional rude mercy. 
 No doubt the latter was excited in the Perugians by 
 their extreme religious superstition. We hear of an 
 old custom of liberating prisoners "pro amore Del. 
 " Every six months, two buon uom'tni (or good men) 
 were chosen to elect certain officials who were given 
 full power to let out five condemned prisoners on Holy 
 Friday, two at Christmas, two on the feast of S. 
 Ercolano, and two on Corpus Domini. Also two 
 women on every feast of the Virgin Mary. In the 
 choice of women, only those condemned for minor 
 offences must be liberated. The men let out must 
 have suffered six months' imprisonment, and the 
 women one month, and neither must have been liber- 
 ated in this manner {j>ro amore Del) on previous 
 occasions." Also there was to be strict silence on 
 
 1 We would point out tliat. as far as prisons are con- 
 cerned, the nineteenth century lias certainly improved in clean- 
 liness and decency upon its predecessors. We visited the 
 dungeons in the Fia dclla Galibia, one bitter winter afternoon, 
 and left them shuddering. The following day we were taken 
 through the wards of the unromantic modern building which 
 stands — a veritable eyesore to the artist — on the southern 
 slope of the city. Civilisation has brought great good in 
 certain things, if not more beauty for liumanity. The modern 
 prisons of Perugia are given over to the care of Belgian 
 nuns. There seemed to be a scent of freshest lavender in the 
 long cool rooms where the prisoners sleep and work, and we 
 left them we may almost say with comfort, or, at least, with 
 far happier feelings than those which had saddened us the night 
 before in the gruesome cells of the Palazzo Pitbbitcu. 
 124
 
 'The Foinita'in 
 
 the nature of the ofFencc. The Podesta published the 
 names of the freed prisoners in three parts of the town 
 so tliat the citizens might protest if they happened to 
 be so minded. Three days later the prisoners were 
 free and went to render thanks in the Church of S. 
 Ercolano, after which they presented themselves before 
 the civil authorities at the Palazzo Pubblico. These 
 scarcerat'i pro amore dei, as they were called, were 
 excluded from all public offices, " it not being decent," 
 says the statute, " that they should be on the same level 
 as the rest of the Perugians." 
 
 The Fountain, 
 
 There is one remarkable object in the Piazza of 8. 
 Lorenzo which has little or nothing to do with in- 
 dividual factions or with the affairs of Church and 
 State, and this is the famous fountain which we are 
 told was ever " dear as the apple of their eye to the 
 people of Perugia." Indeed the citizens were in the 
 habit of declaring that their fountain was "unique not 
 only in Italy but in the entire world." 
 
 This beautiful bit of early Renaissance sculpture 
 needs but a slight description here, for its form is familiar 
 to most people either through engravings or through 
 photographs. It is, however, a rather common error 
 to suppose, as Vasari himself did, that the Pisani 
 were the sole architects of the fountain. The 
 only certain work which they did for it was the 
 ornamentation of the panels and probably the statues. 
 The whole plan of the fountain was supplied by 
 the Perugian architect, JMVi Bevignate, and it was he 
 who called in other sculptors to help in the build- 
 ing.^ In 1277 he applied to Charles of Anjou for 
 
 1 Fia Bevignate was a Sylvestrian monk. Pascoli says that 
 lie (lied in 1350, at the age of ninety-five, in which case he 
 was hut a youth when he designed the fountain. 
 
 125
 
 T^he Stury of Perugia 
 
 permission to employ the Florentine, Arnolfo di Lapo, 
 to help with the sculptures on the second basin, and 
 in the same year a certain Rosso designed and made 
 the third bronze basin with its pillar and its ornaments 
 of Nereids and of griffins on the top.^ 
 
 The fountain rises from the square — a broad pile of 
 marble now almost black with age, upon a circle of 
 stone steps. The second basin is supported on a forest 
 of slender columns which give an airiness and a necessary 
 lightness to the whole. The designs upon its panels, 
 which are infinite in their variety, were made by Niccola 
 Pisano and carried out by his son Giovanni. These 
 two big marble basins are crowned by a third in bronze 
 with the figures of three Nereids rising from it, and bear- 
 ing on their heads the eternal griffin of Perugia, without 
 which fascinating beast no single house or building in 
 the city would ever seem complete. 
 
 Niccola Pisano and his son must have studied the 
 tastes of the Perugians with exquisite care and tact, 
 combining these with the more general artistic taste of 
 the age in which they worked. The panels on the first 
 large basin are a fascinating study : the months of the 
 year, and ^sop's fables, scenes of domestic life and 
 Roman legend, the griffin and tales from the Old Testa- 
 ment, the Umbrian saints, the sciences and arts, all won- 
 derfully intermingled upon the separate panels. Even 
 the old joke about the fishes is gracefully treated by the 
 Florentine sculptor, for Lake Trasimene, as a beautiful 
 woman, clasps three large lasche in her rounded arms. 
 S. Ercolano, too, is here in all his glory, together with 
 S. Louis of Toulouse and S. Costanzo. 
 
 One cannot help wondering how Perugia got her 
 drinking water in early days. We may imagine that it 
 
 ^ For full account of tlie fountain, see Mariotti, '• Lettere 
 Pittoriche," and Gio. Battista Vermiglioli's admirable work on 
 the subject. The latter is splendidly illustrated. 
 126
 
 THE REAl'EK. DETAIL liN I'ANEl. ON THE FOUNTAIN
 
 T'he Fountain 
 
 was entirely through wells, and wells on the top of a 
 hill are apt to run dry. Thirst, therefore, was probably 
 a far stronger factor in times of siege than the cowardice 
 of her inhabitants, and the city must often have been 
 driven to capitulate through the terrible need of 
 water, rather than through the fear of foreign arms. 
 As the city grew, a sense of inadequacy on this par- 
 ticular point grew too, and people began to wonder how 
 water could be procured from some tresh running spring 
 upon the neighbouring hills ; yet to bring it up to such a 
 height seemed to the Perugians an almost insuperable 
 difficulty. An early genius nearly solved it for them, 
 but like other early geniuses he failed. In 1254 Fratc 
 Plcnario, an obscure preaching friar, wandering through 
 the woods and hills around Perugia, conceived, what 
 in those days seemed the most hazardous scheme, 
 of bringing water into the piazza of the city by means 
 of a large aqueduct from the hill of Monte Pac- 
 ciano, which lies three miles or so to the north of the 
 town. Plenario urged his scheme upon the magistrates, 
 they approved it, and after certain difficulties as to the 
 necessary funds they determined to embark on the 
 adventurous undertaking. Frate Plenario was put at 
 the head of the works, and Messer Bonomi chosen as 
 architect. But the plan was large, the execution very 
 difficult. The arches were built too small and fragile, 
 and carried at too low a level. They fell to ruin in the 
 woods, and the poor little priest and his friend Bonomi 
 vanished with the desolation of their works. Their 
 plans, however, never died, they merely remained to be 
 carried out by stronger if not subtler minds. 
 
 In 1274 the question of a fountain again became 
 paramount in Perugia. More solid channels were built 
 across the hills and the ambitious magistrates called in 
 the most skilled sculptors of the day to decorate a re- 
 ceptacle for the precious water when it should arrive. 
 I 1 29
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 It came tor the iirst time on the 15th of February 
 1280, and we can fancy the joyful pride of the citizens 
 as they saw it running over the lovely marble and 
 brass basins which had been so carefully prepared 
 for it. 
 
 The most elaborate and stringent laws were made 
 for the guardianship of the fountain and the use of its 
 waters. It was enclosed, as it is to-day, with iron 
 railings, and was, as the ever sarcastic Bonazzi rightly 
 says, " the subject of most grave solicitude." We 
 hear that there were seven troughs which gathered the 
 water outside the railing, but " beasts, barrels, unwashed 
 pots, and unclean hands were forbidden the use of the 
 water, and indeed this was guarded with such jealous 
 care that it seemed as though the people of Perugia 
 had built their fountain for the sake of beauty only. . . . 
 Yet," adds Bonazzi, " the five hundred florins 
 which were annually given over to its maintenance, 
 without counting extra expenses and the wages of 
 its special porters and superior officers, would have 
 been ill-spent indeed if beauty had been missing in the 
 monument." 
 
 But if it was difficult to bring the water it was equally 
 diflBcult to keep it always running. The elegant pile of 
 marbles, the thing that the Podesta, the priests and the 
 people all combined in literally doting on, was for ever 
 running dry, and growing lifeless. In this nineteenth 
 century the Prefect of Perugia is about to send some 
 forty miles instead of three to fetch his people water, 
 but the great fountain will be there to hold it when it 
 comes, and the first aqueduct will remain to break with 
 exquisite lines the little copses and the fields away to 
 the north of the city. 
 
 We know of few lovelier points about Perugia than 
 the place where its water is stored on the lower hills 
 of Monte Pacciano — low wooded hills where the 
 130
 
 )| 11! iiiii 
 
 Mm 
 
 ilt'i ! 
 
 
 .1 )',•'' 
 
 ■\ /\!i 
 
 'k '■& P^'M 
 
 GFOMF.TRY. DKTAII. IN .\ PANEL OH THE FOUNTAIN 
 
 '3'
 
 iS*. Lortwzo 
 
 white heath grows in spring-time amongst the copses 
 of crimson-stemmed arbutus, and where one can lie for 
 hours on the turf looking away to Trasimene, and 
 all the waving hills and smaller hill-set cities of the 
 Umbrian country. Here the Perugians catch and 
 store their drinking water in three great reservoirs. 
 The first of these was built some time at the end 
 of the thirteenth century. The masonry is rough and 
 massive, and the water seems more green and more 
 mysterious in the mcdijeval basin than in those of this 
 practical nineteenth century. We went there late one 
 April afternoon, and lingered long in the cool and 
 cavernous places where the water is gathered together. 
 As we came home we traced the course of the old 
 aqueducts which have long since been abandoned. 
 The springs today are carried underground in a sort 
 of switch - back fashion over the sloping hillsides. 
 But the ruins of the earlier conduit remain in their 
 old places. Seeing them, we thought of the times in 
 which they had supplied the men and horses crawling 
 home from some hot skirmish on the plain, and of how 
 the water had washed the blood of nobles from the 
 steps of the Duomo and quenched the thirst of preach- 
 ing friars and painters. How dead, how gone, that 
 passionate past, how hum - drum, and how dreary 
 seemed the clatter of the table d'hote when we got 
 back that evening. 
 
 But in describing the water supply of the city, we 
 have wandered rather far afield from the subject of 
 the piazza. A great flight of steps leads from the 
 back of the fountain up to the cathedral. 
 
 Cathkdral of S. Loren/.o. 
 
 As we have pointed out at the beginning of this 
 chapter, the Church has suffered terribly, both from 
 
 '33
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 neglect and warfare. The outer walls look very brown 
 and bruised and naked too, without their marbles, 
 but as such they form a monument of history which 
 
 
 
 
 ON THE STEPS OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 few would wish to alter. The first old church was 
 pulled down in 1200 in order to make room for a 
 superb new cathedral which was to take the place of 
 the old one down outside the city walls at Porta S. 
 '34
 
 iS'. Loren'zo 
 
 Pictro, and the citizens met in solemn conclave to 
 talk their project out, they even appointed their 
 architect, Fra Bcvignate, to make their plans for 
 them. But the Peruvians were full of wars, and 
 other business and buildings at that period, and 
 they soon found that their funds were far too low to 
 allow of a new cathedral. They therefore let the 
 matter drop, and some years passed before they made 
 another effort. In 1345 the Bishop laid the founda- 
 tion stone of S. Lorenzo. It was a solemn occasion, 
 and all the clergy were present at the ceremony ; 
 but the stone, when laid, remained in solitary state 
 for the rest of the century, and the people of Perugia 
 were forced to pray and sing, to marry and baptise 
 elsewhere, for another hundred years went by before 
 the building was completed. Other catastrophes 
 awaited it when finished, for the inexorable French 
 Abbot Mommaggiore was at that time building his 
 fortress at Porta Sole, and in doing this he found 
 it necessary to knock down a great part of the new 
 cathedral. Finally, in the middle of the fifteenth 
 century. Bishop Baglioni, whose beautiful tomb stands 
 to the right as one enters the cathedral, put the place 
 in comparative order again, and it only remained for 
 his descendants to use it as their fortress in the years 
 to come ! 
 
 There is a feeling of great warmth about the in- 
 terior of S. Lorenzo, which is built in the form 
 of a Latin cross with three naves. The ceiling is 
 badly painted, much of the glass is poor, the twelve 
 tall columns covered with a sort of stucco which 
 imitates a stone no one has ever seen and only the 
 artist dreamed of; but with all these faults tlie 
 church has charm, and none of that desolate chill 
 which the outside walls suggest. The clergy are rich 
 at Perugia ; the people have never lost their strong 
 
 '35
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 religious sense, which the advance of civilisation has 
 turned from a wild fanaticism to a tone of more 
 sober devotion, and the services are always impres- 
 sive in S. Lorenzo — the whole body of the choir 
 filled with choristers, the priests forming themselves 
 into splendid coloured groups around the bishop's 
 chair, and up against the woodwork and red damasks 
 on the stalls. 
 
 Something of the life of the city, and much of 
 the lives of the popes, has crept into the inner walls 
 of the cathedral. The chapel of S. Bernardino stands 
 to the right as one enters. This belonged to the 
 Merchants' Guild of Perugia, and by them it was 
 magnificently decorated. The merchants purchased 
 their rights to the chapel in 15 15, and they at once 
 began to adorn it with splendid woodwork. They were 
 naturally anxious to get a really good picture for their 
 altar, but they took their time to select a suitable 
 artist. Finally, they decided on Federigo Baroccio, of 
 whose skill they had heard great things, and they sent 
 their captain to Urbino where Baroccio lived, begging 
 him to come and paint their altar. The subject chosen 
 was the " Descent from the Cross." Federigo came 
 and finished his picture between 1567 and 1568. 
 Tradition says that he was suffering from the effects 
 of poison which a jealous person had administered to 
 him in Rome, as he painted. Be this as it may, 
 his picture gave the utmost satisfaction not only to the 
 Merchants' Guild but also to "the whole city of 
 Perugia," and it scarcely looks like the work of a man 
 who was sickening from the effects of fatal drugs, but 
 rather like that of one with all his health and wits 
 about him. The figures are full of action, and although 
 the colour is so warm and glowing, the atmosphere is 
 one of storm and tempest. To the left of the cross 
 the Magdalen strains her white arms to the un- 
 136
 
 S. L 
 
 orcfi%o 
 
 conscious Virgin whose iigure is supported by a 
 radiant woman in a yellow gown. To the right 
 8. John stretches forward to catch the body of 
 the falling Christ, whilst a young man, leaning 
 backwards in a hurricane of wind, supports Him to 
 the left. The only quiet points in this over- 
 dramatic composition are the fainting figure of our 
 l^ady and that of her dead Son. Looking at 
 it one is reminded of Tintoretto's work in its 
 extravagant sense of action, but the touch of senti- 
 mentality throughout is foreign to the Venetian 
 painter.^ 
 
 Baroccio was a native of Urbino, born there in 1528. 
 He studied ])ainting with the Zuccheri and also with 
 Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael, and he had in his 
 day a great reputation for his treatment of sacred 
 subjects. It seems that he fell in love with the city 
 of Perugia, for he stayed on painting there long after 
 his work was finished, and he would often come again 
 like the popes and other tired persons of distinction. 
 He adopted a child of Perugia, Felice Pelegrin, and 
 took him back to Urbino, where he educated him as a 
 painter. Felice became distinguished in his way, and 
 his success encouraged the generous P'ederigo to adopt 
 another child, Felice's brother. But the second ex- 
 periment was not so happy. The boy grew into an 
 astonishingly beautiful young man ; women idolised him 
 and he was murdered by some jealous rival when still 
 com])aratively young. 
 
 To the left of Baroccio's picture there is a fine glass 
 window designed by Arrigo Fiammingo in 1565. 
 
 1 Some years ago a gentleman of Perugia iiought from a 
 grocer in the town for the sum of twenty-five centimes the 
 original drawing of Baroccio's "Deposition."' (See No. 9. 
 Oabinetto della Torre. Pinacoteca.) 
 
 »37
 
 'The Story of Perugia 
 
 The window has been restored, but is beautiful 
 in parts, both in colour and design, and Perugia 
 is not rich in coloured glass. The subject repre- 
 sented is S. Bernardino of Siena preaching to the 
 people of Perugia in the church of 8. Maria del 
 Popolo. The Saint is in the background — he, and 
 the people and the architecture round him, are brown 
 and quiet in colour. The figures in the foreground 
 are tar more brightly coloured, notably that of the old 
 merchant in a blue cloak. The small naked boy who is 
 leading him is perhaps the most charming point ot the 
 whole composition. The child's figure is like a little 
 S. John, but he is probably meant to represent the 
 Spirit of the Merchants' Guild, for he has a bundle 
 bound about his shoulders, over which his yellow curls 
 fall down, and a bundle or "/>^rco" is the sign of the 
 Merchants' Guild. 
 
 The stalls in the chapel are very fine work of the 
 sixteenth century. A whole book might easily be 
 written about the stalls of the Perugian churches. 
 Their wealth of beauty and of real excellency is 
 inexhaustible, but it would be hopeless in so 
 short a space to attempt any full description of the 
 individual ones. The choir of the cathedral is in 
 itself a fine example and worthy of a very careful 
 study. 
 
 Immediately opposite the chapel of S. Bernardino is 
 that of the Virgin's Ring. To the mere lover of art 
 the interest of this chapel is dead indeed. Perugino's 
 " Sposalizio " : that wonderful design which Pietro 
 created for his Duomo, and which Raphael a few years 
 later copied, went, as so many of the very best Perugian 
 paintings went, to swell the galleries of Napoleon. The 
 poor picture has never travelled back across the 
 Alps as many of its contemporaries have done. It 
 hangs on the walls of the Gallery at Caen, and an 
 138
 
 S. Lorenzo 
 
 inferior copy iills the frame whicli first was made to 
 hold it. 
 
 To the pious, a treasure of infinitely greater price 
 than Perugino's altar-piece is still shut safe and sure 
 within the railings of the chapel, and this is the wedding- 
 ring of the blessed Virgin Mary. It was brought 
 to Perugia by a certain Winterio di Magonza, who 
 "piously stole it" from Chiusi in 1472. The Ring 
 is kept in a wonderful and exquisitely worked silver 
 casket,! bm- go extraordinary is its value, that it can 
 only be seen five times a year, and during the rest ot 
 the time a monstrous silver cloud covers the spot where 
 it is stowed away. 
 
 We were privileged to see the Ring on one of Mary's 
 greatest feast days (December 8th), and to examine 
 it closely, even to handle it. We shall not ever for- 
 get the sight, which was impressive, and savoured 
 almost of a pagan rite. The Ring was exposed from 
 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. We went to see it in the evening. 
 In the square outside it was dark and pouring with 
 cold rain, the great church too was dark and cold, a 
 candle or two in the organ loft, and the organ sending 
 a stream of mysterious music across the aisle, for the 
 benediction. In the chapel of the Relic there was 
 light — a blaze of innumerable candles, and underneath, 
 the priests and an immense throng of people at their 
 prayers. A staircase hung with crimson damask had 
 been built for the day up the side of the wall to the 
 little platform where the Ring is kept. We climbed 
 the stairs to the platform and entered the chapel up 
 above. There were only a few of the privileged 
 Perugians there : some ladies, two smiths with the 
 bolt and keys, the custodian, one or two members 
 of the municipality, and the Ring which, in the light 
 of all its candles, had an extraordinary, nay an even 
 ' See model in the Museum of the University. 
 
 139
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 uncanny effect, and seemed cut out of some large opal.' 
 When the service below was ended, the priest of the 
 Ring arrived up the ladder. He took the relic out of 
 its shrine, and a strange, half hysterical prayer went 
 up from the tiny crowd. With the excessive courtesy 
 peculiar to the Perugians we were asked to come 
 forward : " You people of Perugia can always see 
 your Ring, and these ladies are strangers," said the 
 priest, who bade us examine it closely. Then the 
 locking up began, and it was a mighty business. The 
 relic is kept in a wonderful variety of cases. It is 
 iirst locked into a little leathern case with a golden 
 key kept by the bishop. Fifteen other different locks, 
 their keys kept by fifteen different persons of impor- 
 tance in the city, follow. The weight of the last iron 
 chest which covers the other boxes is stupendous. 
 Two locksmiths and a custodian could scarcely manage 
 to close it. As the locking up proceeded the candles 
 went gradually out in the cathedral, and only one or 
 two small tapers remained to light the mysterious 
 burial. We passed from the chapel into the rain- 
 swept square, and some of Ciatti's strange, unlikely 
 fables ran in our head as we splashed through the 
 desolate wind-swept streets. He tells us of the 
 marvellous properties of the Ring — how the power 
 
 1 The stone is probably some rare form of agate. It is trans- 
 parent and takes many lights ; the colour is a faint yellowish 
 l)lue. The people of the place have strange fancies about its 
 colour. Before we had seen it we asked of others what it 
 looked like. "Ah." answered the small son of the sacristan, 
 •• it is white, and it is not white. It has no given colour. It 
 is impossible to describe it, for nothing else is like it." 
 Cioldoni, in his memoirs, gives the following description of 
 it: — "The ring with which St Joseph wedded the Virgin 
 Mary is made of a transparent blue stone, and is a circle of 
 some thickness ; thus it appeared to me, but they say that the 
 ring changes its colour and form miraculously, according to 
 the various persons who approach it," 
 1 40
 
 S. Lorenzo 
 
 possessed by it was so potent that people's ills were 
 cured by merely looking at it, and how when a 
 Tuscan lady had the audacity to wear it, her hand 
 became withered, even as a dead leaf in autumn. 
 And then he gives the story of the finding of the 
 Ring: — 
 
 •• Now Judith Marchcsana ol Tuscany, having a great 
 love of jewellery (a thing not contrary to the nature of 
 woman), despatched a certain Raneiro of Chiusi to Rome 
 to make diligent search for jewels in that city. There 
 he chanced to meet with a jeweller who had just returned 
 from Jerusalem, and from him he bought many gems 
 which he thought would he to the liking of his mistress. 
 After abiding three days with the jeweller he decided to 
 return to his home, and the Levantine, hearing of this, 
 otTered again to show him more gems till at last Raneiro grew 
 angeretl and spoke i)itter words to his host. ' Nay,' said 
 the jeweller, • 1 have treated thee in all good faith, but 
 now I know not whether by a spirit I am moved, or by 
 the love I bear to thee, but certain it is that I feel driven 
 to give thee this Ring ; ' and he drew a small hoop from 
 out the urn where the jewels lay. Raneiro, thinking it 
 was an amethyst, an onyx or white agate, which stones 
 are of but very slight importance in the history of gems, 
 laughingly told his friend to keep his precious gift — 
 ' Do not esteem my offering so vile,' said the Levantine, 
 'but, believe me, it is tlie most priceless treasure I possess; 
 for he it known to you that this is the wedding-ring of 
 the blessed Virgin Mary. Receive it therefore with all 
 reverence, and see that the sacred relic fall not into the 
 hands of the profane.'" 
 
 * -X- * * -«• 
 
 There is a fine " miraculous " ' picture on the third 
 column to the right as one passes up the aisle of the 
 cathedral. A great many myths centre around it both 
 as a work of art and as a healing relic. Some say that 
 it is the earliest painting in Perugia, transferred to its 
 present place from the column of a Pagan temple where 
 
 ' A picture capable of working miracles. 
 
 141
 
 The Story oj Perugia 
 
 an early Christian painted it, others that it is the work, of 
 Giannicola Manni. Concerning the miracles performed 
 by it, the strings of silver hearts and offerings bear ample 
 testimony. The painting is very charming, and we 
 hear that Perugino loved it as a boy and drew his 
 earliest inspirations from it (?). Our Lady stands against 
 a crimson arras, her hands are opened out as though to 
 bless, her gown is of a faded pink, her mantle blue and 
 lined with the green of early spring. She is so calm, 
 so young, and smiling, that one does not wonder at the 
 crowds of worshippers which linger always round her 
 shrine. 
 
 The chapel of the baptistery has some good Lombard 
 stone work ; and there are one or two interesting things 
 in the sacristy ; splendid intarsia over the presses where 
 the priests of Perugia store their gorgeous gowns of cloth 
 of gold and silver, and a wonderful bit of early gesso 
 work in the inner chapel. 
 
 There is a big altar-piece by Signorelli in the chapel 
 of S. Onofrio, which is interesting as being the only 
 comparatively good piece of the master's work in the 
 whole of Perugia. The picture has suffered much 
 from restoration, but the restorer contented himself 
 with mauling the principal points ; he neglected the 
 detail, which is admirable throughout. The garlands 
 of pink and white convolvulus behind the chair of 
 our Lady are true to life ; the Infant Christ carries 
 a stem of lilies in his baby hand, and beside the 
 long limbed angel who plays his lute at the Virgin's 
 feet stands a tumbler full of the freshest jasmine, whilst 
 below him on the steps another glass is filled with 
 fading violets. One marvels that a man who could 
 so superbly draw every line and muscle of the human 
 body, should care to linger over these frail details of 
 the flowers.
 
 S. Lorenzo 
 
 In the left transept of the cathedral three of the 
 popes are buried, and to anyone who has studied the 
 history of the town and realised its connection with 
 the power of Rome this otherwise rather dreary and 
 uninteresting corner of the church will conjure up a 
 host of half fantastic visions.^ 
 
 The little porphyry urn on the right wall of the 
 transept holds all the earthly remains of the three 
 popes, Innocent III., Urban IV., and Martin IV., 
 who all died at Perugia. A delightful legend is 
 told concerning the death of Innocent. With his 
 usual surprising seriousness the ingenuous Ciatti tells 
 us that the following remarkable vision occurred to 
 a certain Abbot of the Cistercian order who was liv- 
 ing in the neighbourhood at the time of Innocent's 
 death : 
 
 " Now one hot Mimmer clay, overcome by heavy sleep, 
 the Abbot withdrew himself under the shade of certain 
 plants and there lay down to rest upon the soft green 
 grass. No sooner had he closed his eyes in sleep than 
 the eyes of his mind were opened and he saw Christ 
 appearing in the east accompanied !)y His angelic court 
 and seated on a throne. Looking to the west the Abbot 
 then perceived a naked man, hurrying all out of breath 
 towards the throne, and not even the weight of his pon- 
 tifical mitre impeded him in this most rapid progress, 
 for a fierce and terrifying dragon followed close behind 
 him, and he was frightened and cried out : ' Have mercy 
 on me. oh thou most merciful God.' Wherefore the 
 dragon too lifted up his voice and cried: 'Judge with 
 justice, most liigh judge.' Then the good Abbot awoke 
 trembling with fear and much mystified by all that he 
 had seen, and arriving at the gates of Petugia, he heard 
 the heavy tolling of the bells and was met by the citizens 
 who all were wailing with loud voices, crying out : Pope 
 
 ' To those who only search for art, its picture by Perugino 
 will seem the chief attraction. This is, however, a poor bit of 
 the master's work with many of liis later affectations. 
 
 '4.S
 
 77?^ Story of Perugia 
 
 Innocent, Pope Innocent is cieml.' Then the worthy Abbot 
 understood that it was Pope Innocent III. that he had seen, 
 and he marvelled at the mercy of Almighty CJod who treats 
 the humble and the powerful with ecjual law and mercy." 
 
 Innocent was, of course, a very powerful Pope, and 
 the historians of Perugia gloat over the fact that he did 
 their city the honour to die in it, devoting whole pages 
 of their books to this important subject. 
 
 Urban IV. is another remarkable figure in the Church 
 of Rome, and it was during his stay at Perugia that he 
 threw his mighty bomb which was to explode with 
 such disastrous results upon the land of Italy. Ke was 
 probably staying in the monastery of S. Pietro with his 
 friend S. Thomas Aquinas when he sent the fatal letter 
 which summoned Charles of Anjou down to Rome. 
 " A terrible comet preceded Urban's death which 
 occurred in 1264," says Mariotti. There was a report 
 that Urban had been done to death by eating poisoned 
 figs, but this is unfounded. The Pope lived in constant 
 terror of poison, and by his incessant talk and letters 
 on the subject had infected the minds of those around 
 him. 
 
 Martin IV. is the last Pope buried in the Duomo. 
 He often came to Perugia, and in 1285 he returned 
 with the full intention of making a considerable stay 
 there. But he died on Easter morning, having 
 eaten a surfeit of eels ; (it appears that Martin IV. 
 was greedy of this particular delicacy). Dante re- 
 cords the fact in the " Purgatorio " (canto xxiv.), 
 where Foresc points the Pope out seated among the 
 gluttons : 
 
 " . . . e quella faccia 
 Di la da lui, piu che I'altre trapunta, 
 Ebbe la Santa Chiesa in le sue braccia : 
 Dal Torso fu : e purga per digiuno 
 L'anguille di Bolsena e la vernaccia." 
 144
 
 S. Lorenzo 
 
 The following inscription is said to have been written 
 over Martin's tomb ; 
 
 " Gaudent anguilhie quod mortuus hie jacet ille. 
 Qui quasi morte reas excruciabat eas, " 
 
 Perhaps it was with a view to expiate this very 
 insulting epitaph that the Perugians, in spite of the 
 canons of S. Lorenzo, who refused to contribute to 
 the fund, erected a magnificent tomb for Martin later 
 on. They employed G. Pisano for the purpose, but only 
 a few fragments of his work remain. Mommaggiore 
 pulled it down, as he pulled so many other things, and 
 used its priceless ornaments to adorn his own palace at 
 Porta Sole. The two small pulpits on either side of 
 the high altar screen were made, it is said, from the 
 fragments of the tomb, and also, perhaps, the marble 
 Pietii with the blue background which hangs on the 
 right as you pass back down the church.' 
 
 The bones of the three Popes have been terribly 
 pulled about : buried and then unearthed, buried again, 
 and changed. Innocent, according to most authorities, 
 was buried in the cathedral. About 1376, when 
 Martin's tomb was destroyed by Mommaggiore, the 
 bones of Innocent III. were taken from their resting- 
 place and laid along with those of the other two popes 
 in a sort of chest, on the top of a cupboard, in the 
 sacristy of the new cathedral. Thence, in 1605, the 
 chest was removed to another chapel by order of 
 Bishop Comitoli. When it was opened the bodies of 
 Martin and of Urban were found intact, with their 
 mitres and their chasubles ; but of the powerful Innocent 
 III. only a few broken bones remained, wrapped up 
 in a little packet. It is probable that when the three 
 Popes were removed from their different tombs in i 376 
 
 1 This fact is uncertain, and many people ascribe the work 
 to Dueci. 
 
 K 145
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 and stuffed into the chest, the memory of Innocent III. 
 in connection with the temporal dominion of the popes 
 in Perugia which he was the first to found, induced 
 some persons present to violate his tomb. Be this as 
 it may, all the bones of the Popes now rest together in 
 the dull little porphyry urn, crowned with a brass 
 tiara. ^ 
 
 In leaving the cathedral it would be well to glance 
 at the tomb of Bishop Giovanni Andrea Baglioni, a 
 beautiful bit of low relief in marble. Very lovely are the 
 three small angels with the ribbons in their heavy hair, 
 guarding the Baglioni arms, very alien from the spirit 
 of that bloody race of men, the gentle figures of the 
 women in the panels. 
 
 The Canonica. 
 
 One great building in the square remains to be 
 described, namely, the Canonica, or, as Bonazzi calls 
 it, the " Vatican of Perugia." Although a mere wreck 
 of its former splendid self, this building is still one of 
 the finest relics of the mediaeval times that the city 
 boasts of. It stands to the left of the Duomo — a great 
 mass of bricks, with huge cavernous rooms inside, and 
 walls some six to eight feet thick in places. The 
 cloister is comparatively modern, but the beautiful open- 
 air staircase which leads from it down into the Piazza 
 Morlacchi is probably very much the same as it was 
 in the days when the popes arrived to take a holiday in 
 their loved Umbrian city. 
 
 In old days the magistrates and the Podesta shared 
 the abode of the clergy, but, as may easily be imagined, 
 
 1 A note to Gregorovius' " Tombs of the Popes " says that 
 Innoceiit'3 bones have been carried to Rome by Leo XIII. and 
 buried in S. John Lateran. 
 146
 
 .M 
 
 M 
 
 'Mr 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IN THE CIOISTERS OF THE CANONICA (oR SEMINARY) 
 
 '47
 
 this arrangement did not answer, and was, as Bonazzi 
 tells us, the cause of most extreme contention between 
 the canons of the Church and the councillors of State. 
 The canons had a very comfortable time in the Canonica. 
 " Professing to follow the rule of St Augustine," says 
 Bonazzi, " they had much to fear from the manifold 
 terrors of conscience." Their cellars must have been 
 excessively well stocked, for on one occasion when the 
 Podesta s property was burning, the flames were quenched 
 by wine : " To extinguish the flames, nothing would 
 do save the immense cellars of the colossally rich 
 Canonica." 
 
 Of the visits of the popes to Perugia we have 
 dealt elsewhere (see chapter ii.). It is enough 
 to say that they often came to the Canonica ; three 
 of them died there, and there were five conclaves 
 in the mysterious halls where the new popes were 
 elected. 
 
 One beautiful story is told in the " Fioretti " 
 about Gregory IX., who doubted of the miracles 
 of S. Francis till the saint appeared in person and 
 revealed the truth to him. There is little doubt 
 that the vision occurred to the Pope as he slept 
 or dreamed in his grand rooms at the back of the 
 cathedral : — • 
 
 '' . . . Now let it he known that to Pope Gregory IX., 
 who was a little doubtful concerning the wound in the 
 side of St Francis, and according to what he himself 
 relates, that the saint appeared one night, and lifting his 
 right arm on liigli he showed the wound in his side, and 
 asked to have a little phial fetched ; and the Pope had it 
 fetched and St Francis bade them place it under the wound 
 in his side; and it seemed to the Pope as though truly 
 the phial became filled even unto the brim with blood 
 mixed up with water which issued from the wound, and 
 from that time forward all doubt forsook him, and he, 
 with the consent of all his cardinals, approved the holy 
 miracles of St Francis." 
 
 149
 
 T^he Story of Perugia 
 
 Thus the power of the Umbrian Saint penetrated this 
 grim Umbrian building, and, appearing to the haughty 
 Roman Pontiff, overcame him by the power of pure holi- 
 ness, even as it had overcome so many furious passions 
 of a century that was evil. 
 
 S. FRANCIS FROM THE STATUE OF DELLA ROBBIA AT S. MARIA DEGLI 
 ANGEU, ASSISl 
 
 150
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Fortress of Paid III. — S. Er cola ho — 
 S. Domenico — S. Pietro — S. Costan%o 
 
 CROM an historical point of view the crowning 
 interest of the buildings of Perugia was to 
 be found in the great fortress which Paul III. 
 built in the middle of the sixteenth century in order 
 to amaze the citizens, and to subjugate the rebel- 
 lious passions of the nobles. For three centuries this 
 huge building performed its office admirably and Perugia 
 lay silent and subdued under the oppressive shadow of 
 its walls. But no sooner did other influences appear, 
 no sooner did the imperial French power open a way 
 to a freer method of government than that allowed 
 by Rome, than Perugia shook, herself free of a yoke 
 which had been odious from the first, and on the 23rd 
 December 1848, in the sight of a great crowd of people, 
 and with a pomp and ceremony dear to the Perugians 
 from the very darkest ages of their history, the first 
 stones of the splendid building were torn from their 
 places. By a strange coincidence or, perhaps, agree- 
 ment, tiie man to give the first blow was a certain Bene- 
 detto Baglioni, and as he let the hammer fall it split the 
 cornerstone on the very spot where the palaces of his 
 ancestors had stood in former years ! The masons 
 followed suit, and soon the bricks and stones were 
 tumbling from their places. The whole town joined in 
 the work of devastation, but so splendid was the mortar
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 used by the builders ot the indomitable Paul that at 
 times nothing but blasting would destroy the masonry. 
 In one of the great explosions several people were killed, 
 "and thus," says Bonazzi, "did the Farnese Pope once 
 more avenge himself on us, even after a period of three 
 hundred and eight years! " 
 
 No sooner was the Papal fortress gone than the Peru- 
 gians began to make new buildings on its site. All the 
 modern architecture of the town has sprung, like fresh 
 mushrooms spring, on the site of the old wood, and it is 
 not easy in the present day to reconstruct Paul's mighty 
 citadel, hampered as our vision is by the open squares 
 and houses which now have taken possession of its site. 
 It was divided into two parts. The top part covered 
 nearly the whole of the level space which the Prefe- 
 tnra, the Hotel Brufani, and the Piazza Emanuele now 
 occupy. The fire of the Pope's guns could therefore 
 be turned on recalcitrant citizens or nobles, either up the 
 Corso and the Piazza Sopramuro, or down the main 
 approach to the city from the road to Rome. A strong 
 branch or buttress of the fort ran down from this high level 
 to a second fort which, in the shape of a fan, extended 
 itself along the level ground which is now occupied by 
 municipal buildings and the Piazza d'Armi ; a large part 
 of the lower building was devoted to a great walled 
 square for games, called the Piazza del Pallone. 
 
 Adolphus Trollope was one of the last people to see 
 and to describe the great Farnese citadel. He saw it both 
 before and during its destruction, and the description 
 which he gives of the building and of the hatred which 
 it excited is so vivid that we quote it here at length. ^ 
 
 '• Few buildings,"' he says, " have been laden with a heavier 
 amount of long-accumulated popular hatred than this ; and few 
 have more richly merited it. The Perugians were for many 
 ages — nay, it may pretty well be said that they never ceased to 
 
 1 See " Lenten Journey in Umbria, 1862."
 
 Fortress of Paul III. 
 
 lie— a hard nut lor tht- griiulinj^ teetli oi j)iipal tyranny to crack, 
 and this huge Bastille was, at the time of its erection, a symbol 
 of the final destruction of liberty in Perugia. 
 
 '* When I had last been in Perugia the entire building was 
 open to the curiosity and free examination of the public. 
 There was no crowd when I wandered over the labyrinths 
 of its stairs and passages, guard-rooms, barracks, casemates, 
 and prisons of every sort and size. I had the foul place then 
 all to myself, with the exception of a few workmen, who were 
 beginning to take the roof off one of the upper buildings ; for 
 the public of Perugia iiad already satiated their curiosity. I 
 saw the large dungeons, accessible only by a circular opening 
 in the pavement of the less dreadful dungeons above them ; I 
 saw the fearful cells, constructed in the thickness of the 
 colossal masonry, in such devilish sort, that the wretches who 
 had dared to tjuestion the deeds of Christ's Vicar on earth, 
 once introduced into the cavity through ajjertures barely 
 sufficient to admit a crawling figure, could neither stand nor 
 sit in them. I jxiced the lofty battlements, which commanded 
 such a panoramic view as can hardly be matched, over the 
 l)eautiful country and the many cities within its circuit, all 
 priest-trampled and poisoned ; and I marked the narrow light- 
 holes in some of the less dreadful prisons, througii which a 
 miserable, tantalising strip of far distant sunlit horizon was 
 dimly visible to the immured victim, who knew too well, 
 that he should never, never return to the light of day.'' 
 
 On Trollope's second visit, that is to say, in 1862, 
 the work of demohtion was progressing, and an in- 
 scription had been placed on the wall of the piazza 
 fronting the former main entrance to the fortress, which 
 struck, him as ironically satirical in its simplicity. It 
 stated that the magistrates of Perugia were removing the 
 fortress raised for the oppression of the citizens ^'■for 
 the impro'vement of the prospect from the Piazza " ! 
 Some time later Trollope returned to Perugia. The 
 fortress was then being quickly pulled to pieces. 
 
 ''There were a number of people," he says, "on the occa- 
 sion of my second visit gloating over the progressing destruction 
 of the detested walls, as crowbar and pickaxe did their work. I 
 saw one remarkable looking old man, with a long flowing 
 white beard, sitting on a fallen fragment of wall in the sun-
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 shine, and never taking his eyes from the workmen who were 
 tumbling down the great masses of concrete as fast as their 
 excessive liardness would permit of their being detached. A 
 gentleman I was with noticed the direction of my look, and 
 said : ' That old man comes here at break of day, and remains 
 till the workmen knock off at night. He was many years a 
 prisoner in the fortress, and was liberated at the fall of the 
 Papal Ciovernment." 
 
 "I felt that his presence there was fully accounted for, and that 
 I could guess without any difficulty • of what was the old man 
 thinking? ' as he watched the demolition of his prison home." 
 
 But however great the damage done both to the people 
 and their buildings by the fortress of the great Farnese, 
 it must be admitted that the Pope at least employed a 
 man of taste to carry out his vast designs. In building 
 the new walls and knocking down the old, San Gallo 
 left unharmed some of the finer characteristics of the 
 city. He pulled down all the Baglioni strongholds, 
 he battered down ten churches, and as many as 
 four hundred houses — indeed, he destroyed a little 
 corner of the mediseval town — but he preserved, with 
 a tender carefulness, the churcli of the patron saint, 
 S. Ercolano, and one of the first Etruscan gates : 
 the Porta Marzia. As it was not possible to keep 
 the latter in the form of a city gate San Gallo used 
 it as a decoration, building it into the west wall of 
 the fortress where, as Dennis rightly says, it still 
 remains, " imprisoned in the brickwork, to be liberated 
 by the shot of the next besiegers of Perugia, and 
 looking as much out of place as an ancient Etruscan 
 himself would look in the streets of the modern city." 
 The Porta Marzia is surmounted by the usual frieze of 
 short pillars, but the statues of four mysterious persons 
 are inserted in the niches. A tradition in Perugia 
 says that these statues are the portraits of a Perugian 
 family who died from eating a large quantity of 
 poisonous fungh'i (mushrooms). How this myth origi- 
 nated it is not possible to say, but the figures with 
 154
 
 Porta Mar^'ta 
 
 their inscrutable history add a phantom touch to the 
 already phantom portal. They are ))robably Roman 
 divinities.' It is worth getting the doors of the Porta 
 Marzia opened to sec the funny world inside : a whole 
 
 
 li'S 
 
 •.. i'v*^f 
 
 4,:. 
 
 <i'"- 
 
 
 vi:': 
 
 
 ii.jornjjj' 
 
 I'ORTA MARZIA 
 
 small town of battered streets, even the fragments of a 
 chapel, and many house-walls still intact. 
 
 1 The word Marzia naturally suggests a temple to Mars, and 
 indeed certain half-legendary records point to the fact that such 
 a temple formerly existed on this same spot. 
 
 '55
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 S. tlRCOLANO. 
 
 The church of S. Eicolano is built straight against a 
 part of the first Etruscan walls on the spot where the 
 saint is supposed to have been decapitated by Totila. 
 It is a strange little church, octagonal and very tall and 
 narrow. The first church is said to have been built as 
 early as 1200 and out of the remains of an old amphi- 
 theatre, or, as some say, the temple to Mars, which 
 originally stood on the site. Its early history is, 
 however, somewhat hazy. In 1600 the church was 
 finally rebuilt by Bishop Comitoli, who at once 
 looked about him for some suitable tomb in which 
 to place the body of S. Ercolano, which had hitherto 
 had such a very unquiet history. It happened that just 
 at that time a splendid sarcophagus was dug up under 
 the little chapel of S. Orfito at the foot of Monte Pac- 
 ciano. Six skulls and a wooden cross, together with 
 certain legends connected with some early Christian 
 martyrs and a chapel in the woods, seemed to prove that 
 the sarcophagus had formerly held their " holy bones." 
 The pious bishop Comitoli very reasonably concluded 
 that " Heaven was ministering to his need," so he took 
 the sarcophagus and put it on the altar of his new church, 
 and in it he laid the body of the saint. The translation 
 of the body from its old abode in the Duomo was marked 
 by a magnificent ceremony. The Bishop got up into the 
 pulpit in the square, which had never been used since 
 the days of S. Bernardino, and thence preached a 
 sermon on the merits of their patron Saint to the people 
 of Perugia, who came in thousands to attend him. 
 
 S. Ercolano, who is purely a local saint like S. 
 Costanzo, plays an important part in the history of 
 Perugia ; he may, indeed, be called the presiding 
 genius of the city. His history is often confused 
 with that of a most obscure and highly mythical person 
 156
 
 
 
 
 CHURCH OK S. ERCOI.ANO .\ND ARCllWAV IN TIIE ETRUSCAN WALL 
 
 •57
 
 S. Ercolano 
 
 of the same name who was martyred at Perugia in very 
 early days and devoured by wild beasts in the amphi- 
 theatre. The shining point in the life of the second 
 S. Ercolano is the part that he played in the defence ot 
 his city during the siege of Totila. This has endeared 
 him to the hearts of the citizens, and his name is as 
 familiar to the street boys of Perugia as that of S. 
 Ubaldo to the children of Gubbio. Unlike the saint 
 of Gubbio, however, S. Ercolano failed in his diplomacy. 
 Barbarossa listened to the prayers of Ubaldo and 
 departed from Gubbio ; Totila took. Perugia and be- 
 headed its Bishop, and the Gothic soldiers cut off his 
 head on a ledge of the Etruscan walls where the present 
 church now stands to commemorate his martyrdom. 
 
 All sorts of strange ceremonies and religious 
 festivities grew up round the worship of this beloved 
 saint, for the Pcrugians were as religious as they were 
 warlike, and they delighted in pious displays. Indeed, 
 one old proverb describes the credo of the city as 
 consisting of three P's : Processione, Persecuzione, Pro- 
 texione. There were countless rules and regulations 
 concerning the processions of the various saints. Some 
 had a double procession, or one which extended itself 
 over two days. On the first of these, the procession 
 started from the house of the Saint and proceeded to 
 the Duomo, and on the second the order was reversed. 
 In the case of S. Ercolano his statue was carried on 
 the first day from his house with a wooden head upon 
 its shoulders. On the second day it returned to its 
 abode with a silver head in commemoration of his 
 martyrdom. So when anybody in Perugia lied or 
 was deceitful, he was described as having two faces 
 like the blessed Ercolano ! 
 
 In Monaci's collection of the Uffizi Dramatici dei 
 Disciplinati dell' Unibria we find many of the great 
 tragic songs or plays sung by the Flagellants of Perugia, 
 
 159
 
 I'he Story of Perugia 
 
 and some of the finest of these are addressed to S. 
 Eicolano, who, as we have said, exercised a peculiar 
 influence over the minds and consciences of the 
 Perugians. The outside world made great sport of this 
 almost infantine side to the character of the Perugians, 
 and on one occasion the P'lorentine painter, BufTalmacco, 
 made use of it in combination with their other worship, 
 namely, their love of fishes, to play a rather hazard- 
 ous practical joke upon them. Vasari recounts the 
 history at length : — 
 
 " Now the Perugians," he says, '• gave BufTalmacco an order 
 to paint in the Piazza of S. Ercolano a portrait of that saint, 
 who is the patron and was the bishop of their city. The price 
 being arranged, a scaffolding of wood covered with matting 
 was put up for him in order that none might watch him at his 
 painting ; and this being done he set to work upon it. But ten 
 days had not passed by before everyone who happened to walk 
 that way began to ask when the picture would be finished, as 
 though sucli things as this could be cast in a mould, and at last 
 the thing became a nuisance to BufTalmacco. Therefore, having 
 finished his work and being wearied of so much importunity, 
 he decided within himself to be quietly avenged on the im- 
 patience of these people, and he succeeded ; for the work being 
 finished, he showed it to them before uncovering it. and they 
 expressed themselves absolutely satisfied. But when the 
 Perugians expressed their desire at once to pull down the 
 scaffolding, BufTalmacco told them to let it stand for another 
 two days because he desired it to retouch certain points for his 
 own satisfaction, and thus it was settled. Then BufTalmacco 
 went back to that spot where round the head of his saint he had 
 painted a large golden aureole, and as was the custom in those 
 times, with a high relief of plaster he made him a crown, or 
 more properly speaking, a garland, and wound it round and 
 round his head, and all oi lascke. And this being done he one 
 day paid his landlord and returned to Florence. Then as the 
 days passed by, and the Perugians failed to see the painter 
 moving about as was his custom, they asked the landlord what 
 might have become of him, and hearing that he had returned 
 to Florence, they immediately hurried to uncover the picture, 
 and finding their saint crowned only with a wreath of fishes, 
 they immediately carried the news to the governor of their city 
 and then, with hottest haste, sent horsemen in pursuit of 
 1 60
 
 S. KrcohuKj 
 
 BuHalmacco ; luit in vain, loi' lie liad returned to FJoreiice 
 with the liest speed he might. Therefore they decided to 
 have tile crown of fisiies removed from tlie head of the saint 
 and the aureole replaced by one of their own jiainters, and in 
 future to speak as much evil as they coulil, liotli of Buffalmacco 
 himself and of the Florentines in general."' 
 
 The story of Buffalmacco, the saint, and the crown 
 of llshes is comic enough, but the square in which the 
 scene described above was acted witnessed the deepest 
 liuman tragedy that the annals of Perugia have preserved 
 for us. It was just outside the church of S. F.rcolano 
 that Grifonetto Baglioni got his death-wound. Driven 
 back from Porta 8. Pictro with only a few men, he 
 prepared to keep the gate of " Sancto Ercolano " and 
 there, hopeless of anything save death, he awaited the 
 assault of Gianpaolo. It was here in this place that 
 he fell. Did Raphael come down the street along 
 with the other terror-stricken people after the fight 
 was over ? Did he, with the quiet eyes of the artist, 
 look on this passionate scene of love and death I Was 
 it Grifonetto that he painted later in his picture — 
 " Grifonetto gracious in his person." We cannot 
 tell ; we only know as a fact that the " Entombment," 
 now in the Borgliese villa at Rome, was ordered by 
 Atalanta Baglioni, and in a letter from Raphael con- 
 cerning it we see that he was acquainted with her 
 j)ersonally. It has been suggested to us by a Perugian 
 who is wise in art and history, that Raphael painted 
 a portrait of Grifonetto not in the figure of Christ 
 as one might naturally suppose, but in the more pro- 
 
 ' In Bonfigli's fresco of the siege of Perugia l)y Totila at 
 the I'inacoteca (see chapter x.), we have an admirable portrait 
 of the square of S. Ercolano, and on one of the house walls, 
 under a small pent roof, there is a minute copy of a fresco : a 
 madonna and saints with angels. It is not at all improbai)le 
 that this fresco is really the one by Buffalmacco (now destroyed) 
 descrilied in the ai)ove passage by Vasari. 
 
 L l6l
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 niincnt ligurc ot the vigorous young man wlio supports 
 the feet of the dead Saviour. The whole attitude of this 
 figure is one of dauntless energy and courage such as 
 one would expect to see in the son of two such cousins 
 as Atalanta and Grifone Baglioni. 
 
 * * * -Tf- ■* 
 
 From the steps of S. Ercol.mo one of the only broad 
 and comparatively even streets of the town — the Corso 
 Cavour — leads to the main road through the Porta 
 Romana, down the steep hill to the Tiber and across the 
 plain to join the road to Rome. Most of the history of 
 Perugia has come and gone along this road ; it was here 
 that the popes made their triumphal entries, here probablv 
 that the barbarians forced a passage, and here, even in 
 our own days, that Perugia suffered a final and a painful 
 siege from Rome. It was on the 20th of June 1859 
 that the Swiss guard fought its way along it, burning 
 down the houses and beating back as they advanced 
 the ill-organised body of inhabitants. Strange thrill- 
 ing details of that day have been told to us by people 
 who were present. One inhabitant, a mere boy then, 
 was up with his parents at the top of their house in the 
 Corso Cavour, but smelling smoke in the shop below 
 they crept downstairs to see what might be happening, 
 and found the Pope's guard foraging amongst their 
 medicine bottles. The mother and boy fled back up 
 the stairs, but the father was caught and carried out 
 into the street to be shot. Then the small boy leaned 
 from the window, covering his face with a scarf, and 
 pleaded so passionately for his father's life that the 
 Swiss soldiers spared him and passfd to more profitable 
 pursuits further up in the town. (We hear that they 
 were filled with so great a lust for blood that they 
 even wrung the neck of a tame falcon in the Piazza 
 Sopramuro ! ) Another gentleman who had come in 
 with the Pope's guard gave us some details of the 
 162
 
 S. Tiomcnico 
 
 siege, and amongst tlu-m In- told us of a certain priest at 
 S. Pietro, who, thinking to kill the leader of the troops, 
 shot at the drum-major, whose magniticent appear- 
 ance would no doubt make him remarkable to a quiet 
 monk. The unfortunate priest was shot for his pains 
 up in the square on the following morning.' 
 
 The Corso Cavour has a very modern look about it. 
 Most of its big buildings are used as barracks, but some 
 few of the old are left. The Palazzo Braceschi has a 
 fme old outside staircase and a good collection of pic- 
 tures, amongst them an exquisite Madonna and child 
 attributed to Filij)po Lippi, but more like a Neri di 
 Bicci, also some fine original drawings. 
 
 8. DoMl-NICO. 
 
 The gigantic church of 8. Domenico towers above 
 the street to the left. It is one of those desolate un- 
 linished Gothic buildings which one finds so often in 
 Italian cities — a great idea dwarfed, not by want of 
 inspiration, but by the need of money to complete it. 
 The church as we now see it is merely a patchwork of 
 the first architect's original conception. It was begun 
 
 ' 'I'liis last fact is interesting for several reasons. It shows 
 tliat even some of tlie Perugian priests took part against the 
 Pope on this memorahle 20th of June. The Benedictine 
 monks at S. Pietro opened their convent to the citizens to use 
 as a fortress on that day. and themselves joined in the fighting. 
 Their loyalty to the city has never i)een forgotten. When in 
 i860 all the convents of Perugia were broken up the govern- 
 ment spared the monks of S. Pietro. They left the jiictHres in 
 the church, which was turned into a •• national monument"; 
 and they left tile monks in tlieir cells with tiie uniierstanding 
 that when their number sbould be at last reduced to two the 
 convent with its vast lands was to be turned into an agricul- 
 tural school, but in no ways to be divided up, sold, or dese- 
 crated. Hence the comparatively perfect condition of S. 
 Pietro. 
 
 163
 
 T^he Story of Perugia 
 
 early in the fourteenth century from designs by Gio- 
 vanni Pisano, but it was not finished till i459' The 
 building owed much of its splendour to a young man of 
 Perugia, Cristiano Armanni, who, whilst studying at 
 Bologna, had been converted to the faith by the preaching 
 of S. Domenico. Cristiano returned from the university 
 in the society of a certain S. Niccolo of Calabria, and 
 induced his parents and his friends to give him money 
 for the new church which was about to be built to 
 honour S. Domenico. The magistrates of Perugia 
 contributed a banner to the cause, and they decided 
 that wherever S. Niccolo might place this banner, there 
 the new church should be built. He planted it near 
 the church of S. Stefano, and on that site the present 
 church of S. Domenico now stands. Through the 
 fault of inferior masons, part of the choir and the 
 middle nave fell through in 1614, but Bishop Comitoli 
 determined to rebuild it on the original design. He 
 spent more than 4000 scud'i on this generous act and 
 was as ill-rewarded as the most patient builder of card- 
 castles ever was, for the whole of his work collapsed 
 for the second time. It was finally rebuilt on the de- 
 signs of Carlo Maderno, in 1632. But all this tinkering 
 has left very sorry scars, and even the tower outside has 
 not been spared. It was begun later than the rest of the 
 church and was not finished till about the end of the four- 
 teenth century, when Paul III. at once had the top of it 
 knocked off because he declared that the monks of S. 
 Domenico could, from their campanile, look down and 
 spy upon the building of his fortress ! 
 
 One or two relics alone remain of the many 
 beautiful bits of art with which the church was rich 
 in early days. Of these the tomb of Pope Benedict 
 XL is the most fascinating. 
 
 Of the life of Benedict there is not much to say ; 
 his reign covered a period of only eight months, and 
 164
 
 S. Do77ie?i}co 
 
 perhaps his greatest glory is in his tomb. He was a 
 native of Treviso and belonged to the Dominican 
 Older. In i 304 he, like other popes and tired people, 
 came to Perugia in search of the peace he could not 
 find in Rome, and there, in that same year, he died. 
 When in Perugia his mother came to see him — a thing 
 which had only once happened to a pope before. 
 
 " Moved by a desire to see her son," says Mariotti, '• Filo- 
 mariiia came to Perugia, and here having had herself nobly 
 dressed by the people of Perugia, as befitted the mother of the 
 Pope, she presented herself to her son. But he, seeing her so 
 beautifully clad, pretended that he did not know her, saying 
 that this was not his mother, because she was a poor old 
 woman and not a lady like this one. And his mother hearing 
 this thing, and being a good and holy woman, took off those 
 rich adornments, and putting on her own again, she returned 
 to the Pope, who recognising her as his mother, received her 
 with all tenderness." 
 
 Pope Benedict was anxious to make peace between 
 the Bianclii and Neri of Florence, and received from 
 some of the heads of the Guelph factions a visit of state 
 in his residence at Perugia. Twelve of them, headed 
 by Corso Donate, came with all their suite behind 
 them : one hundred and fifty horses we hear, and many 
 friends and relatives. No satisfactory agreement was 
 arranged, and shortly afterwards this holy but power- 
 less Pope passed into his rest. 
 
 It was supposed that Benedict died of poison, and 
 the older stories run, like the modern one of Zola, on 
 the subject of a basket of j)oisoned figs. 
 
 " In the year of Christ 1304. on the 27th of the month of 
 .Fune." says Villani, •• Pope Benedict died in the city of 
 Perugia, and it was said that he died of poison. As the Pope 
 sat eating at his table a young man came to him dressed and 
 veiled in the guise of a woman, anil as a servant of S. 
 Petronilla. with a basin of silver in which w^ere many 
 beautiful figs and flowers which he presented to the Pope in 
 the name of the faithful Abbess of the convent. The Pope 
 
 .65
 
 'The Sto?'y of Perugia 
 
 received the figs with very threat delight, and because he loved 
 them, he made no enquiry concerning them, seeing moreover 
 that they came from a woman, and he ate a great quantity, 
 whereupon he immediately fell ill. and after a few days he 
 died, and was buried with great iionours by the Preaching 
 Friars who Iielonged to the Dominican order at Perugia. 
 Benedict was a good and an honest man, but it is said that 
 because of the envy of certain of his cardinals, they had him 
 poisoned in this fashion." 
 
 Some say that Benedict was poisoned because of 
 the ill-feeling of the Florentines towards him, and 
 
 ^i^\ '^M0"'^!^:r^" v^; '-ymr ;jffl"^^*^?iwrg 
 
 nKTAII. OF THE TOMB OF I'OPE BENEDICT XI. IN THE 
 CHURCH OF S. DOMENICO 
 
 Others that he died by the jealous hand of Philippe le 
 Bel of France. The historians of the present day deny 
 the fact of poison at all. Be these matters as they 
 may, the fact of the dead pope's tomb remains — an 
 entrancing bit of human workmanship. It was made 
 by Giovanni Pisano, son of the great Niccola, " who firs.t 
 breathed life, with the breath of genius, into the dead 
 forms of plastic art." Pope Benedict lies asleep ; 
 stretched out quite flat and thin in his exquisitely 
 folded robes ; tiiere is a canopy over him with 
 1 66
 
 S. Pietro 
 
 curtains strung across it and two angt-ls have drawn the 
 curtain back to gaze at the figure of the dead man. 
 The columns of the tomb were filled up once with 
 precious mosaics, but during Napoleon's occupation of 
 Perugia, a regiment of men and horse were quartered 
 in the church of S. Domenico, and the French soldiers 
 are said to have employed their leisure hours in picking 
 out these treasures with their pen-knives. Perhaps it 
 was these same thoughtless beings who wilfully mutilated 
 the exquisite figures of children, fragments of wliich 
 are still left clinging to the spiral curves. 
 
 The terra-cotta decorations in the cha])el ot the 
 Rosario arc the work of Agostino Ducci — the Florentine 
 sculptor who made the lovely front of S. Bernardino, 
 (see chapter viii. ), and they would be interesting if 
 only for that reason. Though mutilated in parts, 
 and spoilt by careless white-wash, much of the detail 
 is still charming ; notably the three little angels over 
 the central arch. As for the rest of the church it has 
 hut little interest now-a-days. The immense Gothic 
 window of the choir is said to be the largest in Italy, 
 but the original glass is entirely gone from its frame. 
 The whole has been carefully restored by Signor 
 Moretti of Perugia. The stalls are covered witii 
 good intarsia work, but they have been greatly spoiled 
 by careless restoration, and have a naked and forsaken 
 look about them. S. Domenico is one of those pathetic 
 buildings which leave upon one's mind the feeling of 
 arrested decay, and one hurries gladly from it and out 
 into the sunlight of the street. 
 
 S. PiKTRO. 
 
 Very different in every way is the church of S. 
 Pietro, which one reaches after passing through the 
 gate of Porta Romana. "The Basilica of 8. Pietro 
 
 167
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 is so adorned with beauties," says its faithful, but 
 perhaps too fond, biographer, " that it would suffer 
 and be overburdened were others added to it." The 
 praise is certainly high, but it has a certain grain 
 of truth, and the church of S. Pietro, is, amongst 
 the churches of Perugia, a jewel of inestimable 
 price, for unlike all the others it has been left 
 with all its treasures and its pictures in it (see note, 
 p. 163). 
 
 The church and monastery of S. Pietro are built on 
 the hill of Capraio or Calvary, which stretches away to 
 the south of the town. They form the first object which 
 catches the eye as one approaches the city on the line 
 from Rome, and they serve as a sure landmark from 
 many distant points of Umbria, and one cannot stay long 
 in the city without becoming sincerely attached to the 
 beautiful group of pale brick buildings, crowned by 
 their graceful campanile, which catch the sunrise and 
 the sunset lights, and fascinate one's fancy at every 
 time and season. 
 
 It is difficult to decide the date of the first church 
 of S. Pietro. Tradition says that it is built on the 
 site of an old Etruscan temple, and that it was the first 
 Christian building of Perugia, certainly it was the first 
 cathedral. We hear that the earliest Christians of 
 Perugia used to meet in subterranean passages under 
 the present church of S. Costanzo, which stands on 
 the same spur of hill as that of S. Pietro, and that 
 there S. Costanzo, the second Bishop of Perugia, 
 gathered his little flock together to "feed them with 
 the milk of the holy word of God." We know that 
 the present basilica was built by a certain Abbot, 
 Pietro Vincioli, a monk of the Benedictine order, 
 who lived in the tenth century, and was a great friend 
 of the Emperor Otto III. Bonazzi gives a delightful 
 description of this Abbot and of his method of building 
 168
 
 S. Pietro 
 
 and the miracles he employed for the purpose. It 
 seems that Pietro was famous for his great sanctity and 
 learning, and that he lived at a time when everybody 
 imagined that the world was about to come to an end : 
 
 •• He hud rich IViiiul'^. tlie Emperor among' tliem, and the 
 latter, who entertained tile general su]ierstition about the end 
 of the world, gave liim a great deal of money, with which the 
 Abljot determined to Iniild for himself tiie jiresent church of S. 
 Pietro. l"he Pope, the Emperor, and many other jiersons 
 showered down donations and privileges for the purpose, and 
 the new Benedictine monastery soon became celebrated, and 
 its monks took an active and important part in the affairs of 
 Perugia. . . . Although S. Pietro was of a somewhat surly 
 temper," continues Bonazzi, '• lie hati the gift of miracles, and 
 once when tlie Tiber was in lieavy flood, and a mill belonging 
 to the convent was threatened with ilestruction, tlie saint cau^ed 
 the waters to subside. On another occasion during the build- 
 ing of S. Pietro, the ropes wiiich were raising one of the 
 columns snapi^ed in two. and tlie Saint caused the column to 
 remain suspended in mid air until new ropes were brought, so 
 tiiat nobody was hurt. This particular column is the second 
 on the left as you enter. ... It is impossible to imagine.'' 
 Bonazzi continues. •• how great was the sensation caused liy 
 these miracles, and for the time lieing. nobody thought any 
 more about the end of the world — perhaps they hoped that 
 our Saint had exorcised that, as well as the lesser catas- 
 tropiies." 
 
 .lust as the Abbot had built his church in 963 — a 
 beautiful bare basilica, with colonnades, and naked 
 raftered roof — so she remained till well down into the 
 fifteenth century, waiting, as it were, for the raiment 
 of the Renaissance to clothe her with fresh glories. 
 Then gradually, first by the roofing of the ceiling, 
 then by pictures, chapels, the enlargement of the 
 sacristy and choir, and such things of rare and exquisite 
 beauty as the stalls and the altar-piece of Perugino, S. 
 Pietro grew into a thing of marvellous taste and finish. 
 But it was an evil day in which some person ruined 
 the original facade by adding the courtyard and the 
 
 169
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 cloisters. In old times the campanile stood free of the 
 church, and the front of the church had strange figures 
 and frescoes on it, parts of which can still be seen by 
 penetrating a dark passage under the bell-tower at 
 the back of the little sacristy. 
 
 The history of the campanile of S. Pietro is a study 
 in itself. This most lovely and unfortunate tower was 
 for ever suffering at the hands of man or else the 
 elements. Its chronicler is unable to discover the 
 date of its first erection, but he tells us that it was 
 probably built on the site of an old Etruscan tomb, 
 which even now forms its basement. The earliest 
 written record of the campanile is dated 1347, at 
 which time we are told that it was so elegant, and 
 so very richly adorned, that an early historian thought 
 it to be the "loveliest in Tuscany," yet a certain 
 war-like Abbot, Fra Guidalotti, a man " who rather 
 inclined to the affairs of war than the discipline of 
 religion, with a view maybe to convert his campanile 
 into a fortress, that it might thus better serve his 
 war-like spirit," began to claw it down. He got 
 as far as the first obelisk, and in his evil operations he 
 tumbled down the metal statue of the Saint which once 
 adorned the summit. The engaging work of the 
 Abbot was taken up and continued by Pope Boniface 
 IX., who, in 1393, spent 180 florins in turning the 
 gracious tower into a strong fortress! In I468 the 
 campanile was rebuilt by the monks at the great cost of 
 4000 florins, but some years later it was struck by 
 lightning and much injured. " From this point 
 onward," writes its historian, "the history of the 
 tower can only be traced through one continuous series 
 of repairs, which injury from lightning necessitated." 
 These injuries were of such a sort and so continuous 
 that finally the building showed signs of approaching 
 ruin. Iron clamps were added, but the lightning 
 170
 
 S. P'lctro 
 
 continiK'd to attack it. At last someone had the 
 wisdom to put up lightning conductors, since when the 
 tower is safe, and one of the loveliest points in the 
 landscape is secured for us. 
 
 A door festooned with splendid garlands of fruit, 
 carved deep in creamy marbles, leads from the court- 
 yard into the church. 7^1ie interior is heavily decorated, 
 but though some of the pictures are far from good, the 
 impression given by the whole is beautiful and pleasing ; 
 and the choir, which was added in i 400, is one of the 
 loveliest things of its kind in Italy. The colunms of 
 the nave are some ot the remains of the only pagan 
 temple which was left in Perugia after the siege of 
 Augustus (see S. Angelo, chapter vii.). With the 
 exception of Perugino's great altar-piece, S. Pietro has 
 preserved nearly all the pictures which were painted 
 for it. Amongst these is a good P'leta by Perugino 
 (perhaps one of the panels out of the big picture at 
 S. Agostino). There are tiiree large canvases by 
 Vasari in the chapel of the Holy Sacrament, a painting 
 by Eusebio di S. Giorgio of the Adoration of the 
 Magi on the wall outside and a picture by Guido Rcni 
 in the chapel of the Annunciation.' At the end of 
 the left transept is a Pieta by Bonfigli. " Cette Piete 
 incorrecte et pieuse," as M. Broussole describes it. 
 The picture hangs in a bad light between the Vibi 
 chapel and the door, and at first only the white naked 
 figure of Christ shines out on the dark blue gown of 
 tlie virgin ; but looking a little longer we find ourselves 
 in the study of S. Jerome : one of those enchanting 
 rooms which this particular saint inevitably inhabits, 
 neat and exquisite in the airangement of its benches and 
 
 ' The Vuirdcn of Githsimanc. Tile iiicturc has been struck hy 
 lightning, and the strong slanting line which crosses it IVom 
 iMui to end adds a certain mysterious cliarm to the group ul" 
 the sleeping Apostles, 
 
 171
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 Its lectern. Our Lady of Pity is sitting there, holding 
 the dead figure of her son and kissing his head upon her 
 shoulder. To her right is a figure of S. Leonard, to the 
 left, and wholly unconscious of the tragedy, S. Jerome 
 sits, smiling a little slyly. There is beautiful intarsia 
 work (older than that in the choir) on the walls of the 
 sacristy, and some fine illuminated books ; lower down 
 the church in the right transept, a beautiful bit of work 
 by Salimbene of Siena, and on the last wall a fine 
 picture of the school of Perugino, very rich and bright 
 in colour. The two Alfanis have left ample specimens 
 of their art in S. Pietro, and there are several of Sasso- 
 ferrato's copies of great masterpieces. But the greatest 
 treasure of the church, like those of S. Lorenzo and 
 S. Agostino, did not escape the terrible eye of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte. Perugino's great Assumption, which formed 
 the glory of the high altar, is gone to France. Only six 
 of the saints, battered and cut from their frames, linger 
 like unhappy ghosts on the walls of the sacristy. 
 
 The altar in the chapel of the Vibi and Baglioni 
 families is a lovely bit of Mino da Fiesole's work. 
 Vasari accuses this sweet-souled sculptor of a lack of 
 originality — of a desire to copy the sentiment of his 
 master (Desiderio da Settignano) rather than to draw 
 straight for himself from the sources of nature. Be this 
 as it may in the case of Mino's portraits of people, 
 those of his flowers in this particular piece of work are 
 strangely realistic. We think he must himself have 
 gathered and bound the garlands which hang fioni the 
 narrow frieze, and in doing so he took for models the 
 sharpest and the prickliest fruits and leaves of autumn : 
 hazel nuts and tiny fir cones, their points just tipped with 
 gold. The halos, too, on the angels' heads, their wings, 
 and the details of the architecture are all picked out with 
 gold. White, clean, and flat and fair is Mino's altar- 
 piece in the Baglioni chapel. How different from the 
 172
 
 S. Pietro 
 
 blood-stained hands and hearts ot those same men who 
 came to tell their beads here and be buried. 
 
 Long after other details in the church have been 
 forgotten, its choir will remain a haunting vision of 
 excessive beauty. Every inch of it is worked with 
 exquisite care and finish, for the monks spared 
 no pains or money, cither in its construction or its 
 decoration. Although a piece ot the purest Renais- 
 sance fancy, it docs not clash with the lines of the 
 older basilica, and the two little pulpits of pietra 
 screna, with their rich gilding, the organ lofts and the 
 rather rococo frescoes on the ceiling, seem only to 
 iiarmonise the meeting of the different styles of build- 
 ing. Raphael is said to have designed the stalls, but 
 there is no sort of document to prove this. " Because 
 our choir is the work of a genius, it does not follow 
 that that genius should be Raphael . . . genius is not 
 the possession of one sole person," pleads M. Cassinese. 
 Raphael died in 1520, the present stalls were not 
 iinished till 15^5, and they are probably almost entirely 
 the work of Stefano da Bergamo and the men and 
 boys whom the Bergamasque employed. Some few 
 may be of an earlier date, for we know that the choir 
 was begun in 1524, and that the work was interrupted 
 by the same terrible pestilence as that which killed 
 Perugino. In 1532, Stefano da Bergamo undertook 
 the work of the choir. He worked steadily, and 
 the monks of S. Pietro kept the most accurate ac- 
 count of what they paid him, and of how many 
 measures of flour and pence they gave the men and 
 boys whom he employed. Little is known of the life 
 of Stefano da Bergamo ; we do not even know from 
 whom he learned his art, but M. Cassinese rightly con- 
 cludes that he drew his inspiration from the divine 
 Raphael, since his designs are purely Raphaelesque. 
 The carving is unequal, and some of the stalls are 
 
 173
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 inlinitely lovelier than others. Note the ninth on the 
 right of the choir : a mother and three children en- 
 circled by a heavy garland of fruit and flowers, and 
 under them a child, with flying hair, playing with snakes. 
 Note, too, the extraordinary rows of mythical beasts which 
 lie upon the arms of the lower row of stalls ; catch them 
 in perspective one evening in the dusk — they will give 
 you food for most fantastic dreaming. What minds, 
 half childlike and half mad, these early carvers had ! 
 
 The doors of the choir are the work of Fra Damiano 
 of Bergamo. Tiiey are intarsia work, and show a 
 most delightful fancy. They have unfortunately been 
 much polished and restored ; still what a jewel this 
 panel is, which is said to represent the finding of 
 Moses ! Compare the banks of the Nile with this 
 palace and this pleasaunce of the purest Renaissance. 
 Its bulrushes are turned to pergolas, its pyramids to a 
 maze of pillars and of marble terraces, and there is a 
 bear in the foreground eating honey, a crane, a rabbit, 
 a long-eared goat, and other beasts of singular delight. 
 It is strange to think of Fra Damiano sitting in his 
 rooms at Bologna and preparing these same decorative 
 panels for a place which, maybe, he had never seen. 
 Above the doors is a fresco attributed to Giannicola 
 Manni (?), and when the doors open you step out straight 
 upon a little balcony, and down below lies the Umbrian 
 plain, without a break of building, and straight in front 
 of you Assisi lies upon its broad, calm hillside. 
 
 The work for the stalls of S. Pietro was finished, it 
 seems, in 1535, but the pieces were not put together 
 till 1591. In that year, on the 4th of August, a 
 native architect undertook to put the carvings in their 
 places. He worked so steadily that on Christmas Eve 
 of that same year, " at the first vespers of the feast, the 
 choir was solemnly inaugurated in a musical mass sung 
 by the friars." 
 174
 
 S. Pietro 
 
 What a picture wc have- — the dull light ot the candles 
 on tile winter morning and the monks singing together, 
 in the midst of all their beautiful new woodwork! 
 
 A curious incident is told in connection with the 
 choir of S. Pietro and three citizens of Perugia. 
 Wlien on the 20th of June 1H59, the papal troops 
 entered Perugia, a detachment of them were quartered 
 in the church and monastery of vS. Pietro, after the 
 town had been seized, and three gentlemen of Perugia 
 who had been lighting for her liberty at the gates found 
 themselves cut off from the town and surrounded by 
 the Swiss guard, who, however, were not conscious of 
 their presence, in the monastery of S. Pietro. It will 
 be remembered that the monks of S. Pietro, on this 
 occasion, sided with the citizens, and one of them, 
 Fra Santo, hustled the three gentlemen up into a little 
 cupboard in the organ-loft where he kept them con- 
 cealed for three whole days, feeding them, as best he 
 could, with a little bread and water. One other gentle- 
 man, who was concealed in another part of the church, 
 managed to escape under cover of certain dust-pans be- 
 longing to the friars, with which he passed himself off on 
 the guard at the gates as a sacristan. Either he, or some- 
 one else, let the cat out of the bag about the gentlemen in 
 the organ, and a most diligent search was set on foot. 
 However, the little cupboard escaped notice for the 
 time, and on the morning of the fouith day of their 
 confinement, whilst the Papal guard were getting their 
 pay, Fra Santo and another monk took from the stalls 
 the ropes which they had cut from their bells on the 
 ])receding evening, and tying these to the balcony of 
 the choir, they hastily let out the three gentlemen from 
 the organ, who clambered down the ropes, and waving 
 adieu to their benefactors, scampered off as quickly as 
 they could across the open country. Five hours later 
 the Pope's guard went up into the organ, but even then 
 
 175
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 they tailed to discover the cupboard whence their 
 enemies had so lately flown ! 
 
 When, some time later, the monks of S. Pietro went 
 to Rome to beg the Pope's pardon for the part they had 
 played against him in the siege of Perugia, the heaviest 
 blame fell, of course, on Fra Santo ; but his Holiness 
 with extreme good sense thus put an end to the 
 question : " If Fra Santo has done what you tell me 
 he has, God has willed that he should do so, and we 
 must ever respect the will of God." 
 
 There are one or two lovely bits of deila Robbia 
 work, in the refectory of the monastery, a fresco by 
 Tiberio d'Assisi (?) in the chapel, and a fine well in 
 one of the cloisters. The garden, too, is very charming, 
 but it is not easy to get permission to wander in these 
 pleasant places where popes and monks and men of 
 learning spent such pleasant and such profitable hours. 
 The place is now occupied by students as the whole 
 convent was turned last year (1896) into a great 
 agricultural college. (See Note, p. 163.) 
 
 S. CoSTANZO. 
 
 A little lower down the hill is the small church 
 dedicated to S. Costanzo. For some obscure reason 
 this saint, who is purely local, has become the patron 
 saint of lovers, and on his feast day all the lovers of 
 the neighbourhood assemble at the shrine. If the eye 
 of S. Costanzo blinks at the young man or the girl 
 who kneel before his image, they feel a happy certainty 
 that the course of their affection will run smooth, and 
 that the year will end in happy union. 
 
 S. Costanzo was converted to the Christian faith 
 
 by S. Ercolano I., whom he succeeded as bishop of 
 
 Perugia, and Ciatti gives us a long list of his virtues 
 
 and his miracles. The blind of the city received their 
 
 176
 
 S. CostciJi'zo 
 
 sight from him, we hear, and the lame were made 
 to walk. But all his miracles and his conversions 
 made him an object of hatred to the pagans, and one 
 day he was seized together with his followers, and 
 thrown into prison. They were then put into scalding 
 baths, "but," says Ciatti, "the Holy Ghost, who 
 filled their souls with fire, tempered the external heat, 
 and they sang hymns to signify their great tranquillity." 
 Their only discomfort lay in the darkness all around 
 them, but soon " a wonderful brightness appeared unto 
 them from heaven which comforted them exceedingly." 
 Then the pagans continued their tortures and forced 
 the Saint to walk on burning embers, but as these did 
 him no harm he was stripped and covered with red 
 hot coals ; and all the time he went on singing much 
 to the annoyance of his tormentors. Finally he and 
 his followers made their escape and fled to Spello, 
 where fresh conversions, followed by fresh tortures, are 
 recounted. At last, in 154 a.d., he met his death at 
 Spoleto. His body was taken back to Perugia by a 
 certain Serviano da Foligno, who found it " surrounded 
 by a choir of rejoicing angels, and in a shroud of 
 heavenly light. The holy burden was too heavy 
 for Serviano to carry alone, and he called on two 
 men who were passing by to help him. At first 
 they refused and scoffed at the miracles he related, 
 whereupon they were both struck blind, and trembling, 
 they prayed for mercy to the God of the Christians. 
 On touching the body of the Saint they received their 
 sight, whereat they gladly helped to carry it into 
 Perugia. They entered by Porta S. Pietro, and were 
 met by many of the faithful." The body of S. 
 Costanzo is buried in the little church outside the Porta 
 S. Pietro, rebuilt by the present Pope, and the beautiful 
 byzantine doorway seems a fit entrance to the tomb of 
 this suffering and much tormented martyr of Perugia. 
 M 177
 
 CHAPTRR VII 
 
 Piazza del Papa^ S. Severe, Porta 
 Sole, S. ^gostino, and S. Fra?icesco 
 al Monte 
 
 THE Piazza del Papa ' lies a little to the right of the 
 entrance door to the Duomo. In former times the 
 straw market was held in this square, which was then 
 called the Piazza di Paglia, and at that period the statue of 
 Pope Julius occupied a splendid position on the steps of 
 the cathedral. But during the great revolt against the 
 Papacy in 1780 the Pope's statue was taken away from 
 its prominent place by some wise persons who foresaw 
 its destruction should they allow it to remain there, and 
 it was bundled into the cellar of a tavern in the town, 
 where it remained, not, it must be confessed, entirely 
 incognito, till people's nerves had calmed a little.- Not 
 so very long ago the Pope was once more brought to 
 the light of day and set in his present position. 
 
 Pope Julius III. is a great figure in Perugian history. 
 He is in a sense a lay figure, for he never set foot in 
 the city after his student days, and he was worshipped 
 almost in the manner of an unseen deity by the Peru- 
 gians. .Julius succeeded Paul III., and though he by 
 no means did away with the supreme power of the 
 
 1 Sometimes called Piazza Dante. 
 
 2 There are many people still living in Perugia who remem- 
 ber the time when those who wanted to converse over a glass 
 of good wine would give each other rendezvous at " 11 Papa." 
 
 178
 
 Pia%%a dtl Papa 
 
 Church in the city, still he mitigated many of the hard- 
 ships and the ignominies which that power had entailed 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IIOUSK IN TllK VIA I'F.RNICK 
 
 in the hands of the great Farnesc. When Paul III. 
 died in i 549 his fortress remained as a legacy to the city, 
 
 179
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 with a Castcllano to watch over its (Papal) interests. 
 This man proceeded to rule as his master had taught 
 him, and he defended the castle vigilantly against the 
 Pope's nephew, who made some efforts to gain posses- 
 sion of so rich a prize. 
 
 The policy of Julius III. was of a much milder 
 order. " Julius had always loved our city with a 
 peculiar partiality," says Mariotti, "and he sent his 
 relation Cardinal della Corgna hither, endowing him 
 with full authority, and hardly had the Cardinal arrived 
 than he restored to the city the arms of which she had 
 been deprived so long ; and in February of that same 
 year Julius III. sent a brief to the holders of ecclesi- 
 astical liberty, which was addressed to the Priori (idle 
 Arte (heads of City Guilds), a title which had not 
 been heard of in Perugia since 1539; and to this grace 
 the same Pope added considerable sums of money for 
 the maintenance of those same magistrates. . . ." 
 
 It will be easy to anyone who has formed even a dim 
 conception of what the strength of the spirit of liberty 
 was like in the minds of the Perugians to understand the 
 pure sensation of delight which the Pope's open acknow- 
 ledgment of their old municipal rule, followed as it was 
 by a message couched in such friendly terms, was 
 likely to produce. Fretting as the citizens had been 
 for many years under the rule of the despotic Paul, they 
 hailed his more temperate successor as a sort of saviour, 
 and they determined to express their sentiments of joy 
 in what Bonazzi fitly terms " a day of political baccha- 
 nalia." ^ 
 
 '• So on the morning of the first day in May the heads of the 
 principal guilds of the Mercanzia and the Cambio met in the 
 piazza, and there having put aside their black apparel (Paul 
 
 1 It must, however, be remembered that Julius' policy was 
 only on the surface, and that the yoke of Rome was not by 
 any means lifted from the city. 
 180
 
 S. Severe 
 
 III. had insisted on tlie Priori wfating a torm ot mourning, in 
 order, and probably with perfect wisdom, to insist on his own 
 authority in Perugia), tliey reassumed the crimson of the former 
 Priori, and thrusting their heads through tlie golden chains 
 which the Pope"s Vice-Legate himself insisted upon hanging 
 round them in token of their reinstatement, they took their 
 seats upon the damask benches and listened to the Mass of the 
 Holy Ghost, sung by the Vice-Legate. I'hen, upon leaving 
 the church, all the religious orders, the ConJ'ratiriiilas, the 
 guiliis, the gentlemen, the troops, and the excited populace 
 seeing the transfigured magistrates, lifted a frenzied cry, and 
 forming into a monstrous procession to the sound of i)ipes, of 
 drums, of trumpets, bells, and much artillery, the whole crowd 
 followed the Priori to the Church of S. Agostino and there, 
 having heard another musical mass, the new m'jgistrates, fol- 
 lowed by an ever increasing and clamorous cortege, went on to 
 take up quarters on the first floor of the Palazzo Pubblico." 
 
 Not satisfied with tliis demonstration of their delight 
 and loyalty toward the new Pope, the Perugians de- 
 termined to commemorate the occasion through the 
 medium of art. They commissioned Adone Doni to 
 paint the above described scene of the reinstatement of 
 the magistrates (see the picture in the Palazzo Pubblico), 
 whilst Vincenzo Danti, then a mere boy, was employed 
 to make the big bronze statue of .Julius III., which is 
 one of the most remarkable points in the present town. 
 
 But to us who know the almost purely democratic, or 
 at least municipal, tendencies of jjast Perugia, this great 
 bronze figure of a Pope eternally blessing the city 
 always excites a sense of something false and contradic- 
 tory, and had we been permitted to visit the benevolent 
 Julius in the caverns of the wine shop, we should have 
 felt him in that place to be a truer symbol of the spirit 
 of the town throughout her troubled liistory. 
 
 S. Severo. 
 
 From the Piazza del Papa several roads branch off 
 to different points of the town. To the right the Via 
 
 i8i
 
 I'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 Bontcmpi leads down past some beautiful old palaces 
 into a network of typical Perugian streets. The 
 churches of S. Fiorenzo, the Carmine, and S. Maria 
 Nuova, all of which have gonfaloni or banners by 
 Bonfigli, lie in this direction, and are very well worth 
 visiting. Indeed, the gon/a/onv in S. Maria Nuova is ex- 
 traordinarily interesting : a typical specimen of that tragic 
 and almost passionate form of art which arose out of, 
 and answered to, the needs of a people convinced of 
 its own moral depravity. To the left of the Via 
 Bontempi a narrow street winds stee])ly up the hill 
 to the church of S. Severo, which stands high up 
 above the church of S. Maria Nuova, and commands a 
 splendid view to the east of the city, and away across 
 the valley of the Tiber to Assisi. " It is asserted 
 by some persons," says Siepi, " that in the year T007 ^ 
 little colony of Camaldolese monks was transferred to 
 the city of Perugia, who, during the lifetime of their 
 holy founder, took up their abode on the hill of S. 
 Severo, and here, upon the ruins of an ancient temple, 
 which some believe was dedicated to the sun god, and 
 upon a s])ot which might be termed the Acropolis of 
 Perugia, they built their church, and dedicated it to 8. 
 Severo, Bishop of Ravenna, probably because they came 
 into Perugia from that same city." As to whether the 
 church of S. Severo was really built on the site of an 
 old pagan temple dedicated to the sun god we cannot 
 say ; it is certain that this whole quarter of the town 
 is called Porta Sole, but, however it be, the church 
 of the Camaldolese monks has been quite altered in the 
 course of centuries, and, except for its position and its 
 fresco, it has not much to charm the casual tourist. 
 During later restorations the outer porch with Raphael's 
 and Perugino's fresco was preserved, and built into a 
 little chapel, where we see it now. The fresco is 
 signed 1 505, so Raphael was no longer a boy 
 
 I.S2
 
 Porta Sole 
 
 when he painted it. Sonic years later lie painted 
 liis great pictures in the Stanze of the Vatican, 
 and, perhaps, he was fecHng his way to these grand 
 compositions when he drew his semi-circle of saints 
 on the walls of the little old church of S. Severe. 
 Did his master Perugino watch his brilliant pupil as he 
 ])ainted ? There is a touch of pathos in the facts 
 which follow : — Raphael the mighty genius dies, and 
 Rome goes into mourning for him; fourteen or fifteen 
 years go by, and Perugino, who, be it remembered, 
 was not a young man when the slim youth from Urbino 
 came one day into his studio and asked to learn the 
 art of painting from him, comes back to the spot where 
 Raphael's fresco shines upon the wall, and paints, in his 
 most faded style, the six pale saints which we now 
 see below it. . . . 
 
 Porta Soli:. 
 
 But to return once more to the piazza. Another 
 road leads up immediately behind the statue of Pope 
 Julius to one of the most surprising points in the city, 
 namely, the bastions of Porta Sole. It was to this high 
 point, which commands an extraordinary view over the 
 north of the town, that Dante alluded when writing 
 of Perugia : 
 
 '• Intra Tupino u I'actiua clie discende 
 Del colle eletto del beato Uhaldo 
 Fcrtilf costa d'alto moiite punde, 
 Onde I'erugia senti- ireddo e caldo 
 Da Porta Sole, e diretro le piange 
 Per grave giogo Nocera con (iualdo."' 
 
 Porta Sole is mixed up with a strange and a most 
 typical bit of Perugian history. We have seen how 
 much this city was influenced by the popes, and how, 
 
 '«3
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 in the many fluctuations of her history, she nearly 
 always returned to the nominal rule of the Church of 
 Rome. Early in the fourteenth century she broke away 
 for a time from Papal power, but in 1370 again swore 
 allegiance to Pope Urban IV., who sent his brother. 
 Cardinal Albano, to receive tlie act of submission from 
 her people. The following year the Cardinal of 
 Jerusalem came to Perugia to establish peace between 
 the nobles and the Raspant'i. He was escorted by 
 about 500 horsemen and 300 infantry, and the people 
 received him with enthusiasm, coming out to meet 
 him with palms in their hands, and cries of "Viva 
 Santa Madre Chiesa, eviva il Signore ! " Unfor- 
 tunately his wise rule lasted but a year, and he was 
 succeeded by a very different sort of person, namely, 
 the Abbot of Mommaggiore from Cluny (seep. 30), who 
 arrived in Perugia in a most hostile frame of mind, and 
 quite prepared for war and for revolts of every kind. 
 The Abbot at once set to work to build for himself 
 fortresses, the like of which, as one proud chronicler 
 relates, had never before been seen in Italy. He 
 erected a massive citadel at Porta Sole, and in order 
 to be in connection with the Palazzo dei Priori he 
 made a covered passage with high machicolated walls 
 to join the two together. In doing this he did not 
 scruple to knock down a large part of the cathedral 
 which happened to come in his way. At Porta S. 
 Antonio, too, the Abbot built some large and splendid 
 houses, part of which may still be seen, and these 
 he joined by means of a covered passage to the 
 other citadel on Porta Sole. Thus Mommaggiore 
 may be said to have had a run over half the city 
 of Perugia. So beautiful and luxurious were his 
 palaces at S. Antonio, that we are told they seemed 
 a veritable paradise. In them he stored enough wine 
 and flour and other things to last him and his French 
 184
 
 Porta Sole 
 
 companions for at least ten years, and not content 
 with all these preparations for a possible revolt of the 
 citizens, he even called in the help of an English 
 condott'terc. Sir John Hawkwood, who was at that 
 time in the service of the Church, to come and ravage 
 all the country round Perugia. 
 
 The Pcrugians looked on in silence, and in silence 
 they planned a desperate plan of revolution, for they 
 were determined to resist this abominable French Abbot 
 and to assert their former authority. Silently, and 
 with bowed heads, they watched the Abbot's troops 
 scouring the streets on the evening of the 1 2th 
 December 1375 ; and not till night had fallen on 
 the town did a hum arise. Then deep growling 
 sounds rang through the darkness of the night, and the 
 tyrant, sitting in his palace, knew that the men of 
 the town were up, and that a mighty mischief was 
 preparing. Down in the Porta S. Angelo the cry 
 of "Viva il Popolo" was heard, and with one ac- 
 cord, little and great, nobles and people, forget- 
 ting private injuries and discords, and moved by a 
 single purpose, clasping hands and crying, " Viva 
 il Popolo, and death to the Abbot and the pastors 
 ot the Church," rushed into the piazza just as 
 the sun had risen. The terrified Abbot, seeing 
 that the people were about to storm the Palazzo 
 Pubblico, fled with his friends and soldiers along the 
 covered passages to his ])alace at S. Antonio. The 
 furious citizens were quick to follow and arrived be- 
 fore the fortress with all sorts of infernal machines, 
 amongst others a large catapult which hurled forth 
 stones of such a size and with such excellent effect 
 that it received the name of Cacciaprete (Kick out 
 the priests). We hear of a great battle which took 
 place when the Abbot, being besieged in his citadel, 
 was forced to implore the help of Sir John Hawk- 
 
 ■ S5
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 wood ; but the latter, having been well bribed by 
 the Perugians, abandoned his unfortunate patron, leav- 
 ing him, surrounded night and day by a crowd of 
 angry citizens, to meditate upon the various fortunes 
 of war. At last, however, a peace was concluded, 
 and Sir John Hawkwood arrived at the head of 300 
 lancers! to escort the Abbot, his P'rench friends, and 
 his I 500 horse and soldiers safe beyond the city. The 
 Perugians, seeing their enemy the Abbot arrayed in 
 heavy armour and hardly able to lift his feet, slipping 
 moreover at every turn upon the muddy ground, saluted 
 him with shrill whistles, which even the mighty Hawk- 
 wood was unable to suppress, and a chronicler devoutly 
 tells us that " thus in the name of God, of His holy 
 Mother Mary, and of the blessed Saints : Ercolano, 
 Lorenzo, and Costanzo, was the city of Perugia delivered 
 from the hands of those accursed pastors of the Church." 
 The happy event was celebrated by grand religious 
 functions, although the revolt had been entirely against 
 the temporal power of the Pope. Even Milan and 
 Florence rejoiced at the news, and ambassadors from 
 Siena and from Arezzo came to Perugia to grace 
 the feasts and the rejoicings with their presence. 
 " Priori and treasurers of the Republic, doctors, 
 nobles, Raspatit'i, and Beccherini, danced for a whole 
 week, day and night, in friendly concord, and there 
 were fireworks and much sound of music." 
 
 These things were done at Porta Sole in the past. 
 The Abbot's palaces and covered passages were well- 
 nigh battered to bits by the revengeful citizens, but the 
 charm of the small piazza has not vanished with them. 
 Looking from the bastions one still can trace a portion 
 of the covered passage by which the terror-stricken 
 Abbot fled at sunrise to his palaces at Porta Sant' 
 Antonio ; and on winter evenings we have often stood 
 
 1 Lancic: stands in old Italian for three horsemen. 
 
 186
 
 Arch of Augustus 
 
 there, watcliing, with an ever tiesh delight, the brown 
 roofs of the slumbering town below — the brown woods 
 of the biowner Apennines beyond ; and seen them fade 
 and gather into one harmonious whole just as they did 
 five Iiundred years ago, when Mommaggiore sat at 
 supper and heard the first low hum of revolution. 
 
 From the piazza of Porta vSole a steep ])aved road 
 or staircase leads down to the Piazza Grimani, and 
 here one is confronted by what is perhaps the most 
 remarkable point in the whole city, namely, the Arch 
 of Augustus. ^ 
 
 Arch ok Augustus. 
 
 In Dennis' admirable account of Perugia he gives a 
 full description of this arch : — 
 
 '• The best preserved and grandest of all the gates of I'erugia." 
 lie says, '• is the Arcn d'Au^iulo, so called from the inscrip- 
 tion, August,! Piriisia. over the arch. It is formed of regular 
 masonry of travertine, uncemented, in courses of i 8 inches high ; 
 some of the blocks l)eing 3 or 4 feet in length. The masonry 
 of the arch hardly corresponds with that below it. and is pro- 
 i)al)ly of subsequent date and Roman, as tlie inscription seems 
 to testify, thougli the letters are not necessarily coeval witli the 
 Ntructure. The arch is skew or oblique; and the gate is 
 doulile, like those of Volterra and Cosa. Above the arch is a 
 frieze of six Ionic colonnettes, fluted, alternating with shields ; 
 and from tliis springs another arch, now blocked U]), sur- 
 
 ' There are one or two other points of interest in this s(]uare. 
 wiiich are dwarfed, of course, by the splendid Etruscan relic. 
 Ill tile big block of late Renaissance building (Palazzo CJalenga; 
 to the left. Goldoni acted as a child, and in the same si|uare 
 the composer, Francesco Morlacchi, was born. Morlacchi was 
 the author of much music, sacred and profane, and the Peru- 
 gians.who cannot truly be called a musical race, are very proud 
 of, and have named their biggest theatre after him. Morlacchi 
 tlied in 1841, and the great Retjuiem which he liad composed 
 for the funeral of his patron, Frederic Augustus I. of Saxony, 
 was siuig in the Duomo of Perugia, •' to obtain eternal peace 
 lor tile soul of this her valiant son." 
 
 187
 
 T'bi' Story of Perugia 
 
 mountL'tl by a second frieze of Ionic pilasters, not fluted. All 
 the work above the lower arch is evidently of later date than 
 the original construction of the gateway. . . . This gate stands 
 recessed from the line of tlie city wall, and is flanked on either 
 hand by a tower, projecting about 20 feet, and rising, narrow- 
 ing upwards, to a level with the top of the wall above the gate, 
 'i'he masonry of these towers, to the height of the imposts 
 of the arch, corresponds with that of the gate itself, and seems 
 to be the original structure, all above that height is of a later 
 period. . . . The gate still forms one of the entrances to the 
 city, though there is a populous suburb without its walls. Its 
 appearance is most imposing. The lofty towers, like ponder- 
 ous obelisks, truncated — the tall archway recessed between 
 them — the frieze of shields and colonnettes above it — the 
 second arch soaring over all, a gallery, it may be, whence to 
 annoy the foe — the venerable masonry overgrown with moss, 
 or dark with the breath of ages — form a whole which carries 
 the mind most forcibly into the past." 
 
 The history of the arch of Augustus, or Porta 
 urb'ica etriisca, has been given again and again by local 
 and by foreign guide-books and historians, but we 
 know of no better account than the above by Dennis, and 
 little is left to say on the subject here. In speaking of 
 Etruscan walls in another part of his book, Dennis 
 remarks that one of their most striking features is the 
 apparent newness of the stone. The big blocks of 
 travertine on the Arco d'Augusto are as sharp almost as 
 on the day when the Etruscans brought them up the hill, 
 something like three thousand years ago, the marks of 
 the individual masons are perfectly clear upon their faces, 
 and time has mellowed the light and graceful colonnade 
 of the Renaissance and Roman architecture, as much 
 or more than that of the vanished people. 
 
 For a vivid first impression of the city one should 
 certainly enter it from its northern side, and pass at 
 once into its grim, dark, mediaeval streets, through 
 these splendid early portals. The usual approach from 
 the station, which is certainly no quicker and much 
 188
 
 S. Agostino 
 
 more tedious, gives nothing like the same impression of 
 the real Perugia, which we love to read about and 
 study. 
 
 •■MW>**r^^A 
 
 
 ARCO DAUGUSTO 
 
 S. Agostino. 
 
 Many roads meet in the Piazza Grimani, and joining 
 as it were together, pass back to the heart of the town 
 through the arch of Augustus. The whole of the 
 Borgo S. Angelo, which spreads away to the north of 
 
 1H9
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 tlie piazza, though enclosed by very early walls, is not 
 part of the first city of Perugia, and is indeed a little 
 city of its own with one main street, the Via Longara, 
 and houses closely packed on either side.^ To the 
 right as one passes up it is the church of S. Agostino, 
 with its wonderful choir — one of those choirs which, 
 by its exquisite variety of design and transformation of 
 the wood to beasts, delights and fascinates one. 
 
 The choir was made in i 502, and, as Mariotti, who 
 describes it at length, remarks, it is *' indeed worthy of 
 praise." Perugino himself supplied the designs, which 
 were carried out by his Florentine friend Baccio 
 d'Agnolo, and Perugino saw that the payment of the 
 work was good : 1 120 florins down at the end of the 
 year when the work was done.- 
 
 S. Agostino, like other churches of the town, has 
 long since been despoiled of its best treasures. We 
 read a long list of its early pictures ; the crowning glory 
 of these, the large and many-sided altar-piece by 
 Perugino, was pulled to bits and scattered during the 
 Napoleonic raids. The history of this great altar-piece 
 has been traced with extraordinary precision, and as it 
 throws some light on the ways of the painter we give a 
 sketch of it here. It seems that in the autumn of i 502 
 the indefatigable Pietro signed a contract in which he 
 promised to paint his " Sposalizio " for the Duomo, 
 three other smaller pictures, designs for the stalls of S. 
 Agostino, and finally an immense two-sided altar-piece 
 for that same church. As may easily be imagined the 
 
 ' The borgo of S. Angelo was always reported in old days 
 to be inhabited by the most wicked people in Perugia, and, 
 indeed, during the turmoils of the centuries the first rumble 
 of revolution and of discord could usually be traced to this 
 quarter. 
 
 - Perugino seems to have taken a particular pleasure in work 
 of this sort ; his designs for the Cambio stalls are a good 
 illustration of the ingenuity he expended on them, 
 190
 
 ^'I'T^H 
 
 
 
 
 ''% %iai 
 
 
 
 ■'"^ k!ii^|^^^ 
 
 s r i' 
 
 
 = ^l 
 
 Tj M T*^«« 
 
 S AGOSTINO AND PORTA BULAGAJO 
 
 191
 
 S. Agosthio 
 
 carrying out of this colossal contract was no'light matter, 
 and it dragged on for years during which time Perugino 
 did not hesitate to embark on several other works ; and, 
 not at all abashed by his own lack of faith in promises, 
 we find him writing to the friars of S. Agostino from 
 Pieve di Castello, where he was for the time engaged 
 on other work, begging them in a large round hand 
 and most marvellous spelling, to give some corn to one 
 of his proteges, bearer of the letter (see Pinacoteca). 
 The letter is dated March 30, 1512. The next we 
 hear of the picture is in the autumn of 1521 when 
 there is a question about payment which proves that 
 the work was iinished. It is not an easy matter to re- 
 construct this picture, but we have seen the plan of it 
 in a very early manuscript which shows a grand pile of 
 frame and canvasses much in the style of Pinturicchio's 
 altar-piece in the Pinacoteca. Of all its many parts 
 Perugia has only kept a few of the saints, the Baptism, 
 the Nativity and the P'leta ( ?). We read of scattered frag- 
 ments in such different towns as Grenoble, Toulouse, 
 Lyons, and Nantes. The Madonna herself, we hear, 
 was pierced by a German ball at Strasburg. 
 
 There is in a side chapel of S. Agostino a rather 
 beautiful old fresco, probably by some scholar of Peru- 
 gino, of a Madonna and some saints with a white rab- 
 bit in the foreground. I^ooking one day at the picture 
 we wondered vaguely why the rabbit had been painted 
 there : " Ma, per beilezza," hazarded the small son of 
 the sacristan with the delightful intuition peculiar to the 
 children of his nation. No doubt he was perfectly 
 right. Another good fresco by Perugino or his scholars 
 may be found, strangely enough, in the back passage of 
 a baker's shop a little farther up the Via Longara ; but 
 before leaving the church of 8. Agostino it would be 
 well to look at the splendid meeting-room of the Con- 
 fraternita next door to it. This room, like that at 
 
 N 193
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 S. Francesco, is a magnificent specimen of rather heavy 
 and sumptuous Renaissance wood-carving. 
 
 S. Angelo. 
 
 At the very end of the Borgo, just before turning 
 into the open country, is the little old temple of S. 
 Angelo. One of the earliest facts we find in the his- 
 tory of Perugia is that this temple was the only building 
 which escaped the fire kindled by Caius Cestius (see 
 p. lo). The church is probably built on the site of 
 some old Etruscan temple, but in its present state it 
 bears only a phantom resemblance to the form of its 
 first architecture. Some say that the early temple was 
 dedicated to Pan, more likely it was a temple to Venus 
 or Vulcan. Conestabile declares that three distinct 
 periods of building can be traced in it, and he suggests 
 that the original temple was pulled down and rebuilt by 
 ignorant early , Christians with the ruins of another 
 temple dedicated to Flora. The pillars are certainly 
 of different sizes and very different qualities of stone. 
 Some few are of Greek marble, and one has an Etrus- 
 can capital ; yet in Fergusson's description of S. Angelo 
 he says that " the materials are apparently original and 
 made for the place they occupy ; " he also suggests 
 that the church was originally used as a baptistery, or 
 may have been dedicated to some martyr, " but in the 
 heart of Etruria," he adds, " this form may have been 
 adopted for other reasons, the force of which we are 
 hardly able at present to appreciate ; though in all cases 
 locality is one of the strongest influencing powers as far 
 as architectural forms are concerned." In the first 
 form of the Christian building it was surrounded by a 
 third row of columns (see p. 171) which were taken 
 by the Abbot of S. Pietro to adorn his new basilica, 
 and in those times the third circle stood open to the air 
 1 9 J,
 
 S. Angela 
 
 with vestibules and atrium. The altar of sacrifice, now 
 a side altar, stood in the centre of the church where 
 
 
 m 
 
 CHURCH OF S. ANGEI.O 
 
 the hideous rococo baldachino stands to-day. The 
 small square pillar with the Latin inscription was prob- 
 
 195
 
 T'he Sto?-y of Perugia 
 
 ably moved from its place, and turned to the north at 
 the time when, as a local writer fitly says, *' the archi- 
 tecture of S. Angelo was burdened by so many baga- 
 telles and such a profusion of false ornament." Among 
 other late Christian "ornaments" In S. Angelo we 
 must mention the body of a young Saint which lies 
 embalmed under one of the side altars. It is one of 
 those odd pathetic bits of bad taste which somehow 
 charm us. The Saint is dressed in tawdry armour, but 
 his face and limbs are exquisitely fine, his expression 
 pure and very peaceful. His hair is long, the skin of 
 his face waxen, he seems to be merely sleeping. 
 One of the very earliest Umbrian frescoes of Perugia, 
 " La Madonna del Verde," is painted in a chapel to 
 the right. The whole building is a remarkable mixture 
 of early pagan, of Roman, and of Christian art, and we 
 can only regret that the last should have been added 
 later, and in its worst and most degraded era. 
 
 The temple stands on a quiet plot of ground within 
 the city walls, which, a little to the left of it, end in a 
 great medieval tower or portcullis put up in time of 
 war by a condott'iere ! It needed the Umbrian sky, it 
 required the Umbrian landscape to make of such strange 
 contrasts an harmonious whole. Yet S. Angelo is one of 
 those things which at once possesses men's fancy, and 
 we read that even in the middle ages fantastic legends 
 settled round it, and that the early writers believed it to 
 be the "pavilion of Orlando." 
 
 Having, in this chapter, run through some few 
 historical facts relating to a Pope, an Abbot, two 
 Umbrian painters and a pagan temple, we may as 
 well complete the medley with one or two calm 
 records of the Umbrian saints. Leaving the church 
 of S. Angelo one passes back to the street and out 
 through the Porta S. Angelo into the open country. 
 196
 
 S. Fra/iccsco al Monte 
 
 The gate is lialf a castle, and was built by Fortebraccio 
 when he was strengthening the city with new walls. 
 There is a charming detail in the life of S. Francis 
 connected with it. We hear that when Pope 
 Honorius III. was staying at Perugia, the enthusiasm 
 for saint Francis of Assisi was at its height, and 
 the Pope with all his court went down across the 
 plain to visit the quiet dwelling-place of the gentle 
 Christ-like teacher : "And the friars of S. Francis," 
 says Mariotti, " beheld many counts and cavaliers 
 and other noble gentlemen, and a great number of 
 Cardinals, Bishops, Abbots and ditfercnt clergy, who 
 all came down to see the large but humble congregation 
 of S. Francis." And then the Saint returned the 
 visit, and coming in person to call upon the Pope 
 in order to obtain indulgences for his new church of 
 the Angeli, it happened that as he passed through the 
 Porta S. Angelo he met with S. Domenico who 
 himself was hurrying in the same direction. They 
 met each other in the archway — these two founders 
 of great religious orders — "and with their usual 
 charity they embraced each other." The picture 
 is beautiful and striking indeed ; maybe a hot May 
 morning, and the two men, who more than most on 
 earth had overcome themselves and elevated the 
 souls of other men, staying to embrace in a quiet, 
 homely fashion before passing further on into the 
 presence of the acknowledged Pontiff of the Church. 
 
 S. Francesco al Monti:. 
 
 A little further down the road on the left hand 
 side, is the monastery of S. Francesco al Monte. We 
 hear that the place was endowed in the following 
 manner : " It happened that a rich gentleman, 
 
 197
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 Giacomo di Buonconti de' Coppoli, who, in his 
 houses of Monteripido," (the hill on which the 
 present convent stands) " was wont most tenderly 
 to entertain the blessed brother Egidio, delighted 
 beyond power of description in the ecstatic trances 
 of that Saint ; and having become a widower, by 
 the death of Donna Vita, who died childless, Messer 
 Giacomo took holy orders, and in his will he ordered 
 that his houses should be turned into the convent 
 of S. Francesco al Monte which was therefore 
 built in 1276 by the Minori Osservanti." We 
 may conclude that Fra Egidio, who was one of 
 the most fascinating followers of S. Francis, long 
 outlived his ardent worshipper, for we hear that 
 he spent a great deal of his time , in the convent 
 that was built to do honour to the Franciscan order. 
 
 Poor Fra Egidio ! when he knew that death 
 was near he begged to be taken back to Assisi 
 to die and be buried in the home of his loved leader ; 
 but the Perugians, although they simply idolized 
 him, refused him this last comfort. They forced 
 him to die in their midst so that they might have 
 his corpse and profit by the miracles that they 
 expected would be worked by it. They gave him 
 a beautiful tomb at last, which may now be seen 
 in the church of the University. His staff, his 
 book, his poor brown gown, are kept in a crystal 
 case tied up with roses and silk ribbons. 
 
 The monastery of S. Francesco al Monte rises bare 
 but beautifully proportioned on its hill top. Tall lines 
 of slender cypress trees guard either side of the steep 
 ascent or " sacro monte " which leads to it. We can- 
 not explore the cells ; the little church is bare, its 
 Perugino altar-piece and other pictures gone, like the 
 rest, to the Pinacoteca ; but sitting on the grass-grown 
 steps we may read one of the most delightful and 
 198
 
 S. Francesco a I Monte 
 
 ingenuous stories ever told about cither Perugia or tlie 
 followers of S. Francis : — 
 
 " So S. Louis, Kinjr of France, went upon a pilgrinnage to 
 visit ail tile sanctuaries upon tlie earth, and hearing great fame 
 of the holiness of Brother Egidio, who had been one of the 
 first companions of S, Francis, he set his heart on visiting 
 him in person, wherefore he came to Perugia where Fra 
 Egidio then was living. And coming to the door of the 
 convent dressed as a poor and unknown pilgrim with but a 
 few companions, he encjuired with great insistence after Fra 
 Egidio, saying nothing to the porter of who it was that 
 asked. So the porter went to Fra Egidio, and told him 
 that a pilgrim was asking lor him at the door, and to Fra 
 Egidio it was revealed by f Jod that he who waited for him 
 was the King of France, whereat he immediately and with 
 the utmost fervour left iiis cell and hurried to the gate; and 
 without further questioning and althougii they had never met 
 before, with the most deep devotion those two kneeled down 
 together kissing each other witli such a sweet familiarity it 
 seemed that they had held long fellowshiji together: but in 
 spite of all these things neither the one nor the other spoke a 
 word ; they merely held each other in that close embrace, with 
 every sign of charitable love, in silence. And having stayed 
 together tlius for a long space of time without exchange of 
 words they parted from each other ; and S. Louis went fortii 
 upon his journey and Fra Egidio returned unto his cell." . . . 
 
 Then we hear that the monks in the convent arose 
 and murmured together, and questioned Fra Egidio 
 about the mysterious guest with whom he had stayed 
 so long in close embrace, and Fra Egidio told them 
 very simply that it had been the King of France. 
 Then they upbraided him for his discourtesy towards 
 so great a man : " O Fra Egidio, wherefore hast thou 
 been so rude as never to have spoken even one syllable 
 to so devout a King who came all the way from France 
 that he might see thee, and hear from thee some holy 
 words?" And Fra Egidio answers them with the 
 child-like and unruffled candour peculiar to his order, 
 and begs them not to marvel at the mutual silence of 
 that meeting, 
 
 '99
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 •' Because," lie says. •• as soon as we had embraced each other 
 the light of wisdom revealed and showed to me his heart, and 
 likewise mine to him ; and thus by a divine concurrence 
 seeing into eacii other's hearts, we understood far better, he, 
 what I desired to say to him, and I. what he desired to say to 
 me, than if we had spoiien together with our mouths; and 
 we found far greater consolation than if we had attempted to 
 explain with our voice that which we felt in our hearts: for, 
 had we spoken with our mouths, such is the faultiness of 
 human speech, we should more likely have had discomfort in 
 the place of comfort ; now therefore understand, that the 
 King went from me marvellously contented, and his whole 
 soul refreshed." 
 
 So King Louis of France went out across the 
 Umbrian hills, the Umbrian Saint returned to his cell, 
 and Perugia added a new and splendid number to her 
 list of royal visitors. Probably this story, be it a 
 myth or be it truth, has caused the confusion between 
 the French King and the French bishop, one of whom 
 is certainly a patron of the city to this day. The lilies 
 of France are scattered everywhere at the feet of the 
 Umbrian griffin. But the true patron of Perugia is 
 S. Louis Bishop of Toulouse, and as far as we know 
 the visit of King Louis of France was only recorded 
 by the author of the Fioretti. 
 
 200
 
 CHAPTER Via 
 
 Fid del Priori — Perng'uios House ^ — 
 NLadoniia dclla Liice—S. Bcniar- 
 diiio and S. Frcuiccscu cil Prato 
 
 JUST under the bell tower of the Palazzo Pubblico 
 a narrow street, called the Via del Priori, well- 
 paved, and preserving many chaiacteristics of the 
 mediaeval city, runs steeply down through the Porta 
 S. Susanna and into the open country by the station. 
 Once when the nobles were fighting in the square 
 above, or more probably in the Corso, the blood 
 llowed so freely that it is said to have come running 
 down the street in a crimson stream at night — hence 
 the name of Via del Piscinello which is given to the 
 street a little lower down. The houses are very old, 
 very giim, and closely packed in the Via dei Priori. 
 The lumieri, where the heads of enemies were hung, 
 stand out maliciously upon the walls of the Palazzo 
 Pubblico to the right, and many of the palaces have 
 still their narrow doors for the dead ox porte dd mortucc'io.^ 
 From the Chiesa Nuova (built in 12 iS but entirely 
 remodelled and spoilt by bad decoration) a narrow 
 
 ' In oiiL- of till.' loveliest oi the old houses as one passes down 
 to the left. Madame Alinda Brunamonte lives: a poetess of 
 whose talent Perugia is most justly proud ; and a little lower 
 down is the Palazzo degli Oddi witli its exquisite copy, said to 
 he l)y Pinturicciiio, of Raphael's Madonna del Libro, and the 
 strange charts of the Oddi palaces upon the plain, decorating 
 its walls. 
 
 201
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 street leads off to the left and down past some charm- 
 ing red brick palaces into a narrower street where 
 what is known as Perugino's house still stands. 
 Though there seems to be but very slight evidence about 
 
 TUli ULL) COLLEGIO DEi NOTARI, SAID TO Bli THE STUDIO Of I'ERUGINO 
 
 the real abode of the painter, his studio has been fixed 
 in the beautiful old corner palace with the red marble 
 windows in the Via del Commercio off the Corso. But 
 one place does as well as another to pin a legend to, 
 
 202
 
 Pcrng'/no s House 
 
 and this little house of mean appearance tucked away in 
 a dark and somewhat dingy street, with only a marble 
 
 P 
 
 Ot 
 
 
 
 Ji 
 
 
 Efc....- 
 
 TDRRK DEGI.l SCIRKI 
 
 slab to mark it, serves the purpose well enough. 
 Indeed, if one believed Vasari, one could with case 
 
 203
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 imagine Perugino choosing such a spot as this to hide 
 his wife, his crimes (?) and all his money in, and see 
 him hurrying thither in the dusk, of a December 
 evening from some big church or city where he had 
 been to paint an ahar-piece for prince or pontiff. One 
 can even picture the long dark cloak he wore to cover 
 up his money bag, his little cap pressed low upon his 
 rather cloudy forehead, and one can almost hear him 
 chuckle as he eats his maccaroni and strokes the fair 
 hair of the woman he so loved, thinking with the joy 
 of malice of all the other women who would come to 
 pray and weep before his saints and his Pietas. 
 
 But this is nothing better than a dream. Blankly 
 one looks at the slab above the door, at the wall from 
 which even the frescoe of S. Christopher has vanished, 
 and from the utter silence of the place one hurries 
 away and further on down the Via dei Priori. The 
 street ends, and one passes into the open country through 
 the Porta S. Susanna. Just above is the Torre degli 
 Scirri — one of the only specimens remaining of all 
 the wealth of towers in the j^ast. A tree has grown 
 upon its very top as though to seal the peace which 
 follows after strife. A little further on is the small 
 church of the Madonna della Luce. The front of this 
 church is a very dainty bit of architecture and was 
 designed by Cesarino Roscetto, a Perugian goldsmith, 
 who also made the silver shrine in the cathedral which 
 holds the Virgin's ring. It has inside a beautiful 
 altar piece by some scholar of Perugino. The picture 
 is exquisite in colour and in sentiment. Siepi gives 
 a long history about it, which, although it does not 
 altogether fit in with the facts of dates, we cannot 
 refrain from mentioning here. (Perhaps he was 
 alluding to some older fresco which has disap- 
 peared.) He says that on the i2th of September 
 I 5 1 3 some youths were playing at cards under the 
 204
 
 NLadoinia del/a Luce 
 
 wall of a butcher's shop which in old days stood 
 outside the church of S. Francesco. One of them, a 
 
 
 ./ . 
 
 ETRUSCAN AUCU Ol' 
 
 young barber, called Fallerio, lost heavily at the 
 game, whereat he swore a terrible oath, hearing which 
 blasphemy the Madonna in her shrine by the wayside 
 
 205
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 closed her eyes, and kept them closed for the space 
 of four whole days. On the i6th she opened them 
 again. So great was the fame of tliis miracle, and the 
 sensation it caused, that processions and great multi- 
 tudes of people came to worship before her shrine, and 
 on the 7th of April 1513 her picture was carried to its 
 present place in the new church which the people built 
 for her, and she was no longer called the Madonna di 
 S. Luca, but the Madonna of Light to commemorate 
 this wonderful occurrence. 
 
 From the church one road leads out into the 
 country through the old Etruscan gate of S. Luca and 
 another to the right into the Piazza della Giustizia : 
 that fair open green which holds one of the loveliest 
 flowers of Renaissance art — the facade of the Oratory 
 of S. Bernardino. 
 
 S. B 
 
 ERNARDINO. 
 
 The Oratory was built in i 450 by the magistrates 
 of Perugia, who were anxious to leave to their city 
 some enduring mark of the man whose influence in 
 times of extreme moral depravity and perpetual party 
 strife had been so purely one of good to the citizens 
 of Perugia. The life of S. Bernardino of Siena is 
 familiar to most people. He, like S. Francis, 
 exercised an extraordinary power over the minds of 
 men in the middle ages by the mere example of pure 
 living and sweetness of character, but perhaps his 
 power lay a little more in preaching and in stirring men 
 to action than that of the saint of Assisi, whose influ- 
 ence was more absolutely that of peace. 
 
 S. Bernardino of Siena was born at Massa, near 
 Siena, in 1380. His mother died early, leaving the 
 child to the care of an aunt. By this lady, Diana 
 degli Albizeschi, he was educated with extreme care 
 and tenderness, and he grew up beautiful, gracious, and 
 206
 
 S. Bernardino 
 
 very pure of heart. At seventeen he joined a con- 
 fraternity at Siena, and by the early age of twenty-four 
 he had ah^eady shaken an always weak, constitution by 
 his great labours for the sick in the time of plague. 
 He died at Aquila in the Abruzzi, and was canonized 
 in I 450 by Pope Nicholas V. S. Bernardino's life was 
 one perpetual strain towards the light in an age which 
 was dark, and one of its greatest objects had been to 
 reconcile the mutual hatred of the Guelphs and 
 Ghibcllines. He was full of child-like faith and wise 
 philanthropy ; and tradition says that it was he who 
 started the first Monte d'l P'leta or pawnshop, and 
 Perugia claims the privilege of having seen the first of 
 these institutions. 1 
 
 The figure of S. Bernardino is always unmistakable 
 in art, and it becomes familiar to us in Perugia, where 
 he exercised an extraordinary power, and where he 
 would preach from his pulpit in the public square to an 
 almost maddened crowd of penitents. The saint is 
 always represented holding a square tablet with the 
 initials of Christ set round with rays upon it, because 
 lie was accustomed to hold one of these whilst 
 preaching. His face is emaciated, but beautiful both 
 in line and in expression ; it is a face which the 
 spirit illumines with an unmistakable glory. Mrs 
 .Jameson, in her life of the saint, says that the finest 
 sculptured portrait of him is that on the fagade of his 
 Oratory at Perugia ; and certainly, if taken merely as a 
 graceful bit of art, few things could do more honour to 
 the man whose best tribute, however, will always be 
 his extraordinary hold on the hearts of men throughout 
 the whole of Italy. 
 
 In 1 46 1 the people of Perugia called in a Florentine 
 
 ' It is fair to say that many other towns dispute this 
 strange honour with Perugia, and probably witii far better 
 claims. 
 
 207
 
 T'be Story of Perugia 
 
 sculptor, AgOotino Ducci or Gucci, to ornament the 
 fagade of their new oratory. This sculptor is 
 described by both Vasari and Mariotti as Agostino 
 (lella Robbia, and connected, either as a son or a 
 brother, with that well-known family. The connec- 
 tion is, however, not proved, neither does his work 
 seem to corroborate it in any way.^ 
 
 The facade of S. Bernardino is a marvellous and 
 perhaps a unique thing in art. The work on it is light 
 and airy like the winds of spring. The figures of the 
 angels, the garlands, and the saint himself, are full of 
 that elegant and subtle charm which now and then 
 surprises one in sculpture. Ducci made wonderful use 
 of the pale pink marble of the country, mixing it with 
 terra-cotta figures, bits of blue sky, and marble, creamy 
 white, for all his garlands. Perhaps the loveliest 
 figures, where all are lovely, are those of the six 
 virtues, Mercy,'-^ Holiness, and Purity, Religion, Mor- 
 tification, and Patience, on either side of the entrance 
 doors. But the different angels playing on different 
 instruments, and the flying angels round the figure of 
 the saint, are each delightful in their separate ways. 
 Even the inevitable griffin seems softened by the hand 
 of the Florentine sculptor, and he has admirably caught 
 the purely spiritual nature of the saint, both in the large 
 central portrait, and in the smaller plaques where some 
 of his miracles are represented. Siepi gives a full 
 description of the different scenes : 
 
 " Under the two higher niches," he says, " are two squares, 
 
 1 Ducci did other excellent work in Perugia, namely, the 
 gate of S. Pietro, the beautiful altar in S. Domenico, and a 
 Madonna and child which is now in the University Museum, 
 but which was originally made for a niche on tlie faqade of 
 S. Francesco al Prato. It was the Florentine sculptor, too, who 
 is said to have founded the pottery works at Deruta. 
 
 - See plate. 
 208
 
 S. B 
 
 cruar 
 
 dint 
 
 and on tile right one of these we see the Saint, who, whilst 
 l)reaching on the Isola Maggiore of our Lake of Trasimene re- 
 ceiveti into his order the i)lessed CJiacomo of the Marches. . . . 
 
 MKRCY. nETAlI. ON F.ACADE OF THE ORATORY OF S. liKRNAKDIM) 
 
 I'o the leit." he continues, •• tile Saint is discovered preach- 
 ing, and illuminated hy a star, which in the full light of 
 day shines over his head, a miracle wliich hapijeneii in the 
 city of Aquila five years betore his death, while preaching 
 o 209
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 the praises of Mary. . . . Three other miracles of the Saint 
 are given on the frieze below. In the middle one of these 
 we see the Saint preaching to the people of Perugia, and the 
 bonfire which he made them light on the piazza of our Duomo, 
 where books of superstition, of necromancy and the law ot 
 astrology were burned in public, together witli fashionable 
 follies of the period : packs of cards, obscene pictures, forbidden 
 weapons and ornaments of female luxury — instruments all of 
 iniquity and of delight. Therefore it is that from the flames 
 demons are seen to rise. In the miracle to the right we see 
 two children saved by the intercession of the Saint from the 
 furious waters of a mill-stream in which, having been caught, 
 they were miraculously saved by the Saint from death. . . ." 
 
 It is not very clear why this particular spot was 
 
 chosen from all others on which to build the Oratory 
 
 of S. Bernardino, but it was probably because it stood 
 
 so close to the convent of S. Francesco al Prato, 
 
 where the Saint, who himself was a Franciscan, would 
 
 naturally stay when he paid his visits to Perugia. 
 
 We hear that he was deeply attached to a certain 
 
 bell which hung in the campanile of the convent, and 
 
 which bore the name of Viola and was noted for the 
 
 peculiar sweetness of its voice. It happened once, 
 
 when all the bells of the town were ringing, that 
 
 Viola fell. S. Bernardino was preaching at the 
 
 minute up in the square of the cathedral, but by a 
 
 miracle he heard her fall and stopped his sermon for 
 
 an instant, saying to the people : " My children, Viola 
 
 has fallen, but she is not harmed ! " and he was right. 
 
 Viola was set up in her place again and rings with a 
 
 clear strong voice, dear to the heart of the Perugians, 
 
 even in the present century. ^ 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 Long even before the birth of S. Bernardino a 
 
 much older order or Confratern'ita held its meetings 
 
 in the small church at the back of the present oratory. 
 
 This was the Confraternita di S. Andrea della Giustizia, 
 
 1 See poem of '• Viola," by Alinda Brunamonte. 
 
 210
 
 S. Bernardino 
 
 and it was one of the earliest of those remarkable 
 societies — one may almost describe them as religious 
 guilds— which rose up out of that great devotional move- 
 ment at the end of the middle ages which resulted in the 
 extraordinary processions and displays of the " Flagel- 
 lants." "The movement," says Doctor Creighton, 
 "passed away ; but it has left its dress as a distinctive 
 badge to the confraternities of mercy which are familiar 
 to the traveller in the streets of many cities of Italy." 
 
 Morals, as we have seen, were very low in the 
 thirteenth and the fourteenth century ; blood flowed 
 freely in party feuds and towns were devastated and cor- 
 rupted by the strife of church and people. All these 
 things, and the great pestilence which ravaged the 
 country and the cities, were taken, and probably 
 with perfect justice, to be the signs of an ofl^ended 
 deity. " It was then," says Bonazzi, " when men 
 had grown familiar with death, that those strange 
 songs arose which the people sang in the moonlight, 
 wrapped in white sheets, whilst they danced the dances 
 of the dead about the streets, clanging the bones 
 together in weird accompaniment to their songs." 
 Doctor Creighton ' dates this movement to the end of 
 the fourteenth century. He says also that it originated 
 in Provence. Perugia, however, lays strong claim to 
 having herself sown the first seed, and this as early 
 as the middle of the thirteenth century, of the displays 
 of the Flagellants. 
 
 In 1265 we read the strange tale of a monk who 
 describes himself as " Fra Rantero Fasano de Perosc'ia 
 Comen-zatore della Regola del Battut'i di Bologna." 
 Raniero tells us that he was accustomed, as a young 
 monk at Perugia, to lead a life of excessive privation 
 and abnegation, and one day, when scourging himself as 
 
 1 See "History of the I'apacy during the Reformation," 
 vol. i. p. 146. 
 
 21 I
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 w;is his custom, he was joined in a vision by certain 
 saints who accompanied him to the church of S. 
 Fiorenzo, and there they all beat themselves together 
 in front of the high altar. This vision occurred day 
 after day to Raniero, but at last one of the saints spoke 
 to him and told him that it was the will of heaven 
 that men should purge their sins in this same fashion. 
 Raniero carried his tale to the Bishop, who expounded 
 it in a sermon to the inhabitants of Perugia, and this, 
 according to some historians, was the origin of all the 
 fantastic demonstrations of public repentance which 
 soon spread over Italy, and from which, as years went 
 by, there arose the calmer and more practical institutions 
 of Confraternities in the several cities. One of the 
 earliest of these at Perugia itself was the company of 
 S. Andrea, and it is interesting to read its laws and 
 statutes. Through its own annals we lind that it was 
 started in i 374, during the reign of Pope Gregory XI. 
 " for the furtherance of the worship of God and 'of 
 His Mother the blessed Virgin Mary, and of the 
 glorious martyrs and protectors of the city — Messers 
 Sancto Ercolano, Sancto Laurenzo, Sancto Costanzo, 
 and Sancto Andrea the apostle ; and for the honour 
 and estate of the Holy Mother Church and her pro- 
 tectors ; and further for the maintenance, the govern- 
 ing, the magnificence, and the peaceful state of the 
 people and the city of Peroscia." 
 
 Infinite and careful laws of civil and religious duties 
 follow — laws for the maintenance of peace and the 
 Christian comfort of souls : the day of the saint was 
 to be most strictly kept, fasting if possible, or by him 
 who could not fast, a feast was to be given to a beggar 
 or twenty-five paternosters told, " and all must be at mass 
 that day or pay a fine of twenty soldi." But the great 
 .work of the society of S. Andrea was the help and 
 protection of criminals. Its members got permission 
 212
 
 S. Francesco al Prato 
 
 from the city government to meet those who were 
 going to execution, and to accompany them to the 
 scene of death, comforting them by the way, and 
 sustaining them with prayers and even sweetmeats to 
 the very last. In early times criminals were beheaded 
 far from the city walls ; and in Perugia the place of 
 doom was down in the open country on the site of an 
 old Etruscan tomb, the Torre di S. Manno. "Where- 
 fore," writes one historian, "in the fatal passing of 
 these miserable people, the jjious disciplinati met them 
 on the tlireshold, comforted them, assisted them, and 
 went with them even unto the gallows." Hence 
 probably the name of " Giustizia " given to this 
 particular square, and not, as is usually said, because 
 justice was carried out on the spot itself. 
 
 The Confraternitii of S. Andrea continued to increase 
 both in power and in size. Other societies of the 
 same charitable sort sprang up all through the city, and 
 after the death of S. Bernardino of Siena a new one 
 was started in his name at Porta Eburnea. But in one 
 of the great lights between the nobles, their buildings 
 were so knocked about and mutilated that the members 
 of the society had to seek out different quarters, and 
 they then joined themselves to the older confraternity 
 of S. Andrea down at S. Francesco and thenceforth 
 " worked together, extending their labour of charity to 
 the inspection of prisons, and to the Christian comfoit 
 of prisoners." ' 
 
 S. Francesco al Prato. 
 
 To the right of the Oratory of S. Bernardino is 
 the immense, but quite ruined, church and convent 
 
 1 In Eonfigli's great gonfalouc now at the Pinacoteca. but 
 originally painted tor the Oratory of S. Bernardino, we see a 
 meeting of the ConlVaternities, and an admirable portrait of 
 their ciiapel and their square. 
 
 213
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 of S. Francesco al Prato. S. Francesco, more even 
 than S. Domenico and so many of the churches of 
 Perugia, is only the skeleton of a once beautiful body 
 from which the silken robes, the jewels, even the flesh, 
 have been torn rudely off by men and time. The 
 church was built in 1230, in the form of a Latin cross 
 with a single nave. But from the moment it was built, 
 owing to the crumbling nature of the soil, and the 
 heavy and overweighted style of its architecture, it was 
 threatened with immediate destruction, so that in 1737 
 it fell in almost completely. 
 
 Throughout the history of Perugia we read of great 
 events which centred in S. Francesco, of great men 
 who were buried there, artists who painted, and popes 
 who blessed and prayed. Of all these former splen- 
 dours, nothing remains beyond a carcase of stone walls. 
 The pictures — the Raphael, the Pinturicchios and the 
 Peruginos, with the exception of Bonfigli's banner in 
 the chapel of the Gonfalone,^ and one interesting early 
 fresco down in the crypt, — have been removed to the 
 Pinacoteca and to other towns. Fortebraccio's bones 
 have gone to the museum, Fra Egidio's tomb is in the 
 church near the museum, and the roof has fallen in 
 upon a rubbish heap of beams, and bricks, and mortar. 
 
 S. Martino. 
 
 There are several ways of returning to the Duorao 
 from the Piazza della Giustizia. One of the pleasantest 
 runs through a bit of cultivated land outside the town 
 walls : the Via di San Francesco, and, joining the Via 
 della Conca, passes up under the Arco d' Augusta and 
 
 1 This Gonfalone is one of the loveliest of the series men- 
 tioned on p. 238. Like the one in the Duomo it is covered 
 with a gauze veil, but can easily be seen with a little patient 
 inspection. 
 2 14
 
 S. Martiiio 
 
 back by the Via Vecchia. But another way, which few 
 could find who did not know of it, winds back into the 
 heart of the old town, actually crossing the Etruscan 
 walls in one place, and comes out op|)Osite the Canonica, 
 having passed the little old church of S. Martino. 
 
 S. Martino is so old, and so much overshadowed by 
 the big ])alacc opposite, it is sunk so low upon the street, 
 that passing by it hurriedly one scarcely recognises it as 
 a church at all.^ The high altar has a very beautiful 
 altar-piece by Giannicola Manni — one of the loveliest 
 bits of Umbrian colouring that we remember in Perugia, 
 and there is a rather faulty fresco by some scholar of 
 Perugino on the west wall, redeemed by that subtle 
 and sweet charm peculiar to the work of the master. 
 The little church is guarded by a true friend, who 
 not only honours its pictures, but has even copied them 
 with faithful care, and the whole place is filled with 
 something of the quiet and religious fervour which 
 lingers only after centuries of prayer and incense, and 
 which is lacking in so many of the more frequented 
 churches of the town. 
 
 ' Siepi says that ht- cannot t-vun imajjint- liow old S. Martino 
 is, but he knows tliat it is luiih upon the toj) of the Etruscan 
 wall. 
 
 215
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 P'tetro Pcrugino and the Camb'io 
 
 T^HE name of Perugia is naturally connected with 
 that of Pietro Vannucci detto it Pervgino, or, as he 
 preferred to sign himself, Petrus He Castro Plebis, who 
 stamped the peculiar personality of his painting upon a 
 whole school of Renaissance Italian art. Vannucci was 
 by no means the first artist of the Umbrian school, but 
 he was the man who brought it into general notice, and 
 it was in the city of Perugia that he lived and worked, 
 and had his school of painting. 
 
 The best of Perugino's work, however, with the 
 exception of his frescoes in the Cambio, is not to be 
 found in his native town. The indefatigable Napoleon 
 had a profound admiration for Pietro's altar-pieces. 
 He sought them out, he insisted on getting every inch 
 of them, down to their smallest predellas, and the 
 splendid pictures of S. Pietro, S. Lorenzo, and S. 
 Agostino went over the Alps to swell his galleries in 
 the Tuileries. The frescoes of the Cambio could not 
 go, and they at least remain exactly as the master 
 painted them. To understand the man Pietro as 
 well as the artist, we must study in the Cambio, for 
 there his portrait hangs face to face with a whole set 
 of his frescoes, and the contrast of the painter's face 
 and the faces he invariably gave to his saints is almost 
 as strange as that between the Umbrian saints and 
 2l6
 
 Pictro Pcrug'iiK) 
 
 the liistory of the times in which they lived and 
 worked. 
 
 To understand the painters of Perugia one must 
 understand the period in which they were produced. 
 One wonders whether Vasari reckoned at all with this 
 when he wrote his life of Perugino. The Florentine 
 was not particularly just to Umbrian painters in general, 
 and of Pietro Vannucci he paints a very unsympathetic 
 portrait. He accuses him of two great faults: avarice 
 and irreligion, and these have become so inevitably con- 
 nected with Pictro's name that it is not easy to dispute 
 them. Yet, if not absolutely false, the facts have been 
 grossly exaggerated. Concerning the first — avarice — 
 Vasari maintains that Pietro painted exclusively for the 
 sake of gain, and never for that of art or faith. This 
 accusation has been disproved by later writers in so far 
 as the early life of Perugino is concerned. We hear, for 
 instance, that he painted several banners for his native 
 city in the time of plague and war, that he asked no 
 money for them, and when the time of need was past 
 he took them back and kept them in his studio. Also, 
 merely as an amusing anecdote, Vasari himself tells us 
 that Pietro could open his puree for the woman he 
 loved, and dress her in the fairest and the costliest 
 clothes, setting the pins and folds himself upon her 
 headgear. In the latter part of his life, which was not 
 witliout some shadow, he did paint for money, allowing 
 soulless pictures to pass from his studio to the altars of 
 believing monks and ladies; but his best work belongs 
 to his earliest period, and there is no reason to be- 
 lieve that it was uninspired save by the inspiration of 
 gold. 
 
 Concerning the second accusation — lack of faith — 
 we have dealt with it at the end of Pietro's life, and we 
 can only add here that the man must have been of super- 
 human gentleness who could live through the scenes 
 
 217
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 that Vannucci lived through, and maintain the faith of 
 childhood. 
 
 The portrait in the Cambio is a stumbling block. 
 The expression is heavy and unspiritual. This fact 
 jars, and we resent it. (See frontispiece.) 
 
 But whatever Pietro's appearance, whatever his 
 personal character may have been, he did two things : 
 he left behind him an enduring mark in the history of 
 art, and he gave the soul to that considerable school of 
 painting from wliich young Raphael went forth into the 
 wondering world, together with a host of other painters 
 whose tendency was entirely in the direction of the 
 
 spiritual and purifying elements in human life. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Away to the southwest of Perugia, above the lakes 
 of Trasimene and Chiusi, with a wide view southwards 
 towards Rome, and northwards to Cortona, is the little 
 Umbrian hill-town of Citta della Pieve. It is so deeply 
 buried in its oak woods that one can barely see it from 
 the hills and plains around it. The town is very old 
 and very sleepy, built of red bricks with hardly any 
 stones, and scarcely any buildings of importance. The 
 streets seem fallen dead asleep. " Why do you come 
 here ? The place is dead. Nothing ever happens in 
 our city," said the melancholy daughter of the landlord, 
 and the girl, by her unconscious words, explained the 
 very reason of our visit. 
 
 Nothing ever happens in Citta della Pieve. The 
 town has fallen on sleep in its delightful landscape — 
 on sleep as silent and profound as that of all the fossil 
 shells in the banks along the roads which lead to 
 it. But the place is strangely and marvellously 
 beautiful ; it holds the very essence of that intense 
 religious charm peculiar to the landscapes of Umbria, 
 and to the painters who have painted them ; without 
 exaggeration, we may say that the city looks to-day 
 '218
 
 Pietro PerugiiKj 
 
 just exactly as it looked over four hundred years ago, 
 at the time when, to the lovers of art, its history began 
 and ended.^ 
 
 Pietro Vannucci de Castro Plebis detto il Perugino, 
 was born at Citta della Pieve in the year 1446. 
 His parents were very poor, but they were of a good 
 family and position. There were many children, and 
 life was a struggle for bread in the small boy's home. 
 When he was about eight, his father, Christoforo 
 Vannucci, decided to educate him as a painter, and so 
 he brought him to the city of Perugia, and there, as 
 Vasari says, " this child, who had been reared in penury 
 and want, was given as a shop drudge to a painter who 
 was not particularly distinguished in his calling, but 
 who held the art in great veneration, and highly 
 honoured the men who excelled therein." The 
 jiainter was probably Bonligli, one of the most delight- 
 ful artists of the Umbrian school, but Pietro must have 
 gathered instruction from other sources too, from 
 Fiorenzo di Lorenzo and Piero della Francesca, who 
 we know were painting at that time. Maybe the boy 
 met them at tiieir work in churches, maybe he even 
 travelled with them as a sort of journeyman. But it 
 was probably Bonfigli who early inspired him with an 
 ambitious desire to spread his wings in iiigher spheres 
 of art than the little Umbrian town afforded him, and 
 who gave him the worldly-wise advice retailed to us at 
 some length by Vasari : Perugino must go to Florence, 
 
 •• for the air of that city generates a desire for glory and honour, 
 and gives a natural quickness to the perceptions of men. Yet 
 it is true that when a man has acquired sufficient for his pur- 
 
 1 The town, like every other small Italian town, has had its 
 complicated and tempestuous history. Its walls, many of 
 wliich are very early, have siitfered siege (see pp. 19, 20) ; and 
 its hills are honeycombed in i)laces with Etruscan tomlis. 
 
 2 19
 
 T'he Story of Pei'iigia 
 
 poses in Florence, if lie wishes to eHect more tiian merely to 
 live from day to day, as do the beasts that perish, and desires 
 to become rich, he must depart from its iioundaries and seek 
 another market for the excellence of his works and for the 
 rejnitation conferred on artists by that city. For the city of 
 Florence treats her painters as Time treats her works, which, 
 having perfected, he destroys, and liy little and little griidually 
 consumes." 
 
 Pietro listened to these naive counsels ; lie drank 
 them in and he followed them out to the letter. 
 When quite a young man he started across the hills 
 to Florence. He probably travelled as a journey- 
 man, begging or earning his bread along the way. 
 He reached Florence, entered the studio of Andrea 
 Verrocchio, buried himself in a passionate study of his 
 art, and, barely ten years after the date when, as an 
 almost unknown artist, he had entered Florence with 
 the secret of his genius in his soul, he left it again to 
 go to Rome and paint a portion of the Sistine Chapel 
 at the command of the reigning pope. Pietro studied 
 in good schools and in excellently good society. In 
 Florence he probably met with men like Botticelli, 
 Credi, and certainly Leonardo da Vinci. Raphael's 
 father, Giovanni Santi, is said to have written the 
 following lines about the two young painters : 
 
 " Due giovan par delate e par damore 
 Lionardo da Vinci, e '1 Perusino 
 Fier della Pieve. ch'e un divin pittore." 
 
 Divine in truth were the two young men, tor they 
 were to be the fathers of the Lombard and the 
 Umbrian schools of painting. 
 
 Perugino's earliest commissions for pictures were 
 received in Florence, but nearly all the work of that 
 period is lost. We cannot exaggerate the loss, but 
 it is useless now to dwell on it and to describe the 
 vanished frescoes of the Gesuati convent. Pietro was 
 220
 
 Pictro Pen/g/No 
 
 called to Rome about the year 14153. There he 
 painted several pictures on the walls of the Sistinc 
 
 I'KKUGINO : MADONNA AND I'ATRON SAINTS OF I'ERUr.IA I'AINTK 
 I'OR TllK magistrates' CllAl'EL AT l'ERUGL,\, 
 NOW IN THE VATICAN AT ROME 
 
 chapel. Only two of them lemain, and tiie figures of 
 Michelangelo's Last Judgment have long obliter- 
 ated the sweet-faced Umbrian saints and land- 
 
 22|
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 scapes which used to cover the east wall.^ Having 
 spent a little time in Rome, Perugino returned to his 
 native land, and the best of his paintings belong to that 
 period — namely to the years 1 490- 1502. 
 
 This is no place in which to describe the works of 
 Perugino's prime. The world knows them and the 
 capitals ot Europe possess them, but from the city of 
 Perugia, for which some of the very best were painted, 
 they have been taken away by " quel stupendo ladro — 
 Napoleone Bonaparte."^' Perugino's fame spread like 
 wildfire over the cities of Italy. " This maestro Pleiro,^ 
 says a very old chronicler, "was distinguished (^singolare) 
 in his art throughout the universal world." So intense 
 was his fame and popularity, and his work in such 
 demand, that it was impossible for him, for one single 
 man, to supply all the work which men demanded of 
 him. We should not therefore feel surprised at the 
 number of second-rate pictures, planned by the master 
 and carried out by his scholars, which have come down 
 to us bearing his name. 
 
 From the period of his prime, Perugino perhaps 
 went wrong — that is to say, he realised his own 
 charms, specified, docketted them, stereotyped the 
 smile of his saints and set his scholars working, so to 
 speak, on the reproduction of the labels he himself 
 had painted. His personality extended itself into a 
 school, where, at times, it became mere caricature. 
 Other stars had risen on the horizon, great and 
 shining ; some of them straight from the master's own 
 
 ' It is curious to note that it viras Paul III. who ordered 
 Michelangelo's Last Judgment to be painted over Perugino's 
 altar-piece, and that it was also Paul III. who built his fortress 
 on the ruins of the Baglioni palaces at Perugia. 
 
 - "That stupendous thief Napoleon Bonaparte." This 
 magnificent title was conferred on the dead Emperor by a 
 poor little withered custodian of an Umbrian church, 
 222
 
 P'lctro Pcrngnio 
 
 workshop, some from other cities. There is a piti- 
 ful story told of the jealousy of the old Umbrian master 
 for the growing fame of Michelangelo. It ended 
 in a lawsuit from which Pietro withdrew his claims ; 
 but the tale may be unfounded, and we know that 
 Vannucci praised the David when called to pass a judg- 
 ment on it, we also know that he named one of his 
 own children after the Tuscan sculptor. 
 
 But if we can recognise the later weakness of 
 Perugino, the men who lived in his days and who 
 openly declared him to be the master of masters 
 never apparently recognised it. They seem to have 
 worsliipped his decadence as they had worshipped his 
 dawn. They paid large sums for the feeble saints 
 which rose like ghosts beneath his brush. They 
 desired no better man to save them in the time of 
 plague and bloodshed by the creation of a S. Sebastian 
 which they might carry in procession, or a Madonna 
 that they miglit kneel to. And truly to the end an 
 ineffable sweetness, a religious amiability, is the under- 
 current of the master's painting. 
 
 Pietro Vannucci died of the plague in the year 1523 
 at Fontignano, a small village near Perugia, where he had 
 been called to paint a S. Sebastian in the time of pesti- 
 lence. He was hurried into some desolate grave under 
 an oak by the wayside, and he died, as they say, without 
 faith of immortality, denying to the last that Saviour, 
 whose face and figure, whose Mother and surroundings, 
 he, of all men on earth, had striven through life to 
 idealize. 
 
 So writes Vasari, but on this accusation we would 
 ])ause. There may have been some sickness in 
 Pietro's soul, we feel and see it in his work and 
 portrait ; but he had lived in terrible times and seen 
 much evil and striven to ])aint much good. The fact 
 that he was buried in unconsecrated ground proves 
 
 223
 
 T'hc Story of Perugia 
 
 literally nothing, for an old chronicler, describing the 
 wretchedness of the times, combined with the terrors 
 of the plague, tells us, " that such was the state of 
 affairs, that the dead were paid as little attention to in 
 those times as in our day we might give to goats or 
 sheep ; and that especially in the country where no one 
 attended to anything, all died, almost without excep- 
 tion, not like men but almost like beasts ; and as the 
 consecrated ground did not suffice for burial they put the 
 bodies into ditches, covering them up with a very little 
 earth." Furthermore, " it was prohibited to visit the 
 sick, and to attend the funerals of the dead." This 
 being the case, how was it possible to find the corpse of 
 one old man in order to lay it in consecrated ground l 
 Pietro's sons tried hard to find it. We read of them: 
 of Giambatisto, Francesco and Michaelangelo, search- 
 ing diligently but in vain for their father's bones, that 
 they might lay them in the Church of S. Agostino.^ 
 
 Mariotti the chronicler of Perugino, whose loving 
 and infinitely careful search has soothed, if it could 
 not obliterate Vasarl's spiteful words, ends his notes 
 on Perugino with the following quotation from a Latin 
 poet : — 
 
 •• Se pictus moreris, non morituriis obis." 
 ***** 
 
 It was just at the end of the period of Pietro's 
 prime, namely, about the years 1499 to 1507, that he 
 was commissioned to paint the walls of the Cambio. 
 It is interesting to remember that at this time Perugino 
 was in correspondence with the monks of Orvieto, who 
 wished him to paint the frescoes in their Duomo. He 
 had long dallied with his answer, he had certain other 
 
 ' Since writing the above, we have been shown a very early 
 MS., which shows that Pietro's bones were taken from the 
 ditch by a priest and buried under the walls of his church at 
 Fontignano. 
 224
 
 The Cambio 
 
 large works on hdnd, but when liis fellow-citizens 
 sent in their request that he should undertake this 
 very considerable work for them he did not hesitate ; 
 he threw over his previous engagement, which, as 
 we know, was magnificently taken up by Signorelli, 
 and he at once set to work upon the walls of the 
 Cambio. 
 
 Perugino was perhaps out of his element in this new 
 undertaking. He had no choice of subjects, for they 
 had been selected for him by the members of the Guild, 
 who throughout show a most naVve interest and concern 
 in the decoration of their rooms. These men were de- 
 termined to secure the very best work they could ; their 
 scats, their panels, their doors were of the finest wood, 
 worked by the most skilful carpenters and artists of the 
 day. They were not wise in literature themselves, 
 so they applied to the best scholar of their city, 
 Francesco Matarazzo, for instructions, and it was he 
 who most probably arranged the curious mixture of 
 classic subjects and inscriptions which Perugino, with 
 a certain child-like and ingenuous persistence, painted as 
 he had painted all the familiar subjects of the Bible. 
 For the ceiling of the audience chamber, which deals 
 entirely with mythological figures, he may have con- 
 sulted certain old illustrated missals in the Perugian 
 archives; one of these, a Cicero (unhappily stolen from 
 the library some years ago), very probably suggested 
 some of the figures and beasts of the Zodiac which 
 decorate the ceiling. 
 
 The impression made upon one by the painting in 
 the Cambio is very calm and pleasing. The whole is 
 a harmony^ — a harmony of subjects sacred and profane 
 such as the classic-loving minds of scholars in the days 
 of the Renaissance delighted to create, and give to one 
 of their purely religious artists to carry out success- 
 p 225
 
 I'he Story of Perugia 
 
 fully. The left wall is covered by two frescoes — 
 two lines of figures — eight Romans and four Greeks. 
 Behind these figures stretches the fair, calm, TJmbrian 
 landscape, dear to the heart of the Umbrian painter. 
 In the sky above them are four female figures, Prudence 
 and Justice, Fortitude and Temperance, and below 
 them small angels hold the long inscription which is 
 written over every group. Very soft and tender is 
 Perugino's conception of Roman Emperors and Greek 
 philosophers. They have the hands of women, their 
 faces are sweet like the faces of saints. They look a 
 little sad, and very gentle as they bend towards each 
 other — not one of these men could have proved a 
 ruler of nations. What did Perugino mean when 
 he painted in the second group this visionary host of 
 warriors ? Surely he dreamed of some fair Umbrian 
 girls that he had met in May along the lanes, but not of 
 heroes. These youths, with their wonderful head-gear 
 and their long, limp bodies would have fallen as field 
 flowers fall before the scythe or even a summer shower. 
 That they are fair no one denies, and in the face of 
 Cincinnatus there is a mysterious sweetness which 
 disarms our criticism; but they are merely spiritual 
 or imaginative portraits of the men whose names 
 are carefully inscribed beneath them. The opposite 
 wall is covered by a group of Prophets and of 
 Sibyls — a combination which was not uncommon 
 in later Christian art. To the left Isaiah, Moses, 
 Daniel, David and Jeremiah, and opposite them the 
 Persian, Cumaean, Lybian, Tyburtine and Delphic 
 sibyls. Perugino crowned this most singular mixture 
 of pagan and of Hebrew figures with a portrait of God 
 the Father in glory. Many of the faces in this group are 
 very beautiful, notably that of Daniel, which is said to 
 be a portrait of young Raphael, and is a truly exquisite 
 thing. Jeremiah is represented as a young and very 
 226
 
 The Camb'io 
 
 melancholy man, and his tace is said to be a portrait ol 
 Pinturicchio, but if this fact is true the likeness is much 
 idealized. 
 
 In the two frescoes at the end of the room, namely, 
 the Nativity and the Transfiguration, Pietro was in his 
 old and dearer element. The former of these is a 
 beautiful bit of his best religious work, but it has been 
 terribly damaged by smoke, as the lamp of the Camblo 
 used to hang beneath it. 
 
 There is some dispute as to whether Pietro worked 
 alone at these frescoes. It appears almost certain that 
 he did do so, with the exception, perhaps, of one of 
 his scholars, I'Ingegno, who is said to have painted the 
 face of Christ in the Transfiguration. ^ The ceiling, 
 where the planets are painted in medallions, is perhaps 
 the work of his school, although the drawings were 
 entirely supplied by Perugino. Pinturicchio is said to 
 have helped in the painting, and Raphael doubtless 
 watched it with delight, and from it drew suggestions 
 which he carried later to the Vatican. Delightful 
 animals, dragons, and different birds pull the chariots of 
 the various planets. The arabesques are infinitely varied, 
 
 1 Vliigcgno is a mysterious figure in the school of Perugino. 
 Our National Gallery has a picture signed A. A. P. (Anurkas 
 Ai.OYSii Pinxit) which is helieved to be an autlicntic work of 
 his. We have no distinct records of tilt- man, thoiigli the 
 pictures ascribed to him are very numerous. The best known 
 of these are at Assisi. His work and his personality are 
 a sort of shadow of Perugino. Vasari felt no sort of doubts 
 aI)OUt I'higegno ; indeed he pronounced him to l)e the best 
 master of Perugino's school, and vying with Raphael in his 
 studio. He also tells us that I'lngegno's glory was early 
 withered by the curse of blindness; this fact has, however, 
 been disproved by Rumohr, who has made very careful re- 
 search upon the suliject. Whatever I'Ingegno was, or whatever 
 he did. one cannot ignore his existence in a survey of the 
 Umbrian school, and the very fact of the mystery in which he 
 is shrouded attracts and draws one to him. 
 
 227
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 and form a study in themselves. Small boys and 
 cherubs ride astride of dragons or of goats, and strange 
 fantastic animals turn and twist themselves through 
 flower stalks and bowls of fruits and flowers. Squirrels, 
 peacocks, snakes, and many other known and unknown 
 creatures, cover the arches like enamelled gems. 
 
 It is curious to pass from Perugino's frescoes in the 
 audience chamber of the Cambio to those of his pupil 
 Giannicola Manni in the chapel of the same guild. 
 Manni's work is very rare, and indeed it is barely seen 
 outside Perugia.^ He was a scholar of Perugino, and 
 in his earlier years he followed in the steps of his 
 master, but in later life he went to Florence and there 
 acquired a love for the style of Andrea del Sarto. 
 The influence of the two distinct schools of painting 
 is strongly marked in the chapel of the Cambio, the 
 ceiling of which was painted early in Manni's life, the 
 walls after his return from Florence. Manni is a 
 genial and attractive painter. He paints exactly as he 
 pleases, regardless of religion or of history, and in his 
 series of scenes from the life of S. John he gives us a 
 set of luxurious human beings leading a very human 
 cinque-cento life. The colour is bright, the figures 
 portraits of the time. The ladies are very decol- 
 letees, fat, and dressed in comfortable gowns of the 
 most beautiful stuffs and the simplest cut. One lady in 
 the Nativity is particularly attractive. She wears a 
 gorgeous gown ot red ; her fluffy yellow hair is neatly 
 gathered in a net, embossed with bobs of the purest gold. 
 S. Elizabeth, too, may be envied the splendour of her 
 bed, and the looping of its heavy damask curtains. 
 There is a sense of luxury, a sort of wanton abund- 
 ance which is almost Venetian, throughout Manni's 
 
 1 There is a beautiful bit of his work in the little old church 
 of S. Martino at Perugia. fSee chapter viii.) 
 228
 
 The Camb'io 
 
 frescoes of the life of S. John. In the banquet scene, 
 a dog and cat are preparing for a playful battle in the 
 foreground of the picture. Had tlie Umbrian painter 
 seen some canvasses of Veronese? Certainly he had 
 wandered far afield from the eaily teaching which 
 shows so clear upon the ceiling. He died in 1544, 
 and most of his work, which we know to have con- 
 sisted chiefly of banners, is lost to us, lost too, the 
 painting of the city clock which Mariotti records for 
 us with such minute precision.' 
 
 On leaving the Cambio it would be well to look in 
 at the Magistrate's audience chamber which opens on 
 to the Corso two doors further on. It is a magnificent 
 piece of Renaissance woodwork where every inch is 
 exquisitely carved and finished. Perugia is rich in 
 rare and lovely carvings, but nowhere more than in this 
 single hall. 
 
 ' For account of tlie Camhio sec Sturia arthtica del dimlnu Ji 
 Fcriigia by Adamo Rossi. For account of Perugino".s life and 
 work see 'W'. .1. Stillman's notes in Oh/ Ilnlim Muiters, en- 
 graved by 'I'imothy CoK-. 
 
 229
 
 CHAPTER X 
 The P'lnacoteca^ 
 
 '• . . . Parmi de pareilles moeurs, les ames se maintiennent 
 vivantes. et le sol est tout lalioure pour faire germer les arts. 
 . . . Mais quel contraste entre ces arts et ces mcEurs ! " 
 
 H. Taine, " Perouse et Assise," Voyage en Italie. 
 
 T^HERE is perhaps no gallery in Europe as single- 
 minded- — as devoted to one set of men — as the 
 gallery at Perugia. In passing through its separate 
 rooms one feels none of that painful sense of clash 
 and strain produced by a mixture of different schools, 
 which haunts one in so many collections of statues 
 or of pictures ; and the most tired and indifferent 
 traveller will feel something soothed and softened 
 in his brain before he turns his back upon the quiet 
 sacred pictures of the Umbrian masters. 
 
 In no land perhaps, and in no school of art, was the 
 feeling of the painters more purely and more absolutely 
 religious than in the land of Umbria. The saints were 
 painted for places where saints were worshipped ; the 
 Christs have the love of the Father in their faces ; the 
 Marys are Mothers of pity and of grace ; the bishops 
 have )-enounced the ways of earth — their faces are calm 
 and grey beneath their mitres. And the Umbrian 
 
 1 There is a good Italian catalogue to the gallery by Signor 
 Angelo Lupatelli, and the same author has composed a use- 
 ful and comprehensive guide to the art of Perugia : Storia delta 
 Pltiura in Perugia. 
 230
 
 T'he Pinacoteca 
 
 angels are crowned with roses, but they are the roses 
 of Paradise, and not the flowers of earth and of her 
 banquets. Think of the galleries of Venice, of Boni- 
 fazio's Dives, and the glorious women of Titian ; 
 think of the Roman collections, of Bologna and 
 Guercino ; nay, even think of the later art of Florence, 
 and then come back to these calm Umbrian masters. 
 The gap is wide ; the one is full of the passion and 
 splendour of earth, the other of the sentiment of 
 heaven. 
 
 In M. Rio's chapters on the Umbrian school {T Art 
 Chretien, vol. ii.), he dwells at length on the purely 
 spiritual tendency of the Umbrian school, and to 
 enforce this he points out two of its most remarkable 
 characteristics ; firstly he remarks that the Umbrian 
 painters rarely painted portraits, and secondly, he gives 
 an account of one of their chief products, namely, 
 the painting of the gonfalone or banner. 
 
 We have seen in the history how the inhabitants 
 of Perugia, driven to desperation by their own wicked- 
 ness, would take fits of the most passionate religious 
 revolt, and, casting aside the vanities of the flesh, 
 half kill themselves with cords and stripes and 
 lamentations. This excess of repentance took dif- 
 ferent forms. Sometimes, as we know, it resulted in 
 an appeal to the saints through wild, mad litanies ; at 
 others in an appeal to Christ's mercy through art ; and 
 it was at such times that the Umbrian school, beginning 
 with Bonfigli and ending in works like Raphael's 
 Sistine Madonna and Baroccio's much later designs, 
 painted the gonfalone, a style of picture which is quite 
 peculiar to Umbria, and which should be looked at with 
 a knowledge of the events from which it first originated. 
 These banners were carried about the city, the i)riests 
 walking in front, the populace behind, a wail and sliriek 
 of lamentation falling on the air as the procession passed. 
 
 231
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 Sometimes, as in the banner of Bonfigli at S. Fiorenzo, 
 a poem of supplication to God would be painted, up- 
 held by angels, on the banner itself, with passionate 
 words of prayer upon it. It is difficult to render into 
 English the palpitating style of the original verses, but 
 we quote some passages to illustrate the sentiment which 
 inspired the painting of the gonfalone of S. Fiorenzo 
 (the date of the banner is about 1476) : 
 
 '• Oh. most obstinate and wicked people — cruel, proud, and 
 full of all iniquity, who hast placed thy faith and thy desires on 
 things vvhicli are full of a mortal misery. I. the angel of Heaven, 
 am sent unto you from God to tell you that he will put an end 
 to all your wounds and weeping, your ruin and your curse, 
 through the mediation of Mary. . . . Turn, turn your eyes, 
 most miserable mortals, to the great examples of the past and 
 present, to the utter miseries and heavy evils which Heaven 
 sends to you because of all your sins : your homicide and your 
 adultery, your avarice and luxury. . . . O, miserable beings, 
 the justice of heaven works not in a hurry, but it punishes 
 always, even as men deserve. . . . Nineveh was a city florid 
 and magnificent, and Babylon was likewise, but now they are 
 as nothing ; and Sodom and Gomorrah, behold them now — a 
 morass of sulphur and of fetid waters. . . . Oh, therefore be 
 grateful, and acknowledge the benefits and graces of Our 
 Saviour, and let your souls burn hotly with the fire of faith 
 and charity, of hope and faithful love. . . . But, and if you 
 should again grow slothful and unwilling to renounce your 
 errors, I foretell a second judgment upon you, and I reckon 
 that it will prove more terrible, more cruel than the first. ..." 
 
 The gonfalone on which this menacing appeal of the 
 angel of God is painted is by Bonfigli, and was made 
 at the time of a terrible pestilence which raged through 
 Perugia at the end of the fifteenth century. 
 
 In Umbria therefore, more than in most countries, 
 the history of her art should be studied side by side 
 with the history of the times in which it was produced, 
 for the one was, as it were, the spiritual escape or 
 reaction from the other. The art of Umbria was 
 perhaps only another form of that spirit which produced 
 232
 
 The Pmacoteca 
 
 the teaching of S. Francis. Tlic lirst pictures of 
 Perugia arc full of man's best prayers, the earliest of 
 them bear his stripes, in very few can we detect his 
 wantonness or humour ; and when we say that the later 
 ones are imbued with man's weakness, or at least 
 his sentimentality, we make a most apparent platitude. 
 It is sufficient in this place to note that whatever the 
 final faults of the school, it originated in a purpose 
 that was pure — the purpose of men who strove to 
 represent tiie very o])posite of all that fury, blood, and 
 passion peculiar to the time and place in which they 
 lived and painted. 
 
 To most people, therefore, who once have grasped 
 these facts, there will be something sad, nay, even 
 offensive, in the Pinacoteca at Perugia. Why, and 
 for whom, were these purely religious paintings torn 
 from their niches in the quiet churches, and hung up, 
 side by side, in a glare of light on the walls of a 
 gallery ? How pale, and how sad they look, after all, 
 the saints and the Marys, the angels and the holy 
 Child, here on the bare grey walls. The thing has 
 been said a hundred times before, but a friend at 
 Perugia said it to us in a way we have never forgotten. 
 He was a priest, and he loved his church. We were 
 discussing together the present system of local picture 
 galleries. His eyes grew dark. "Yes," he said, "it 
 is as though they would tear a child from the breasts 
 of its mother. The mother withers and dies, and the 
 child dies too, without her care in the wilderness where 
 they laid it." 
 
 It is the student of art who profits by the present 
 arrangement, for the pictures at Perugia are not 
 difficult to find. With the exception of the 
 Duomo and S. Pietro, most of the churches have 
 been ransacked, and their canvasses and panels 
 
 233
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 neatly stored in perfect order of dates and names on 
 the walls of the Pinacoteca, and it is an easy matter, 
 even in a quiet morning's stroll, to follow here the rise 
 and fall of Umbrian art. In the limited space before 
 us it will not be possible to give anything but a 
 skeleton sketch of the school of Perugino. Larger 
 works contain abundant store of facts about this par- 
 ticular centre of Italian art ; but if one only shuts 
 one's eyes and dreams of it, the three great names start 
 up before one : Pietro Vanucci, Raphael, and Pin- 
 turicchio. Close upon these follow other names ; 
 some, and these perhaps the fairest and most charm- 
 ing, rise like the dawn behind them : Ottaviano 
 Nelli, Bonfigli, and Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. The 
 ])upils follow after Manni, Lo Spagna, Eusebio di 
 S. Giorgio, I'Ingegno, Sinibaldo Ibi, Tiberio d'Assisi 
 and a host of others, who die at last, feeble, but 
 not utterly degraded, in the works of the two 
 Alfanis. 
 
 An easy-going historian of Perugia summed up the 
 earliest stages of her art in the following sentence : " I 
 have not been able to discover that Perugia had any 
 painters before the time of Bonfigli, but even if she had 
 them, they will not have been worthy of mention." 
 The assertion was sweeping, and later writers have 
 taken pains to contradict it, but for those who have 
 only time for a superficial and general study of Perugian 
 pictures it yet holds a good deal of truth. No great 
 original work (with the exception of the missal 
 workers, in which style of art Perugia is very rich) is 
 left to us from the hand of a Perugian artist before the 
 time of Bonfigli, and the early history of her art may 
 be said to have been a great deal that of outside influ- 
 ences, for from very early times the best and greatest 
 masters appear, like foreign tribes before them, to have 
 234
 
 'The Pinacoteca 
 
 climbed the hill and left some subtle marks upon 
 her churches. 1 
 
 As the School of Siena died, that of Umbria awoke 
 to life. Close upon the heels of Matteo da Siena and 
 ot Taddeo Bartoli, those men followed who were born 
 to precede the School of Perugino. Before them there 
 were around Perugia only phantoms : stiff saints on 
 panels and on parchment, without dates, ghosts of un- 
 attained, though dimly felt, ideals — a scattered flock 
 of" primitives," left here and there on chapel walls or 
 psalters. Then gradually, all through Umbria and 
 her border lands, in a steady circle of glory, like 
 the stars on a summer night, the lights arose and 
 burned. At Gubbio, Camerino, Foligno, Gualdo, 
 Fabriano, and Urbino we trace their steady progress 
 through the work of men like Nelli, Piero della Fran- 
 cesca, Gentile da Fabriano, Niccolo Alunno, and many 
 others. And as these stars arose great comets travelled 
 through them — Giotto, Fra Angelico, Benozzo Goz- 
 zoli, Filippo Lippi, and others, till the whole sky was 
 full. Then from the centre, straight from the hill of 
 Citta della Pieve — there rose Pictro Perugino, and to his 
 school came one with the halo of pure art upon his fore- 
 head, — -Raphael Sanzio of Urbino. 
 
 The following notes on the Pinacoteca and its 
 pictures may be of use to anyone who requires a few 
 more details than a guide-book can supply. They 
 pretend to be nothing like a serious criticism, for the 
 history of art is long and the books about it full ; in most 
 of them the art of Umbria is freely treated. We have 
 
 1 Two fine portraits in the Palazzo Baldeschi are attributed 
 to Velasquez, but tliere is little proot' that tlie Sixinish painter 
 really came to paint them. Anotlier beautiful picture — tlie 
 property of Count Meniconi Braceschi, at Perugia — is attri- 
 buted to Filippo Lippi, but is more probably the work of Neri 
 di Bicci.
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 gleaned our notes about the painters of Perugia from 
 such sources as Vasari (who, however, is often pre- 
 judiced), Crowe and Cavalcaselle, and several local 
 works. Any personal gossip has been drawn from the 
 ever delightful works of Mariotti, whose words, if they 
 be now and then a little antiquated, are as trustworthy 
 as those of a faithful student's only can be. We have 
 dealt chiefly with the work of the Umbrian painters, and 
 indeed, with the exception of Fra Angelico's panels and 
 those of some of the Sienese masters, there is little else 
 to study in this small and charming gallery. 
 
 The Umbrian School followed close upon that of 
 Siena, and the Gallery of Perugia has some fine bits 
 of Sienese work, notably some panels by Taddeo 
 Bartoli (1363- 1 422) in Sala IV. This room has 
 some other good panels of early masters— of masters 
 who probably influenced the Perugians, but whose 
 names are lost to us.^^ 
 
 Room I. 
 
 Sala del Cimel'ii. 
 
 The first room in the gallery is devoted to the very 
 earliest art of Siena and Umbria,and is one of those rather 
 painful collections of pictures which we find in every 
 local Italian gallery — a room of the primitive painters — 
 which are, as the narrow path of art, beset with many 
 thorns, where only those who passionately love the goal 
 need try to push the briars back and tread the damp 
 and pebbles. But we never forget, though we may 
 even dislike, the pitiful pale figures of the crucified 
 
 1 The frieze round the top of the same room clashes hope- 
 lessly with the calm pre-Raphaelite figures beneath it. It was 
 painted by Tommaso d'Arcangelo, a pupil of Giulio Romano, 
 and represents some of the events in the life of Braccio 
 Fortebraccio. 
 236
 
 T'hc P'uuH'otcca 
 
 Christ, and the staring wooden saints in tiiptychs, for in 
 them is shown the strain of technical ignorance, but of 
 ignorance which strives with passionate pain to get 
 beyond itself and soar towards the expression of 
 some deep emotion. This strain and impotent desire 
 is amply shown in the monstrous figure of our Saviour 
 by Magaritone d'Arezzo (see No. 26), which used to 
 hang inside the chapel of S. Bernardino. Such as 
 it is that figure had the seed of art in it, and of an 
 art which, perhaps, had a greater power of appeal to 
 the souls of men and women in pain than all the finished 
 figures of the later painters. No. 28 is an interesting 
 picture, inasmuch as the Bishop whom it rejjresents holds 
 tight to his breast a picture of the old town of Perugia. 
 No. 16 is one of the earliest paintings known in Perugia. 
 It is terribly damaged, and it is difficult to trace the 
 story of the Saint in the battered little panels. These 
 same panels were the first coffin of Beato Egidio (see p. 
 19S). Sometime after his death a splendid tomb was 
 made for the Saint, which can still be seen in the church 
 of the University, and when the humbler coffin was pulled 
 to pieces, some unknown local painter took the strange 
 fancy to paint on it the history of the man whose bones 
 it had first covered, together with an accurate portrait 
 of his new and lovelier tomb. There are many other 
 pictures in this room, among them (No. 1 1 ) an exquisite 
 fragment of some old predella with two small angels on 
 it ; and one or two remains of early Sicnese work. 
 
 BonfigU. 
 
 The room which follows that devoted to the early 
 schools, namely, the Cappella del Bonfigli, is to a student 
 of history one of the most interesting points in the whole 
 gallery, for here, through the frescoes of a most child- 
 like and delightful painter, we live again the life of old 
 
 237
 
 The Story of Feriigia 
 
 Perugia ; and here too we stand, face to face, with the 
 authentic work, of a man wliosc celebrity formerly cen- 
 tred round the fact that he was the first master of Peru- 
 gino, but who, as the years go by, will, doubtless, ever 
 more and more stand on his own feet, and shine because 
 of some strange, subtle and ever-living charm, that of 
 the individual, which clings to all his work. 
 
 The Pinacoteca has many of Bonfigli's works, and 
 no one who once has realised the fashion in which this 
 early Unibrian master crowned his women and his angels 
 will ever be able to forget it. How thin and exquisite the 
 veils upon the pale, calm heads of his Madonnas; how 
 fair and neat the wreaths of roses on the yellow hair of 
 his young angels! Bonfigli was, indeed, a pleasant 
 painter, and it is strange to think that his home relations 
 were of a tempestuous order : *' Certainly he had a 
 wife," says Mariotti, "and he had her of such a sort 
 that she caused him nothing but anxiety ; moreover, he 
 was in constant strife with her." But Bonfigli was not 
 always calm in his painting. He could be humorous, 
 he could have a touch of Carpaccio in him, as will be seen 
 in his frescoes for the Magistrates' Chapel ; but he could 
 also be passionate and dramatic. To understand him 
 fully one must study him in his gonfaloti't, or banners. 
 Perugia has five of these — one of 8. Bernardino, now in 
 the Pinacoteca, another in the sacristy of S. Francesco 
 al Prato ; another in 8. Fiorenzo (see p. 232); the 
 fourth in S. Maria Nuova ; and the fifth in S. Lorenzo.^ 
 All have suffered from exposure and from restoration, 
 
 ' There is another picture of exactly tlie same tyjie in the 
 Church of the Carmine. It has hitherto I^een given an earlier 
 date than Bonfigli — 11 30 — and it is one of the so-called mira- 
 culous Madonnas. We have made careful search, both in the 
 documents of the church and in other books upon the pictures 
 of Perugia, but can get no certain information about it ; yet 
 we feel nearly convinced that it is the work of Bonfigli. 
 238
 
 I'hc Pinacoteca 
 
 but tlicy arc unique and individual forms ot art. The 
 Christ in them is inexorable and revengeful, Death 
 strives with man, saints and the Madonna try to inter- 
 fere, and sad and supplicating groups of citizens kneel 
 by their city walls and pray tor grace. 
 
 Nothing is definitely known about the early life of 
 Bonfigli. There seems to be no record of his birth. 
 He was probably born about 1420, and died about 
 1496. The first authentic mention of his work is in 
 1454, when he undertook a commission from the 
 priors and their chaplain to paint the walls of the 
 Magistrates' Chapel in the Palazzo Pubblico. That 
 Bonfigli was well known and very highly appreciated 
 in his native city before that date is evident. Mariotti 
 tells us that he was called in by the citizens as one of 
 the judges to pronounce judgment on Agostino Duccio's 
 fagade at S. Bernardino. It is probable that he even 
 had a school of painting — that school to which Vasari 
 somewhat slightingly alludes in his life of Perugino. 
 
 Sala II. 
 
 Cappdla di Bonfigli 
 [formerly the chapel of the Magistrates' Guilil). 
 
 Mariotti gives a long and humorous account of the 
 contract between Bonfigli and the magistrates about 
 the ])ainting of their chapel. Undertaken in I454 the 
 work was still unfinished at the time of the painter's 
 death in 1496, and Mariotti is unable to discover any 
 sufficient reason for such undignified delay. " I do 
 
 Some of the ^onfaloni — those in S. Francesco al Prato and 
 S. Lorenzo — are covereti with a thin gauze veil. The one of 
 the Carmine was also thus covered originally, but the veil 
 caught fire and burnt to cinders. Not a flame even so much 
 as touched the faces of our Lady and her angels.
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 not easily think ill of anyone," he writes, "and least 
 of all of painters, but certainly in those years we have 
 no record even of any influenza raging in the city of 
 Perugia." When the chapel was half painted, Fra 
 Filippo Lippi was called in to judge about its excellence. 
 He found the pictures good, and voted a sum of four 
 hundred florins in payment to Boniigli, who once more, 
 and with infinite slowness, went to work upon them. 
 Only the skeleton of this work remains. At the end of the 
 last century, Mariotti thus bewails it : " But the pictures 
 of Bonfigli — oh, my God — how have they been ravaged 
 by the little care bestowed upon them, how devastated 
 by the course of time." Half ruined by a form of 
 restoration which perhaps is worse than none, ill-lighted, 
 and without their former colour, the frescoes yet remain 
 a delightful and engaging study. They represent the 
 lives of the two bishops, St Louis of Toulouse, and 
 S. Ercolano, patron saints of Perugia. To the right 
 as you enter, and in a dark corner by the window is 
 the Consecration of S. Louis ; next to it the miracle 
 of the fish performed by that Saint. This picture is 
 admirably preserved. The landscape is one of those 
 half real and half fantastic follies of a wise man which 
 always charm one. Bonfigli knew that he must paint a 
 town by the seashore ; he painted the sea, but he put his 
 own fair Umbrian city straight down upon its shores. 
 There stands the church of S. Domenico with its 
 celebrated windows, and up behind it, tier on tier, 
 there rise the towers and the brown roofs of the city 
 that we read about, the Perugia of the middle ages, 
 against a dark blue sky. The miracle is a naive one. 
 A merchant lost his bag of gold during a storm at sea. 
 He prayed to S, Louis to reveal to him what had 
 become of it. S. Louis appeared in heaven and showed 
 that a certain large fish had swallowed the purse. The 
 fish was caught, cut open, and inside it was the merchant's 
 240
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 bag of gold. We see the fisherman toiling up from his 
 boat with the heavy fish upon his shoulders, and then 
 we see the monks cutting open the fish, and the merchant 
 and his wife receiving their money. So realistically 
 is the scene presented, that we even see the blood of 
 the fish upon the bag. 
 
 The next picture has been terribly damaged, and it 
 is difficult to understand the subject ; but a learned 
 gentleman of Perugia, to whom we are indebted for 
 various most ingenious suggestions, fancies that it is 
 simply the representation of some miracle of healing 
 performed by the Saint in Rome ; certainly Bonfigli 
 has striven to combine in his background a mar- 
 vellous mixture of Roman and Etruscan architecture, 
 the arch of Constantine mingling with Porta Susanna 
 and the Colosseum ! 
 
 The following fresco is perhaps tlie most delightful 
 of the series. It represents the burial of the Bishop 
 of Toulouse. Now S. Louis is known to have died in 
 his father's castle of Brignolles in Provence at the early 
 age of twenty-four, but all this was of very secondary 
 importance to the ingenuous Bonfigli. It was sufficient 
 for him to know that a dead Bishop had to be painted. 
 He selected the architecture that he loved best — his 
 own Perugian church of S. Pietro — he sliced it in half 
 so that all might look inside it, and on a bier in the 
 centre of the aisle he laid the corpse of a quite middle- 
 aged Bishop. With infinite care and faithful precision 
 he copied the lines of his church. The true basilica is 
 here, not touched at all by decoration. There was no 
 choir in those days ; a dark blue sky looks in at the 
 windows, the roof is bare with all its rafters showing. 
 But the central figure is out of all proportion. The feet 
 and the head of S. Louis of Toulouse almost touch the 
 columns in the aisle. His robe, with the golden fleur 
 de lis, is neatly folded round him, his mitre glistens in 
 <2 241
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 the light ; his face is grey and calm, and full of 
 dignity and of repose. Bonfigli had a sense of humour 
 and could not refrain from a touch of caricature. 
 It is impossible to look at the group of monks 
 and prelates round S. Louis, and not to feel at 
 once convinced of this. A fat and pompous Bishop 
 in golden cope and mitre, is saying the mass for the 
 dead. His large red book is supported by the head 
 of a kneeling friar, and the very thumbs of this friar 
 express his disgust and discomfort. To the left of the 
 Bishop a group of roaring monks take up his words 
 and repeat them in dolorous voices. Only to look at 
 their faces one knows that their litany is absolutely out 
 of tune. At the head of the Saint another priest is 
 reading in a book, his acolytes swing incense, one 
 holds the Bishop's staff. The rest of the church is 
 filled with quiet groups of men and women ; and the 
 most charming figure of the whole is that of a young 
 man in a red gown with a shock of yellow curls, who 
 kneels, lost in prayer, at the knees of the dead Saint, 
 his back turned to us. 
 
 The next picture represents the siege of Perugia by 
 Totila. No doubt this siege — that most memorable 
 event in the annals of Perugia — was rather a chaos 
 to the mind of Bonfigli as it is to many people now- 
 adays ; but the following history, taken from old 
 chronicles, will explain the whole fantastic pageant. 
 It will be remembered that Totila besieged Perugia in 
 549, and that the little town held out valiantly, but 
 finally fell into the power of the Goths. During a 
 terrible siege the Bishop of Perugia, S. Ercolano, 
 attempted certain childlike and vain subterfuges of 
 war, which unhappily ended in failure and in his 
 own martyrdom. Ciatti, in his somewhat weariful 
 and dreamy style, records the events of the siege as 
 follows : — 
 242
 
 
 mC ,: '^ T""--!-! 
 
 
 
 4r«ii 
 
 
 
 ^'■■v.,-..; 
 
 
 
 FIRST TRANSLATION OF THE BODY OF S. ERCOLANO 
 ( FRESCO IN THE PINACOTECA OF PERUGIA i 
 
 243
 
 The P'lnacoteca 
 
 •' It is said that the saintly Bishop S. F.rcoiano, receiving 
 much heavenly aid and holy counsels, and perhaps led by 
 Ciod, turned his soul to an act of human prudence. It 
 happened that the city was reduced to extreme misery by 
 reason of the scarcity of victuals, so that the citizens de- 
 cided to surrender or to die fighting. S. Ercolano 
 counselled them to bring him any grain which should still 
 be found in the granaries, and they, knowing his great 
 sanctity, obeyed and brought to him, after most diligent 
 search, one small measure of corn. Then the Saint took the 
 sole surviving lamb " (Bonfigli in his frescoes has painted an 
 ox) " and, to tlie wonder and silent indignation of the people, 
 he gave it to eat of the grain ; it ate abundantly and the 
 Bishop then threw the lamli with great force down from the 
 ramparts, when, by reason of its great fulness and the height 
 of its fall, the innocent beast was at once killed. When the 
 captains of the enemy beheld this thing they were angry, 
 saying ; ' These Perugians have so much grain that they can 
 give it to their beasts to eat, and so much meat that they cast 
 it carelessly away, how can we, therefore, hope to subdue them 
 by famine?' But it chanced that a young acolyte spoke 
 from off the ramparts to some (Joths and unwittingly revealed 
 to them the distress and the mortality reigning in the city by 
 reason of the want of food : and the stratagem of S. Ercolano 
 becoming known in the camp, the infuriated Goths, hot with 
 anger, returned to the attack and with impetuous fury assailed 
 the deserted walls. Greeks and Perugians rushed to arms, but 
 what could they do, poor starvelings, against the Gothic host ? " 
 
 Thus fell Perugia. Our learned author goes on to 
 describe how S. Ercolano was conducted to the 
 ramparts and after his skin had been torn off in strips 
 from the neck downwards, he was beheaded and his 
 body thrown into the ditch. Some faithful adherents 
 gave it secret burial, and finding the body of the 
 foolish young acolyte near by, laid it in the same 
 grave. Later, Uliphus, governor of the city, allowed 
 the Perugians to give their beloved pastor ])roper burial. 
 To the astonishment of all beholders the Saint's head 
 was found joined to his body, which seemed like 
 that of a man asleep. This miracle converted many 
 of the Arian Goths to the Roman faith, and "with 
 
 245
 
 ^he Story of Perugia 
 
 rejoicings and hymns of praise the body of S. 
 Ercolano was borne through the streets to the 
 church of S. Lorenzo." 
 
 The next picture gives the burial of S. Ercolano. 
 It is only a fragment, and we can hardly piece the 
 scattered groups together. There is a lovely little 
 group of ladies to the left — a set of typical Bonfigli 
 women with exquisite white headgear. The curving 
 front of the Palazzo Pubblico upon the Corso is 
 painted with accurate care, the loggia of Fortebraccio 
 too, is clearly seen and understood. But the picture 
 is only a shadow ; the part we most wish to see, namely, 
 the north front of the Palazzo, is wholly obliterated, 
 and the restoration spoils it terribly. 
 
 In the next fresco the body of S. Ercolano is 
 being carried from S. Pietro to S. Lorenzo, and 
 Bonfigli has seized this excellent opportunity to paint 
 a fresh portrait of his native city. In the fore- 
 ground the basilica of S. Pietro with a colonnaded 
 front and unfinished campanile is faithfully depicted, 
 and behind the funeral procession (which by the 
 way is moving in quite the wrong direction) the 
 town towers up into the sky like a pack of yellow 
 cards, broken only by its towers and campaniles.^ 
 
 Rooms VI. and VII. 
 
 Sala dl Boiifigli and Sala di Bernardino di Mariotto, 
 
 Before leaving the subject of Bonfigli it will be well 
 to look at some other pieces of his work which are 
 painted in quite a different manner. Amongst these is 
 a Madonna and Child (No. 13). It is a beautiful 
 
 ^ The picture is a curious record of the times. Two excom- 
 municated women kneel in the right hand corner ; one of them 
 is huddled in a veil, but the other, fair and soulless as Greek 
 Helen, turns aside and smiles. 
 246
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 specimen of the master's purely pietistic painting.^ 
 Tradition says that Fra Filippo Lippi ordered this 
 picture. It has suffered terribly, for in old days it 
 was hung in the lavatory of S. Domcnico, and as the 
 friars washed their hands they must have splashed the 
 water up against the panels. No. i o, the Adoration of 
 the Magi, is also by Boniigli. The picture as a whole 
 is perhaps more interesting than beautiful, inasmuch 
 as it is one of the very few religious pictures of 
 the Umbrian School where the portraits of living 
 people have been introduced. Orsini tells us that the 
 Madonna is a portrait of Bonfigli's sister, the Child 
 a picture of his nephew, and the youngest of the 
 three kings that of his brother. The loveliest point 
 in the picture is the group of angels up in the roof. 
 Bonfigli must, we think, have seen the swallows flitting 
 at springtime in and out of some low breezy barn, 
 and put their movements into angels' forms. The 
 predella, too, is a perfect gem in itself, notably the 
 panel of the Baptism where the wilderness is painted 
 dark and brown, but the sunrise is full upon the figures 
 of three angels who stand with crowns of roses on their 
 heads and watch the scene among the rocks. There 
 is an Annunciation in the same room by Bonfigli ; and 
 it again is chiefly charming because of the treatment of 
 the angels. They come fluttering up behind a group of 
 cypress trees, all in the flush of dawn. But the fore- 
 ground figure is strange indeed. What did Bonfigli 
 mean when he painted S. I^uke and his ox, and planted 
 them there in the midst of the picture so as quite to 
 distract one's attention from the principal figures of the 
 piece? In the next room (Sala VII.) Bonfigli's 
 angels can be studied with ease. There are in all 
 eight panels of them, and it is interesting to see how 
 
 1 The four panels of saints anil angels round the Madonna 
 are attril)utcd to Caporali. 
 
 247
 
 'The Story of Perugia 
 
 the early painter strove between realism and idealism 
 in the faces. He loved his smiling angels best ; what 
 care he took to crown them with pink roses ; what 
 baskets too of roses he gave to them to carry ! yet 
 to his angels of the Passion he gave no roses, only 
 the symbols of the Crucifixion, its anguish and its 
 thorns. 
 
 We have lingered long over the work of a man whose 
 figure is such an attractive one in the Umbrian school. 
 Before passing on to the work of his contemporaries we 
 must mention the name of another artist four of whose 
 pictures are hung in the room of the Bonfigli angels : 
 namely, Bernardino di Mariotto. Bernardino is an in- 
 teresting figure in the gallery, and one is struck at first 
 sight by the quality of his work, which differs from 
 everything round it. He seems like some strange 
 missing link in the history of the Umbrian and the 
 Roman school ; and so little is known about him 
 that up to a quite recent date his work was confused 
 with that, first of much earlier painters, and then of 
 Pinturicchio. His treatment of detail : the Virgin's 
 gown, the garlands of fruit and flowers, the angels' 
 wings and the saints' dresses, is beautiful though his 
 colour is cold and hard. His peculiar use of a very 
 stiff baldachin made people say that he was a master 
 of Raphael. As a matter of fact he lived at S. 
 Severino in the Marches and worked about the years 
 1502 to I 521. 
 
 In the same room there are two big pictures by 
 Bartolomeo Caporali, who was a pupil of Perugino. 
 His great flying angels in No. 12 are like the angels 
 of Bonfigli gone mad, there is something grand in the 
 rush of their wings, and whatever the faults of the 
 somewhat exaggerated composition, it forces one's 
 immediate attention. 
 248
 
 CJONKALONE OF THE ANNUNCIATION ATTRIBUTED TO NICCOLO ALUNNO 
 
 249
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 To return to the order of the earlier painters, we 
 come to one or two names which are probably more 
 familiar to most people than that of Bonfigli : these 
 are Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Boccati da Camerino and 
 Niccolo Alunno. There is a fme bit of Alunno's work, 
 in Sala VII, (No 14). It is about the only thing of 
 his which is now attributed to him in Perugia. Such 
 a host of angels singing and playing to God in the 
 heavens, and a charming garden scene round the young 
 Virgin ! She kneels very quietly at her desk. Neat 
 pots of flowers stand on the marble wall behind her 
 and three stiff cypress trees against the sky ; round a 
 corner of the garden wall two very engaging angels 
 stand gossiping together, their heads thrown back, their 
 mouths a little pouting. In the immediate foreground 
 two patron saints are kneeling to introduce a group of 
 lawyers who commissioned tlie painting of the banner. 
 
 Boccati da Camerino's work is rare. There is 
 a charming thing of his in Sala VI. (No. 13): a 
 Madonna and a fascinating choir of angels. His largest 
 picture (No. 16) is in the same room and represents 
 the same subject. The Madonna sits enthroned 
 under a heavy pergola of roses, and all around her 
 is a stiff little choir of angels : a most delight- 
 ful and original conception. The picture was 
 painted for the monks of S. Domenico, and so the 
 emblem of the saint, his dog, had to figure in it. 
 What Boccati was about we cannot judge, but he cer- 
 tainly painted an ermine instead of a dog, and the 
 little Christ receives the strange beast with delight. 
 The predella of the picture is full of stories almost 
 in the style of Carpaccio. Boccati had a rare and 
 charming fancy. In his scene of the procession to 
 Calvary, he shows how a rude soldier attempts to strike 
 the fainting figure of Christ ; and one of the horses of 
 
 251
 
 I'he Story of Perugia 
 
 the guard, with ears bent back, stoops forward to bite 
 the hand of him who would distress the Saviour. 
 
 Rooms VIII. and IX. 
 
 Sola di Fioren-zo d'l Lorenzo, 
 Gabinetto di Fioren-zo di Lorenzo. 
 
 We now come to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, to whose 
 name two rooms in the Pinacoteca have been dedicated. 
 Very little is known about his life. We can only 
 gather that he studied in the school of Bonfigli, and 
 that he competed with Bonfigli in the painting of 
 banners. He may have been a rather younger man, 
 but he was earlier than Perugino and his scholars, and 
 so he forms a sort of link between the masters and the 
 pupils of a great school. 
 
 Fiorenzo may be said to have begun the school which 
 now is called the school of Perugino. It was he who 
 distinctly and for ever broke away from that Greek or 
 Byzantine influence which we feel in much of Bonfigli's 
 work. In his own day he was eclipsed by the greater 
 lights which rose up round him, and it is only to us, 
 who try to trace the school, that he is such a really im- 
 portant and delightful figure. Throughout his work 
 one feels a great effort towards light — towards fresh 
 issues. His drawing and his colour are often very 
 beautiful, but there is a great difference in the style 
 of the various works ascribed to him. Compare 
 No. 53 (Sala VIII.) and its surrounding panels, with 
 Nos. 30, 6, and 5. (The three latter probably all 
 formed part of one large altar-piece.) 
 
 The Adoration, attributed to Fiorenzo, is a 
 
 crowded but a beautiful composition. The Virgin, 
 
 S. Joseph, and a group of shepherds kneel in the 
 
 foreground, and exquisite flowers, grape-hyacinths, 
 
 252
 
 253
 
 T'he Pinacoteca 
 
 even some fluffy heads of dandelion seed grow 
 at their feet. Behind them is the stable — an Um- 
 brian stable in an Umbrian landscape — filled with 
 a host of angels. In the dim distance the shepherds 
 feed their flocks upon the hills. The figures are mere 
 sketches of some Umbrian goat-herds whom Fiorenzo 
 must have met outside the Umbrian farms at dawn. 
 Nos. 10 and i6 (in Sala IX.) are beautiful speci- 
 mens of the master's later work. Note the hand and 
 the crimson sleeves of the Virgin. 
 
 But if Fiorenzo could apply himself with the reli- 
 gious ardour of his school to sacred subjects, to the 
 Bible of his art, he could also sometimes take a holi- 
 day and write a fantastic and entrancing scherzo on his 
 own account. It is his series of pictures on the life of 
 San Bernardino of Siena which at once attracts us in the 
 gallery. Here we find one of those wonderful visions 
 of the past — a record of men's manners, of their 
 costumes and architecture, as seen through the eyes of 
 some intelligent yet child-like artist.^ To describe the 
 miracles is not an easy matter. In seeking the subject 
 one is carried away by the charm of the models, just as 
 the painter was who painted them. A company of en- 
 trancing youths with long thin legs, their marvellous 
 crimson tunics trimmed with fur, their small caps barely 
 clinging to their shocks of golden curls, strut up and 
 down the panels, but barely conscious of the Saint 
 and all his patient care of them. No 3, represents 
 
 1 In Matarazzo's chronicles of the sixteenth century we find 
 an accurate account of the different costumes worn by the 
 nobles of Perugia (see p. 99). It has been suggested to us by 
 a learned gentleman of Perugia, tliat Fiorenzo was simply 
 copying the costumes of his period, and that in his group of 
 young men in the miracles of S. Bernardino he did but portray 
 the most important actors of the day, whose armorial bear- 
 ings were shown in their apparel, namely, the '• most magni- 
 ficent gentlemen, Oddi and Baglioni."
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 the miracle of a girl who has fallen into a well, and 
 whom the Saint has saved from drowning ; we see a 
 lovely and impassive creature sitting upon the marble floor, 
 her yellow hair has not been wetted, the small red fillet 
 binds it gracefully ; her relations and her lovers pray 
 and pose all round her, but little ruffled by the memory 
 of the late catastrophe. Just the same is the accident 
 of the mason, treated in No. 7. His comrades stand 
 about the wounded man, exquisite and undisturbed. 
 " Ah," they seem to say, " thus and thus it happened, 
 thus, maybe, he fell " ; but all the time they are 
 thinking of their well-set tunics and of their long and 
 lovely legs ; and who can be surprised at this, seeing 
 that their toilette is carried to perfection ? No. 5 shows 
 the capture and escape of a prisoner. It has a pleasant 
 landscape in the background, a sort of park, with a lake 
 and trees about it. In No. 6 the Saint appears in a 
 cloud under a beautiful marble palace and heals the 
 blindness of a fellow friar. The doctors do seem 
 somewhat interested, but everything is too beautiful 
 and finished for much pity or, anyhow, for pain ; and 
 as for the hair of the young men in this panel, it is 
 more excellently curled than in any of the series. The 
 remaining miracles are by another hand. Some pupil 
 or imitator of Fiorenzo tried to finish them, but the 
 treatment is coarser, the charm of the first is gone. 
 
 Room V. 
 
 Sala deir Angel'ico. 
 
 Before passing on to the work of Perugino and his 
 school, which one must confess, with the exception of 
 Sala XL, is but a disappointing show of canvasses and 
 panels, one passes through the little room of Fra 
 Angelico. 
 256
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 In Taine's slight but exquisite sketch ot Perugia 
 and its pictures we read the following words about the 
 work of Fra Angelico at Perugia : " He was happier 
 here than in his pagan Florence, and it is he who first 
 attracts us (in the gallery). Looking at his work 
 there, one seems to be reading in the ' Imitatio Christi,' 
 for on the golden background the pure sweet faces 
 breathe a quiet stillness, like the immaculate roses in 
 the gardens of Paradise." Taine is right ; everyone 
 is at once attracted to the work of the Florentine 
 monk when they come to the gallery of Perugia. We 
 have searched for some record of the friar's visit to 
 Perugia, but have not been successful. It is certain 
 that the Florentine painter came to stay in Umbria, 
 leaving behind him as a legacy to later painters 
 the influence of his pious gentle art. He became a 
 monk in 1408 at Fiesole, but his convent got mixed 
 up in painful religious disputes, and the monks had 
 to fly and wander into other lands, hoping to return 
 when times should be more peaceful. Fra Angelico 
 came to Cortona, and there did some of his very earliest 
 work. Thence, very probably, he travelled to Foligno, 
 staying on his way to rest at Perugia, and leaving there, 
 in the church of 8. Domenico, that wonderful picture, 
 all the parts of which now hang together in the Pina- 
 coteca. They are jewels, these small panels — jewels 
 fresh as dewdrops on the first May wreaths of girls. 
 Angelico never lost this bloom of utter purity, and 
 here we find it at its very dawn. The Madonna and 
 Child are in the centre ; round them stand four angels, 
 their baskets full of roses. " Two angels in long 
 dresses," says Taine, ♦' bring their roses to the feet of 
 the small Christ with the dreaming eyes. They are so 
 young, and yet so earnest." Again, of the Annun- 
 ciation, he says : " The Virgin is candour and sweet- 
 ness itself; her character is almost German, and her 
 R 257
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 two hands are clasped with deep religious fervour. 
 The angel with the curly hair who kneels before her 
 seems almost like some young and happy girl — a little 
 raw perhaps — and coming straight from the house 
 of her mother These indeed, are the deli- 
 cate touches that painters of a later date will never 
 find again. A sentiment is an infinite and incom- 
 municable thing ; no learning and no effort will ever 
 reproduce it absolutely. In real piety there is a certain 
 reserve ; a certain modesty is shown in the arrangement 
 of the draperies and in the choice of little details, such 
 as even the best masters, only a century later, will not 
 understand at all." It is difficult to choose any 
 particular point for description in the twelve narrow 
 panels of saints. Angelico carefully studied to show 
 the individual character of each. He gave to his 
 Magdalen a new and lovely attitude — a sort of ascetic 
 repose. Of her physical beauty he only left the yellow 
 hair ; it falls to her ankles gold as the maize in 
 autumn, but her body is wasted beneath it. St Cathe- 
 rine of Siena is said to be a really authentic portrait of 
 the Saint. The Bishop of Toulouse is unlike that of Bon- 
 figli, younger and gentler in expression. The whole set 
 make an ineffably sweet impression on our mind, and 
 it is difficult to turn to the other pictures in the room. 
 Of these the best and the most interesting is by Piero 
 della Francesca. 
 
 Piero was one of Perugino's first masters. He 
 was born early in the fifteenth century at Borgo 
 San Sepolcro. He had a passion for perspective, 
 and was one of the first men who made a real 
 study of this branch of art. We hear that he 
 wrote books on geometry, and grappled with Euclid 
 and the laws of measurement. He also studied the 
 proportion of light and shade, and all these points are 
 admirably proved by his picture at Perugia (No. 21). 
 258
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 Vasari gives a full account of it in his life of Pieio. 
 He describes the lower part, then adds : " Above 
 them is a most beautiful Annunciation with an angel, 
 which seems, in truth, to have descended from heaven ; 
 and what is more, a range of columns in perspective, 
 which is indeed most beautiful." St Elizabeth of 
 Hungary is a fine point in the lower composition. 
 She wears a green gown, and in its skirt she carries 
 the loaves wliich, by grace of heaven, and to defend 
 her from the anger of her husband, were turned, as we 
 know, to roses. 
 
 Room X. 
 
 Sala del Perugino. 
 
 An irresistible sense of sadness creeps over us as we 
 pass through the room which bears the name of Pietro 
 Perugino. Looking at the collection one feels much 
 in the same frame of mind as one does in searching the 
 wearisome domestic letters of a genius. Only one or 
 two of the pictures attributed to Vannucci in the Pina- 
 coteca of Perugia have the touch of the spirit in them. 
 No. 25, which IS double-sided like most of the altar- 
 pieces of convents, where the one side faced the con- 
 gregation and the other the monks or nuns, is a beautiful 
 bit of Perugino's work, fine both in colour and in senti- 
 ment. No. 10, too, is a small gem from one of Pietro's 
 really beautiful altar-pieces.^ Nos. 20 and 4 are frag- 
 ments of one enormous altar-piece (see p. 19c), which 
 used to hang in the church of S. Agostino and which 
 like many others of Pietro's finest works was torn to 
 pieces, and carried a(fross the Alps to swell the galleries 
 
 1 The hole it filled may still be seen in No. 16, Room XIII., 
 but the big picture is torn from its frame and its place filled up 
 with a good bit of Eusebio's work. 
 
 259
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 of Napoleon. One hurries shuddering past pictures like 
 Nos. I, 5, and 26. It seems so impossible that what 
 the Germans call a " Schone Seele " should have 
 allowed such things to be. 
 
 Room XI. 
 
 Sala di Bernardino di Betto detto il Pinturtcchio. 
 
 In the little room which leads out of Room X. we 
 make an interesting study of Perugino's pictures, for it 
 contains some of his earliest and also some of his most 
 decadent work. Had the municipality of Perugia just 
 a touch of humour or malice when they hung No. 25 
 side by side with No. 1 6 ? Whatever they had in 
 their heads they have given to us a curious study. 
 Here are two works by the same man, the latter 
 probably a pot-boiler of his school but still burdened 
 with his name. Both represent precisely the same 
 subject, the same set of saints is in each of them ; but 
 the early work is full of thought, of reverence and 
 feeling ; the early Sebastian, calm and grave, has the 
 arrow in his very flesh, and the later Sebastian, simper- 
 ing and affected, toys with his arrow and turns with 
 painful affectation to the Saviour. There is a lovely 
 little set of sketches on the predella under No. 6 ; 
 the Nativity, a mere hurried impression, seems full of 
 the breeze of early spring in Umbria. 
 
 We have a splendid bit of Pinturicchio's work in 
 this room which bears his name, and also one of the 
 rare paintings of Lo Spagna ; one or two pictures 
 which bear at least the name of Raphael, and the 
 much disputed " Adoration " which has been ascribed 
 to more than one distinguished person. 
 
 Bernardino di Betto, usually known as Pinturicchio 
 
 260
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 and sometimes as il Sordicchio because he was deaf, and 
 small and of a mean appearance, studied in the school 
 of Perugia, and indeed was one of its most distinguished 
 painters ; but having left that earliest studio he carried 
 his talents to other parts, and painted as we know for 
 popes and princes, painted above all things those two 
 wonderful series of frescoes in the Duomo at Siena and 
 in the Borgia rooms at the Vatican. He has been called 
 sometimes the Umbrian Gozzoli ; certainly he was 
 the historical painter of the great school which grew in 
 the times of Perugino. Vasari with a certain prejudice 
 and ill nature insists that Pinturicchio's success was 
 one ratiier of opportunity than of talent ; but it is much 
 more probable that the painter was beloved because he 
 was faithful to his promises and carried out his orders 
 with care and with precision. We know, too, that after 
 all the sums he got, and all his heavy labours, he died 
 of hunger and neglect on a winter's night at Siena, his 
 wife having deserted him and eloped with a new lover. 
 
 Pinturicchio had a grant of land given to him in the 
 neighbourhood of Perugia in 1 495, by Alexander VI., 
 and he determined to return to his native city and live 
 there ; but some years later, when in money difficulties, 
 he was forced to sell it to a gentleman of Perugia. 
 
 The splendid altar-piece (No. 10), which" alone 
 remains to Perugia of this distinguished pupil of Peru- 
 gino, is ill lighted and rather difficult to judge from 
 top to bottom, but is interesting as well as beautiful ; 
 for the picture remains just as the painter painted it with 
 all its panels in their proper order, unlike the panels of 
 so many of Perugino's finest altar-pieces. The Pieta, 
 the angel of the Annunciation, both the figures of the 
 Virgin and the detail of their dresses, fruit and books, 
 are exquisitely finished. 
 
 There is in the same room an excellent specimen of 
 
 261
 
 'The Story of Perugia 
 
 the work of another of Perugino's scholars — Lo Spagna 
 (No. 7). Giovanni di Pietro was one of the most dis- 
 tinguished of Vanucci's school, and Kugler indeed pro- 
 nounces him to be the most distinguished after Raphael. 
 It is probable that he studied with Fiorenzo di Lorenzo 
 before going to Vannucci's studio, but it is difficult to 
 discover any details about his private life. His whole 
 career is shrouded in some mystery. His name would 
 make one think he was Spanish by birth. We know 
 that he left Perugia and went to live at Spoleto. 
 Vasari declares that this was because the painters 
 of Perugia were jealous of him and made lite in 
 their midst impossible ; this fact is however severely 
 denied by our gossip Mariotti, who declares that Lo 
 Spagna was excessively well off in Spoleto, where he 
 not only received the rights of citizenship but also 
 secured a charming wife. Be all this as it may, of this 
 really good artist, who combmed in his work the influ- 
 ence of Raphael and of Perugino, only one piece is 
 left in the place where he learned his art.. The 
 Madonna and Saints (No. 7) is a fine specimen of his 
 work. The mother and the child are fresh and beauti- 
 ful in colour and expression, and all the details of the 
 dresses and the landscape infinitely careful. Note St 
 Jerome, his gloves, his book, his hat and splendid 
 gown. One other picture is ascribed to Giovanni in 
 the same room, but it is greatly inferior in treatment. 
 
 We now come to the Adoration of the Magi, which 
 after much dispute was some time ago ascribed to 
 Perugino's scholar Eusebio di San Giorgio, but which 
 is still the subject of endless discussions, as, owing to 
 further and more minute investigations it is at length 
 declared by excellent judges to be the work of 
 Raphael. One reason given for this is that tlie young 
 man to the right of the Virgin has on his trousers a 
 262
 
 The Pinacoteca 
 
 strange design, the arms of RaphacJ. Poor Eusebio 
 must turn in his grave. His former biographers, 
 anxious to seize on any gem of painting which should 
 save the artist from a rather mediocre position in the 
 history of art, always stayed to shout exultant praises 
 when they came to this picture, and now the critic would 
 tear even this glory from his brows and crown another 
 man whose he.id is already heavy with their laurels. ^ 
 
 No 20 — a Madonna and Child — is ascribed to 
 Raphael. The picture certainly has something of the 
 master in it and it may be the work of the mere boy, 
 when first he came from Uibino to paint with Peruuino, 
 and in the Umbrian city dreamed his great Madonna 
 of the future. Raphael Sanzio passes like a dream 
 through Perugia, leaving no certain relic of his mighty 
 fame save one faint faded fresco on the church wall of 
 S. Severo, and these poor relics in the gallery.^ 
 
 Room XII. 
 
 Sola di Glannicola e di Berto di Giovanni. 
 
 From this point forwards the interest of the gallery 
 begins to wane. We have tracked the dawn and seen 
 the sunrise; now we feel the dull warmth of midday, 
 
 1 Eusebio was a favourite pupil of Perugino. There is some- 
 thing pathetic in his life Men seemed better friends to him 
 than fortune. Pinturicchio loved him and took him with him 
 to Siena to hel]5 him with his work there. He was a great 
 friend of IVlanni, too, and a passionate admirer of Raphael, 
 whose work he imitated. When very young he married a 
 beautiful girl of Perugia whom he loved deeply. By her he had 
 many children and his life became a struggle to support them, 
 so that he was often hampered and distracted in his work and 
 died early and in misery. 
 
 " That Perugia had great Raphaels not very long ago every- 
 one knows. '1 he excpiisite Madonna del Libro is now in S. 
 Petersburg, and the British nation paid a memorable sum for 
 the Ansidei Madonna which used to hang in S. Fiorenzo. 
 
 263
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 and passing through the weary hours of the afternoon, 
 most fully and amply represented in the work of the two 
 Alfanis, we pass to night through the fevered rooms 
 of the Decadence. Sala XII. is devoted to the work, 
 of Perugino's scholars, but most of it is weak. Still 
 there is a touch of the old sweetness here and there 
 among the figures. Note No. i 5 by Giannicola Manni. 
 It has a charm though it is very imitative. The rest 
 of Giannicola's work in this room is rather dreary. 
 But there is charm, too, in the purely imitative, nay 
 copied work of Berto di Giovanni. Berto was another 
 of Perugino's scholars. He lived probably towards 
 the end of the fifteenth century and it is evident that 
 he felt a passionate admiration for his fellow student, 
 Raphael. All we can gather of facts about Berto 
 comes to us through his connection with Raphael. 
 In 1 5 16 he contracted to paint, in combination with 
 his hero, a picture for the nuns of Monteluce. Bits 
 of the predella are now in the Pinacoteca. In the flat 
 and almost womanish sketches of Berto one traces his 
 persistent admiration for the greater artist. It is as 
 though an intelligent child had torn the leaves from 
 its mother's sketch-book and filled in the lines with 
 faithful and laborious colouring. (See Nos. 19 to 26.) 
 But Berto's charm, such as it is, went all wrong when 
 he tried to paint big subjects. Nos. 1 6 and 1 4 are 
 
 little more than failures. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 To anyone who admires the work of the two Al- 
 fani, Domenico and Orazio, a happy hunting-ground 
 exists in the last big rooms of the Pinacoteca. How 
 it came about that one of Perugino's really lovely 
 frescoes got hung in this part, we cannot tell, but it is 
 certain that the Nativity (No. 31, Room XIII.) is one 
 of the loveliest things that remain of Pietro in the town 
 of Perugia. It is very like our own Nativity in the 
 264
 
 I he Pinacoteca 
 
 National Gallery, faint and f;iir in colour, calm and 
 true in composition, with a peculiar lilac colour of crushed 
 grapes throughout the dresses and the landscape. 
 
 It would be impossible to close any account of the 
 school of Perugino without a slight sketcli ot the two 
 Alfanis whose intense admiration for the genius of 
 painting became a fault, and who, through their very 
 earnestness preserved the corpse from which the life 
 long since had fled. The Alfanis, Domenico the 
 father, and Orazio the son, had money and long life. 
 These two happy gifts they employed in the paths of 
 art ; with these two gifts they at length degraded what 
 they really attempted to exalt. Domenico was such a 
 passionate admirer of Raphael that one of his his- 
 torians declared him to have died in the same year as 
 Sanzio. Mariotti denies this. " However passionate 
 a friend and inseparable a companion," he urges, 
 " Domenico had not for certain such a crazy folly as 
 to accompany him to the other world." Domenico 
 far outlived Raphael. In his long life he absorbed 
 the teaching of many schools, and utterly obliterated 
 his ovv'n personality in the work of other people. His 
 son Orazio did the same. They went into partnership, 
 started a large school or studio, and there created the 
 innumerable, rather middle-class pictures, which cover 
 the walls of the Pinacoteca. Orazio survived his 
 father about thirty years, and was the first president of 
 
 the Academy of Perugia founded in 1573' 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 One word to close these notes about the painters of 
 the Umbrian school. 
 
 Seek out the painters in the places where they 
 painted. Go to Spoleto for the works of Lo Spagna, to 
 Gubbio for the masterpiece of Nelli, to Spello for 
 Pinturicchio, to Foligno for the early men who have 
 not even names. Go in May to Montefalco, when 
 
 265
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 all the green of Umbrian angels' wings is in the lanes 
 which lead to these. Learn by heart the Umbrian 
 landscape if you wish to really love and understand 
 the spirit of Umbrian art. The Pinacoteca of Perugia 
 serves only as a backbone for the genuine study. ^ 
 
 ^ It will perhaps be objected by some readers that the above 
 pages contain too few facts and dates about the painttrs of 
 the Umbrian school and the manner in which they were 
 influenced by the Florentines. For these, we add the follow- 
 ing list of authorities whose works contain full store of infor- 
 mation on the subject : 
 
 Crowe & Cavdlcaselle — History of Painting in Italy, vol. iii. 
 
 Alinda Brunamonti — Pidro Pcru^ino e fAtte Umbra. 
 
 Angelo Lupatelli — Storia delta Pittura in Perugia. 
 
 266
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 The Museum^ atid T^omb of the Voliimiii'i 
 
 Having traced the first Etruscan walls and seen the 
 tomb of the Volumnii, a note of sombre and half melan- 
 choly interest will inevitably have been struck upon our 
 mind whilst trying to realise the lives of those mysterious 
 people who created these things and left these dumb 
 indications — dumb, because the language is so dead — 
 upon the country where they lived and died. This 
 note is of course by no means confined to the mind of 
 the passing traveller. It is the people of the place 
 itself who feel it most, and in Perugia, thanks to their 
 efforts, we have, in the museum at the University, a 
 very complete, if only a small collection of the relics 
 of Etruscan civilization as found in the immediate 
 neighbourhood. In a small book written by Signor 
 Lupatelli upon the growth of the museum, we read 
 that the noble families of the place have always loved 
 to trace their earliest ancestors by carefully collecting 
 any sarcophagi or other relics which they found upon 
 tlieir lands. In this way the Museum has been 
 formed, and a crowd of tombs, laid open by the plough 
 or winter rains, have been preserved with all their 
 treasures in them.^ 
 
 1 The Museum is kept in the upper story of the University 
 at Perugia, and a delightful street, or rather aqueduct, called 
 the Via Appia, leads down to it from the back of the 
 Canonica. 
 
 - At first these collections were kept in their owners' private 
 palaces, later on they sold or gave them to their native town. 
 
 267
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 The study of the Etruscans is, after all, the study of 
 the dead, and an Etruscan Museum has about it all the 
 mysterious atmosphere of the tomb. What barrier 
 greater, what ocean more profound, than that between 
 ourselves and this dead people ! Their tombs, their 
 busts, their playthings and inscriptions seem to chill the 
 very air around them. Ordinary people, not students 
 of archaeology, must face this fact quite boldly and 
 come prepared to plunge head foremost into a very 
 chilly atmosphere if they wish to learn about the ancient 
 Etruscans. The present writers are bound to confess, 
 that, on glad spring mornings, they have turned from 
 the sarcophagi and the bronzes and terra-cotta vases in 
 the cases to look with undisguised delight through the 
 windows of the museum and up beyond to the brown 
 roofs of the wicked old mediaeval city opposite. The 
 Duomo with all the blood upon its steps, the Piazza 
 with all its passionate and burning history, seemed to 
 them more real, more sympathetic, than the uneventful 
 countenances, the harmless funereal urns, of this quiet 
 race of men, who lived and died over one thousand 
 years before our era. 
 
 '• Les Tyrenes,"says M. Andre Lelevre, " durant leur longue 
 domination soiit restes dcs etrangers, c'est cc qui expliqtie pourquoi 
 hur langue d leurs dieux out d'nparu avec Icur puissance, et pourquoi 
 nous sommes reduits a fouiller leurs tombeaux pour connaitre 
 leur vie. C'est de leurs demeures funeraires que nous exhumons 
 aujourd'hui leurs industries, leurs arts, leurs festins, leurs 
 danses, leurs jeux, leurs pompeuses ceremonies triomphales, et 
 leurs nuptiales, et aussi leur couite philosophie faite de fatalisme 
 et d' insouciance." 
 
 Early in this century the objects thus collected were moved from 
 their original home in the Palazzo Pubblico, and placed in the 
 corridors and upper storey of the university. Thanks to the 
 indefatigable care and energy of such men as Vermiglioli and 
 Conestabile, who devoted their lives to the study, explanation, 
 and history of these relics, we now have a splendid answer to 
 many of our questions, both in the carefully arranged collection 
 of the University and in the books concerning them. 
 268
 
 
 
 VIA DELLA PERA UNDER THE AQUEDUCT ON THE WAY TO THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 269
 
 "The Museum 
 
 It is probable that when the Rasenae first arrived in 
 central Italy, they were still an almost barbarous 
 nation, and that their arts and civilization were de- 
 veloped later in their northern settlements, in Tuscany 
 and Umbria. They seem to have adopted little from 
 the races who preceded them in Italy, though some 
 say that they learned the art of statuary from these 
 still more mysterious people ; but, being, as we know, 
 themselves a sea-faring nation they may have taken 
 their first conceptions of art from the Carthaginians 
 and Phoenicians, and in this way they might easily have 
 come in contact with the art of Egypt and of Carthage. 
 But by far the strongest influence was that of Greece. 
 This they perhaps felt first in Greece itself, and later 
 through their contact with Greek settlers in Italy. 
 
 The Etruscans were a receptive people ; they easily 
 grasped a new idea, and carried it out with careful pre- 
 cision, though with rounded edges, so to speak. The 
 spirit of the inspiration of pure art is lacking in their 
 work. They were excellent craftsmen, and Rome is 
 said to have learned certain points in the uses of casting 
 metal and in masonry from Etruscan artisans. They 
 were also an agricultural people, who did much towards 
 improving the soil wherever they settled. The Etrus- 
 cans were a very religious, or at least a superstitious 
 race, full of faith in augury, constantly consulting natural 
 oracles, such as the flight of birds and variations of the 
 atmosphere, and, like the Greeks, they had their house- 
 hold gods or lares. The Medusa's head is for ever 
 recurring in their monuments and on their house-doors. 
 Having some strong belief in the immortality of the 
 human soul, they crowded their dead with gifts, putting 
 their most elaborate work upon the tombs, and giving 
 to the corpse all the necessaries for a long journey to a 
 distant land, or for a possible reawakening. They had 
 
 271
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 different modes of burial. Usually the body was burned, 
 but sometimes — and we have admirable instances of this 
 in the Perugian Museum — it was simply buried in a 
 stone sarcophagus. Women were respected and held 
 a high position in society. This fact is clearly shown 
 by their prominence upon the tombs, where they sit side 
 by side with their husbands, as they were probably in 
 the habit of doing at their feasts. The toilet was also 
 respected, and the dead took as many pots of balsam to 
 the grave as thi-y took tear-bottles. The richer bodies 
 have a wonderful array of dressing-table nicknacks at 
 their head and feet, and the loveliest and most careful 
 work in the whole museum is that upon the hand- 
 mirrors (see Case 12, Room vi.), which were also pro- 
 bably laid in the tomb of the beloved dead. 
 
 The chief interest in this museum of Perugia is the 
 wealth of its inscriptions. The passages are lined with 
 them, and a catalogue or dictionary has been made of 
 them. The Etruscans lived side by side with the 
 Romans and the Greeks, and often we find inscriptions 
 written in both languages upon one tomb ; yet, though 
 the two latter peoples were the greatest scholars of the 
 world, the Etruscan language is dead to us for all 
 practical purposes ; and the longest Etruscan inscription 
 which is known — -the pride of the Perugian Museum — 
 is little better than a blank wall to all who look to it 
 for purposes of study. ^ 
 
 The Etruscans lived luxurious lives, but their race 
 ran long upon the soil of Italy. As far as it can be 
 traced, their rule, or at least their occupation, lasted for 
 about twelve centuries. By the beginning of the Chris- 
 tian era they were already dying out. 
 
 1 In our quotation from M. Lefevre's work (see p. 268) we 
 find what is at least a very plausible explanation of this dearth 
 of their language. 
 272
 
 T'he Museum 
 
 M, Andre Lefevie gives the following final summing 
 up of the influence of the Etruscans upon the greater 
 nation which gradually took their place: — 
 
 " Bien que, mcmeaux temps de leur plus grande puissance 
 ils n'aient pu imposer ni leur langue ni leurs dieux a. des 
 peuples etablis depuis mille ans sur le sol Italien, leur part 
 ii'en a pas moins etc considerable dans la civilisation Latine. 
 Leur influence a ece moindre sur les liommes que sur les choses, 
 sur i' esprit cjue sur les formes exterieures, ceremonielles et 
 ritueiles, — qui. a leur tour, atfectent les institutions et les 
 moeurs. Ils out appris aux Romiiins a batir des maisons et 
 des temples, a onlonner les festins, les processions, les pompes 
 triomphales et les jeux sanglants du cirque. Les meubles, les 
 sieges, les statues, les licteurs, le costume, la buUe d'or des 
 enfants patriciens, sont aussi d' origine fitrusque. Enfin, ils ont 
 aioute aux superstitions deja si nombreuses des Latins et des 
 Sabins la science, si ce n' est pas prof'aner un tel mot, la science 
 augurale, elevce au rang d' institution politique, perpetuant 
 ainsi, au sein d' une civilisation avancee, les plus niaises pra- 
 tiques de la sauvagerie la plus infinie." 
 
 As it would have been impossible in the slight scope 
 of this small book to give any detailed account of the 
 different objects in the Perugian museum, we have 
 thought it wiser to offer the above sketch of the 
 Etruscans themselves, adding only some promiscuous 
 notes about the collections for those who care to read 
 them as they pass through the different rooms. The 
 new Catalogue by Sign or Donati, the profound works 
 of Count Conestabile and Signor Vermiglioli, and the 
 delightful chapter in Dennis' Etrur'ta contain all the 
 information that a genuine student will desire. 
 
 ROOM II. 
 Case A. 
 
 No. 5. A Medusa's head in terra-cotta ; exquisite autl of un- 
 usually careful workmanship. This head was probably one of 
 those i^laques or tablets which were put up by the Etruscans 
 over the lintel of tht-ir house-doors to keep away the evil spirits. 
 The Medusa is commonly used in this way, and we find her 
 
 8 273
 
 T'he Story oj Perugia 
 
 constantly in tombs and other places. Her face is usually calm, 
 and often lovely, though in this instance it is calculated to 
 strike terror, as well as admiration, into the mind of any witch 
 or evil sjiirit. Beside it are two tablets of the same sort, but 
 much coarser in treatment and design, and apparently worked 
 under Egyptian influences. 
 
 No. 12. Some charming pieces of Etruscan glass ; small tear 
 and balsam bottles: also some larger bottles, square inform. 
 These latter were probably used for medicines. Tiieir chief 
 interest lies in the fact that they bear the stamp of their 
 Etruscan makers. 
 
 No. 6. A row of terra-cotta fateroc, such as the dead hold in 
 their hands on tombs. 
 
 No. 9. A plateful of little glass balls, which shine like hand- 
 fuls of the most lustrous emeralds and opals in the dim light 
 of the Museum, These were used as counters by the Etruscans 
 in their games of dice, and it is thought that they were put 
 into the graves of habitual gamblers, so that the soul of the 
 dead man, during its passage to eternity, should not be denied 
 the consolation of its favourite diversion. 
 
 No. 27. Some beautiful fragments of feet, heads, and arms. 
 It has been supposed that the Etruscans often made whole 
 statues of wood or of some such cheap material, only giving 
 to the extremities the careful work required by terra-cotta. 
 Hence these apparently disconnected relics. 
 
 Cases B. and C. 
 
 Most of the objects in this case came from Chiusi and are 
 made of the black ware called bucchero. Some are Etruscan, 
 some of an even earlier origin. All along the top of the case 
 are some quite simple cinerary urns of a different form to the 
 vases inside the cases, which latter were designed more for 
 decoration in rich men's houses. 
 
 No. 5. Two beautiful trays or toilet tables belonging to the 
 Etruscan ladies. Looking at these one seems to understand 
 the elaborate wigs on the heads of those ladies who smile upon 
 the tops of their sarcophagi. Several objects in Case D. ex- 
 plain them further. 
 274
 
 T'he Museum 
 
 No. 4. A lovely line of graceful vases, good illustrations of 
 the imitative power of the Etruscans. Not only the forms, 
 l)ut even the sliining texture of the Grecian bronze, is here 
 copied in buccluro. 
 
 No. 8. These vases are tiie work of tliose people wlu> pre- 
 ceded the Etruscans in Umbria. The forms are simple, the 
 patterns purely geometrical. 
 
 Case D. 
 
 Nos. 2, 3. Some quite common earthenware urns for the 
 ashes of the poor who could neither afford tombs nor inscrip- 
 tions. On one or two of these a name is scratched in rough 
 black paint, probably with the finger, and as a last token to 
 tile (lead from someone who had loved him. 
 
 No. 7. Some earthenware bottles corres])onding to the 
 beautilul glass ones in Case A : those in earthenware were 
 used for the tombs of the poor. 
 
 ROOM III. 
 Sarcophagi. 
 
 This room has a selection of the most interesting Sarcophagi 
 in the museum. The corridors outside, and the staircase also, 
 are filled with other specimens of more or less interest. 
 
 There is always a certain monotony in a collection of Etruscan 
 tombs or sarcophagi, and the ordinary person wearies easily of 
 the recum!)ent figures which lie so stolidly in effigy upon the lids 
 of their own i)urial urns, with an ex|Mession of comfortai)le 
 contentment on their somewiiat unexciting and uneventful 
 countenances. They seem, one and all of them, like persons 
 who have fallen asleep on peaceful days with easy consciences, 
 — persons whose hope of heaven is as slight as their fear of 
 hell. They are, most of them, middle-aged, the pathos of old 
 age, the peace or the passion of youth, is lacking in their 
 faces. Their charm is to be sought in their extreme repose. 
 
 There are several forms of tombs in the Perugian collection, 
 that with the recumi)ent figures on the lid being jiroliably the 
 one used by the richer and more prosperous families. With 
 
 few exceptions the work on the sarcophagi is rather coarse 
 
 a singular and persistent monotony of subject is disj)layed. 
 The simpler forms have either a rose or a Medusa on their 
 
 275
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 front panels, the more elaborate are ornamented with subjects 
 from the Greek mythology, which seem to clash at times with 
 the conventional figures on their lids. The story of Iphigenia 
 is a favourite theme for the sarcophagi of women. 
 
 On those of men, battles and boar-hunts figure largely, the 
 labours of Hercules too, and fights with the Amazons. It is 
 probable that these cases were kept in stock, and that when 
 one was needed, the order was simply given to add a face, 
 a portrait face of man or woman, to the figure, and sometimes 
 an inscription. Most of the figures hold the familiar paterae in 
 their hand, others clasp their long and heavy necklaces, some of 
 them carry a flower — a lotus, maybe, or a rose. 
 
 There was one quite different form of burial, when the 
 whole body was preserved in a stone sarcophagus. Sometimes 
 the corpse must have first undergone some kind of disintegration 
 in the earth, as, in one or two cases, we find the bones gathered 
 together in a small urn, into which the whole body could never 
 have been pushed. At other times it was stretched full length 
 in its long stone case. Infinitely pathetic is the figure of an 
 Etruscan lady in the corridor. There she lies just as rhey found 
 her, exposed to the most casu-^l observer, with all the requisites 
 for an exquisite toilet upon the resurrecrion morning: her hot- 
 water can, her strigil, her looking-glass, her pins, the money to 
 pay her passage across the river to Eternity — nay, even the 
 little metal weights she wore to keep her long straight skirts 
 in order — all laid out carefully beside her, and nothing of the 
 beauty left beyond her white and shining teeth. 
 
 Faint traces of colour linger on some of these sarcophagi. 
 Note No. 8. The hair of the Medusa is painted a delicate lilac 
 hue, and the acanthus leaves which encircle it are blue like the 
 sky in spring time. 
 
 No. 23. An exception to the usual design of Greek myth- 
 ology. The defence of a city — dare we say of Perugia — is 
 here depicted. The men are fighting beneath the walls ; and 
 in the towers above, a row of valiant ladies are preparing to 
 crush them with large and heavy stones. 
 
 No. 30. These much smaller sarcophagi are made of terra 
 cotta and come from Chiusi. In many of them the dead are 
 represented in a new way ; they have fallen asleep wrapped in 
 long thin veils which cover the entire figure. 
 276
 
 The Museum 
 
 ROOM IV. 
 
 Case A. 
 
 No. 9. Some good specimens of Etruscan helmets, one of 
 them with flaps of iron to protect the ears of the warriors. 
 We learn clearly in tliis room that the Etruscans wore 
 elaborate armour — helmets, belts, greaves, and bronze and 
 iron spear-heads being plentifully represented. 
 
 Case B. 
 
 No. 31. Pempobolo or graffio — an instrument used for stirring 
 the bodies of the dead as they burned, and for raking in the 
 ashes afterwards. 
 
 No. 35. Cnttabu. This strange looking implement was pro- 
 bably used for a kind of game practised at Etruscan feasts. It 
 is supposed that at the end of a feast, when the guests grew 
 merry, a toast was proposed, and that a glass was put on the 
 tray at the top of the pole just under the little deity, and then 
 carried round the room. The broader plate below was put to 
 catch the wine as it fell with the swinging of this most un- 
 gainly instrument. 
 
 Case D. 
 
 Nos. 10 to 33, 40 to 60. A collection of small metal images, 
 Lari, or household gods, most of them very Greek in treat- 
 ment, .some of them even archaic. 
 
 Nos. 34 to 40. A collection of lead missiles for slings. 
 These are inscribed with words of the most marked abuse 
 designed for the enemy. On one of them is written : (in Latin 
 characters) " For thy right eye " — the sort of naive thing a 
 schoolboy might design. 
 
 ROOM V. 
 
 '• As beautiful pottery like that of Vulci and Tarquinii is 
 very rarely found at Perugia, it seems probable that it was not 
 manufactured on the spot," writes Dennis. And if one has 
 seen the various other local Etruscan Museums in Italy, one 
 will feel decidedly disappointed in the vase-room at Peiugia. 
 One or two interesting points may however be noted. It is 
 strange to mark the difference between the two separate classes 
 of vases, between the genuine Greek work, which the Etruscans 
 
 277
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 liad the good taste to prize, and that oi their own imitations 
 of it. Note Nos. 3. 5. 14, all of which are probably Etruscan 
 copies from real Greek vases, 'i'hey are like the imitative 
 sketches of children, lacking in understanding and in feeling, 
 and pathetic in tlieir clumsy failure. Nos. 7, 8, 10, and 12, are 
 all specimens probably of real (ireek work. 
 
 No. 21. A fine terra-cotta vase — probably genuine Etruscan 
 work — with four heads of Bacchus at the base. 
 
 ROOM VI. 
 
 The gems of the museum may he said to have been gathered 
 together in this room, and the object which at once attracts 
 one on entering is the large sarcophagus of an Etruscan gentle- 
 man and his evil genius, or Fate, which stands by the east 
 window. Dennis has an admirable description of it: "An 
 Etruscan of middle age," he says, " is reclining in the usual 
 costume and attitude of the banquet, with a bossed phiala in 
 his left hand, and his right resting on his knee. At his feet 
 squats a hideous old woman, stunted and deformed, whose 
 wings show her to be a demon. She seizes one of his toes with 
 her right hand and grasps his right wrist with her left. (Some 
 authorities say she is feeling tlie pulse of the dying man.) She 
 turns her head to look at him, yet he appears quite unconscious 
 of her presence. She doubtless represents the Moira or Fate, 
 whose touch deprives him of life. The monument is from 
 Chiusi, and of the fetid limestone of that district. Both heads 
 are moveable, and the bodies hollow, jsroving that this, which 
 looks like the lid of a sarcophagus, is itself a cinerary urn." 
 
 No. 18. An Etruscan helmet of the finest work. 
 
 No. 14. Two exquisite sarcophagi differing in every way 
 from the one described above. So flowery is the work upon 
 them that one scarcely realises to what dark ages they belong. 
 The terra-cotta seems just baked, the paint is sticking to it. 
 rhe griffins and sea horses, the portraits on the lids, all are 
 most exquisitely treated. 
 
 No. 12. The wonderful mirrors in this case have iieen 
 admirably described by Dennis (see page 428). The one with 
 the story of Helen engraved on it (No. 11) is quite one of the 
 loveliest pieces of work ever discovered in the soil of Etruria. 
 
 No. 3. A sarcophagus with the most delightful procession 
 depicted upon its panels. Tliere has been a good deal of dis- 
 cussion about the subject represented. Some say it is a migra- 
 tion, or a colony going forth to fulfil the vow of sacred spring ; 
 278
 
 T'hc Museum 
 
 others that it is a |)rocession going to a sacrifice. Dennis sug- 
 gests another interpretation. '• It seems to me," he says, '• much 
 more satisfactory to suppose that it is a return from a success- 
 ful foray. There are captives hound, and made to carry their 
 own property for the henefit of their victors ; tiieir women 
 behind, not l)ound. hut accompanying their lords, their faith- 
 ful dog following them into captivity, their beasts of burden 
 laden with their gods ; their weapons and agricultural imple- 
 ments carried by one of the guards and their cattle driven 
 on by the rest." The sacrifice is the most probable interpre- 
 tation, for there is something solemn and sinister ai)out the 
 composition. Not only criminals but also human victims are 
 being taken along liy the fascinating but inexorable guards. 
 The treatment of the figures is very archaic, and yet it is 
 realistic. The long-eared goats, the horses and the mules 
 step forward with an engaging regularity. 'J'iieir shepherds 
 or their leaders turn, as such people invariably do turn, to 
 gesticulate and to explain among themselves upon the way. 
 The two side panels represent banquet-scenes, banquets, we 
 may imagine, which were given to commemorate whatever 
 event the procession itself was leading to. Tile work on this 
 Sarcophagus has been ascril)ed to tiie fifth century before 
 Christ. 
 
 No. 8. Under a glass shade, a strange little figure in bronze 
 ai)out 14 inches high, representing Hygiea, the Goddess of 
 Health (daughter of ^sculapius) or, as some say, the Genius 
 of Long Life. Smaller figure under same glass represents 
 Telesphorus, the genius of convalescence, seated, entirely 
 enveloped in a cloak. 
 
 ROOM VII. 
 
 lias a rather miscellaneous collection of later Roman and Etrus- 
 can work, also some objects from Cyprus. 
 
 No. 36. A little tomb where the door is left half open, the 
 key hung up upon a peg. perhaps to show that the spirit is 
 free to wander in and out. 
 
 ROOMS VIII. AND IX. 
 
 contain the private collection of Count Guadabassi collected 
 by him throughout a life-time and from very different places, 
 ami left to the town at his death with the request that their 
 original arrangement should he preserved. Thus the impression 
 of the whole is somewhat distracting to a student. One of the 
 greatest treasures of the Museum is in 
 
 279
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 ROOM VIII. 
 
 Case H. 
 
 A very beautiful Etruscan mirror with Bacchus, or a 
 Bacchante, riding on a panther upon the cover. Two good 
 mirrors in the same case, and a fine Etruscan gold ornament, 
 with figures delicately traced upon it. 
 
 
 ETRUSCAN MIRROR IN GUADABASSI COLLECTION 
 
 To the right of the door, a white marble osclllum or slab, with 
 the figure of Archimenes on one side, and on the other the 
 portrait of a juggler taming snakes. This was probably put 
 up outside the house or booth of a juggler, and served as his 
 sign. 
 
 Case L. 
 Some good bits of Etruscan jewellery. One necklace with 
 a large bit of glass like an opal, set in gold and precious stones ; 
 280
 
 The Museum 
 
 also some very delicate Etruscan earrings, with golden nets of 
 filagree on a gold ground. 
 
 Case H. 
 
 Some specimens of Etruscan money. The pieces were valued 
 according to their weight, and form seemed quite a secondary 
 consideration. 
 
 C.\SE P. 
 
 A collection of strigds, or brass scrapers, to be used after 
 the bath. Some of these were evidently used as ornaments 
 fhung from an elegant bracelet or ring), which leads one to 
 imagine that the bath was a rarity with the Etruscans, and the 
 strigil an object of luxury and decoration rather than of 
 frequent use. 
 
 ROOM IX. 
 
 Case G. 
 
 A fine collection of gems. A little tomb, with pent-roof 
 and tiles in the shape of violet leaves (unnumbered). 
 
 The following rooms of the museum, from Room X., contain 
 various medieval and renaissance woiks. Tlie only point we 
 would mention here is the case whicli holds the bones of the 
 migh'y man ot Perugia: Braccio Fortebraccio di Monfone. 
 
 There they lie, bare and grim before us. Poor bones, in- 
 sulted by a Pope, buried and then unburied, and now laid out 
 for any man to look at ! There is a note of pathos in the sight, 
 which the inscription does not lessen. 
 
 HOSPES LEGE ET LUGE. 
 
 Perusiae natum Montonium me exulem excepit. 
 
 Mars patriam Umhriam et Capuam mihi subegit. 
 
 Roma paruit Italia theatrum spectator orbis iuit. 
 
 At Aquila cadentem risit quern patria iugens brevi hac 
 
 urna tegit. 
 Eheu! Mars extulit substulit. 
 Abi. 
 
 A portrait of Braccio hangs above his coffin — a strong pug- 
 nacious countenance, differing quite from his other portrait in 
 the Cot.fraternita di San Francesco. On the opposite wall 
 is a picture of Niccolo Piccinino. 
 
 281
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 To close these notes on the museum we would 
 mention another private museum in Perugia full of 
 extraordinary interest ; that of Professore Giuseppe 
 Bellucci, in the Via Cavour. 
 
 Prof. Bellucci has made a special study of the 
 people who preceded the Etruscans in Umbria, and, 
 after years of careful search and indefatigable energy, 
 has accumulated a grand collection of objects belong- 
 ing to the stone age, and to the earliest settlers on 
 the hills. Arrow heads, battleaxes from Trasimene, 
 pottery and ornaments oi infinite variety, are carefully 
 stored and arranged in the top rooms of one of the 
 most charming of the old Perugian palaces ; also a 
 surprising collection of amulets against witches and the 
 evil eye, of which Prof. Bellucci has made a special 
 study. This museum can be visited by anyone who is 
 interested in the subject, and its owner is always willing 
 to show it.^ 
 
 The Tomb of the Volumnii. 
 
 About three miles from Perugia, down at the foot 
 of one of the last hills which fall into the valley of the 
 Tiber, a mysterious necropolis of Perusia Etrusca 
 was discovered many years ago on the property of Count 
 Baglioni. It was a big necropolis full of innumerable 
 urns of more or less artistic interest, and the land about 
 the hill seemed honeycombed with small vaults hold- 
 ing their respective sarcophagi and ashes. 
 
 Sometime later — so tradition tells us — -whilst a peasant 
 was driving his oxen over a field in this same place one 
 of the oxen fell forward. When the man came up to 
 see what had happened, he found that the creature had 
 
 1 Send a card through Madame Brufani, Grand Hotel, or 
 through the custodes at the University Museum. 
 282
 
 Tomb of the Volumjiii 
 
 stumbled through the stones of a great arch which 
 covered a hitherto unsuspected subterranean passage.^ 
 When the hole thus made was examined it was 
 found to be in truth a steep staircase cut in the tufa and 
 covered over by a travertine vaulting. It led steeply 
 down to a huge door of travertine, and when this was 
 opened, the wonderful tomb, belonging to the private, 
 family of the Volumnii, was disclosed. Unfortunately 
 the ox was not the first person to open up this extra- 
 ordinary place. The earth and dust of centuries had, 
 it is true, fallen in upon it, but in the Roman times it 
 had been already ransacked for its possible treasures. 
 Beautiful and extraordinary as the place is, haunted 
 by the silent grandeur and mystery of the dead, it is 
 not quite complete, and many of the urns are missing 
 in its first compartments. Still, as Dennis says, " it is 
 one of the most remarkable in Etruria. . . . To enter the 
 tomb," he continues was to him "like enchantment, 
 not reality, or rather it was the realization of the 
 pictures of subterranean palaces and spell-bound men, 
 which youthful fancy had drawn from the Arabian 
 Nights, but which had long been cast aside into the 
 lumber room of the memory, now to be suddenly 
 restored. . . . The impressions received in this tomb 
 first directed my attention to the antiquities of 
 Etruria," Dennis adds, and many people will echo 
 his words. 
 
 Leaving the dust and the sunlight, the green trees 
 and the sunny banks of the outside Umbrian world, 
 we plunge down a narrow staircase and through the 
 
 ' Tlie discovery was a great |5oint for students, and eveiy- 
 hotly will he glad to hear that the unconscious discoverer did 
 not surter through it, hut lived to plough the surface of the 
 lanil. tile caverns of vviiich anticjuarians from distant countries 
 hurried at once to investigate. 
 
 283
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 tall doorway of travertine into the darkness of the 
 Etruscan sepulchre, and find ourselves in a dim, low 
 vestibule with stone seats round it, small chambers 
 branching off to right and left, and one large 
 chamber at the end. Strange and fascinating heads 
 look down upon us from the ceiling, marvellous little 
 deities, suspended by many leaden chains, hang silent, 
 as though they dreamed, above our heads. Weird 
 serpents' heads pierce through the walls and seem to 
 hiss at us ; and in the dim light of the candles we 
 realize a whole new world of wonderful and deep set 
 imagery, combining with that solid sense of comfortable 
 respectability peculiar to the race of men who lie here. 
 
 The tomb of the Volumnii has a strong and a 
 convincing individuality. In this fact consists its 
 charm. The necropolis was built for one family. 
 The clear cut inscription on the door post at the 
 entrance points to this, the name repeated again and 
 again upon the tomb proves it yet more forcibly. ^ 
 
 To get a first and full impression of the place it is 
 well to sit down on one of the low stone seats which 
 
 i For a full description of the Tomb of the Volumnii, see 
 Gio Battista Vermiglioli's work : // Sepolcro dci Volumn'i. 
 Vermiglioli has made the most elaborate investigations, and 
 transcribes the inscription on the door post thus : 
 Arnth : larth : Velimna : 
 Aruneal : Thvsiur : 
 Svthi : avil : thece : 
 which he translates after infinite labour, to mean roughly 
 Aruns Lars Volumnius (son of) Arunia or Aronia dedicated 
 (the monument, and ordered) the annual sacrifices. 
 
 Vermiglioli has also traced the origins of the Volumnian 
 family who, it seems, were well known in the Roman times, 
 and constantly mentioned by the Roman writers. One of the 
 Volumnii is known to have been the writer of tragedies 
 fthe-e were probably written in Latin). There was an 
 Etruscan divinity called Volumnus or Volumna. The family 
 was important thioughout Etruria. It may have started in 
 Perugia certainly its chief necropolis seems to have been here. 
 284
 
 Tomb of the Voltimnii 
 
 run round the walls ol the vestibule. These benches 
 were probably used by members of the family in 
 the peculiar fashion of the Etruscans. We hear that 
 in order to bring themselves nearer to tiie dead and to 
 communicate with the Spirit of Death, they would 
 come to the sepulchres at night-fall and sleep beside the 
 urns of their dead friends — their brothers, wives, their 
 children or their lovers — and there receive visions from 
 the souls which always hovered near the place where 
 the body was buried. Members of the Volumnii 
 family who were courageous enough, or peaceful enough 
 in their own souls to do this thing, must have received 
 strong and convincing visions from surroundings so 
 unearthly and mysterious, 
 
 A great round disk, the sun probably, guards the 
 entrance door of the vestibule. It seems to rise up out 
 of the sea ; two dolphins plunge head foremost into the 
 waves beneath it ; and under these, above the left lintel 
 of the door, a great wing stretches, one knows not 
 whence or whither, into the darkness all around it. 
 
 On the opposite wall, and guarding the tomb, is 
 another great disk covered with scales, or as some 
 say laurel leaves, and a splendid head in its centre. 
 The face is grandly moulded and belongs to the best 
 period of Etruscan art, when the souls of the artists 
 were probably steeped in the art of Greece. The 
 expression is calm, pure, and full of strength. It 
 is probably meant to represent the God Numa, though 
 some imagine it to be Apollo himself. Below it are two 
 busts which are supposed to be portraits of Apollo in 
 his two qualities of shepherd and of poet ; and guarding 
 the disk, two great scimitars with birds perched over 
 them. (It is imagined that the Etruscans shared 
 the Greek belief about birds sympathising in the death 
 of mortals. The flight and ways of birds, certainly 
 formed a large part of their religion, but in this case 
 
 285
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 nothing can be actually proved). Verniiglioli having 
 studied various other points in the necropolis, suggests 
 that the Volumnii were a race of warriors and that the 
 scimitars were a symbol of their warlike ways. 
 
 Passing through this second doorway one stands in the 
 actual presence of some members of the family of the 
 Volumnii. There they sit together on their beautiful 
 stuccoed urns : " each on a snow-white couch " says 
 Dennis, " with garlanded brow, torque-decorated neck, 
 and goblet in hand — a petrifaction of conviviality — in 
 solemn mockery of the pleasures to which for ages on 
 ages they have bidden adieu." i 
 
 They are surprisingly real, this family, and they sit 
 there now, just exactly as they were sitting two 
 thousand years or more ago.- The figures and the 
 sarcophagi are made of terra-cotta covered by a dead 
 white stucco which gives them a singularly modern 
 look. Each sarcophagus has the head of a Medusa 
 on it, but of a marvellously fair Medusa, a creature to 
 adore, a woman to attract, a creature incapable of 
 inspiring aught save admiration.^ 
 
 The sarcophagus in the centre of the group appears 
 to have belonged to Aruns Volumnius the head of the 
 family. It is the most heavily decorated of the set. 
 Aruns lies on a well-draped couch. Two mysterious 
 figures — Furies, but attractive Furies — guard his urn. 
 They are a splendid piece of work, and have naturally 
 enough been compared with the work of Michelangelo ; 
 there is something muscular about them, and their pose 
 
 ' The group of sarcophagi in this chamber has apparently 
 never been touched. 
 
 '-' The sarcophagi do not belong to the early period of Etruscan 
 art, but to the times of the Roman occupation 200 or 300 B.C. 
 
 ■* The Medusa was used by the Etruscans as a sort of spell 
 to keep off evil influences and bad people from their dead. The 
 dead, it seems, never left their graves but hovered always round 
 the place where their ashes were preserved. 
 286
 
 Tomb ofthc Volimiiiii 
 
 is tragic, like that wiiich the sculptor of the Renaissance 
 delighted to give to his figures. Unfortunately the 
 fresco, which was perfect when the tomb was opened, 
 has fallen to bits in the damp air which enters through 
 
 
 TOMB OF ARL'NS VOLUMNIUS 
 
 the open door. To Aruns' left his daughter sits on 
 her urn, to his right his son, and next to his son the 
 beautiful young wife Veilia, or Velia. One could 
 write a romance about Veilia. The beauty of her 
 profile haunts one like a dream. Was she an Etruscan 
 
 2S7
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 or some woodland creature ? Surely the dull and 
 conventional gentleman to whom she was early married 
 bored her into a decline I Certain it is that she died 
 young, and that the sculptor who made this portrait of 
 her, loved and understood the beauty of her human 
 face, and drew it in as faithfully as he had drawn the 
 dull one of her husband and his family. All the other 
 portraits have the usual respectable Etruscan stamp 
 upon them. Veilia alone has a touch of the divine. 
 
 One beautiful little sarcophagus in the group differs 
 from all around it. It is exquisite in all its detail and 
 built in the form of a temple with doors and Corin- 
 thian columns, pent roof, and exquisite tracery upon 
 its walls. (The inscriptions upon it are written both 
 in Roman and Etruscan characters ; but although this 
 sounds like a delightful dictionary they do not appear 
 to coincide.) Four exquisite sphinxes and a little 
 frieze of lions' heads guard the roof; heavy gar- 
 lands of fruit and flowers hang from the skulls of 
 oxen on the panels ; and birds and butterflies — symbols 
 of the immortality of the human soul — are marvellously 
 carved about them. 
 
 The remaining cells have each some beautiful 
 and interesting thing in them, but the main historical 
 interest is passed after the chambers of the Volumnii 
 urns ; and the most beautiful things to note are the 
 heads of the Gorgons or Medusas carved in the tufa of 
 the ceilings. Some say that these heads are portraits 
 of the family. Their eyes and teeth are painted white. 
 They seem to stare at one with calm kind eyes which 
 have looked into the centuries and realised the futility 
 of human things. 
 
 To the present writers the Medusa of the Etruscan 
 
 288
 
 T'oinb of the Volumnii 
 
 people is its greatest and its most attractive study. She 
 is always grand, beautiful and mysterious ; the material 
 and conventional aspects of the Etruscan race vanish 
 and fly before her steady gaze, and in the Volumnian 
 tomb she reigns supreme. 
 
 289
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 In Umbria 
 
 L'Apennin est franchi, et les collines mod^r^es, les riches 
 plaines bien encadree.-< commencent a se deployer et a s'ordonner 
 comme sur I'autre versant. Ca et la une ville en tas sur une 
 montagne, sorte de molt- arrondi. est un ornement du paysage, 
 commr on en trouve dans les tableaux de Poussin et de Claude. 
 C'est I'Appenin, avec ses bandes de contre-forts ailonge-i dans 
 une peninsule etroite. qui donne a tout le paysage italien son 
 caractere : point de longs fleuves ni de grandes plaines : des 
 vallees limitees, de nobles formes, beaucoup de roc et beaucoup 
 de soleil, les aliments et les sensations correspondantes ; 
 combien de traits de I'individu et de I'iiistoire imprimes par ce 
 caractere ! 
 
 H. TaiNE, Voyage en Italic. 
 
 We cannot study the history of a single town without 
 acquiring a certain knowledge of the towns around it, 
 for the character of one set of peo|)Ie was formed and 
 influenced by that of another, and the land on which 
 cities are built is often in itself an explanation of 
 their past. In no country perhaps are these facts more 
 strongly marked than in Umbria, where even the 
 smallest hamlet is perched upon a high hill-side as 
 though to provoke attention, and where the larger cities 
 glare at each other from commanding eminences, 
 seeming, even in this peaceful nineteenth century, to 
 challenge one another by the mere aspect of their 
 mighty walls. 
 
 We cannot stay long in Perugia without getting 
 its surrounding landscape stamped upon our minds. 
 That circle of small cities so distinctly seen : Assisi, 
 290
 
 In Umbria 
 
 Spello, Foligno to the east, Montefaico, Trevi, 
 Bettona, and Torgiano to the soaih, and Cittk della 
 Pieve westwards, all of them perched upon their 
 separate hill-top around the bed of the now vanished 
 lake (see chapter i.), excite one's fcincy and one's 
 longing, at first perhaps unconsciously, and later with 
 an irresistible persistence. Finally we are driven to 
 pack our trunks and wander out amongst them. 
 
 From a practical point of view, travelling in Umbria, 
 even in its most remote villages, is made extremely 
 easy. The inhabitants are friendly and courteous, and 
 utterly unspoiled by tourists. The inns are clean, the 
 main roads excellent; prices reasonable, anJ carriages, 
 with few exceptions, good. From a romantic or 
 artistic point of view, nothing can excel the charm 
 of such travelling. We are weary of hearing the 
 stated fact that every town in Italy is worth the 
 visiting ; but, however hackneyed the remark, we must 
 make it once again in the case of the towns around 
 Perugia. Each has an individual charm, a long and 
 carefully recorded history. We exclude Assisi, for 
 that town is a study in itself, a thing above and apart. 
 Assisi may be called the Jerusalem of Italy ; its con- 
 nection with one of the greatest Saints of the Catholic 
 world has made its churches monuments of art and 
 history, a centre for pilgrims and for painters through- 
 out a period of nearly seven hundred years ; and quite 
 apart from its history as a town (the walls of Assisi 
 date back to 400 b.c. ) this presence or possession of 
 the saints has excited a whole literature of art and of 
 devotion. 
 
 But besides the towns we have mentioned above, 
 there are a host of other cities very near : Gubbio, 
 Arezzo, Citta di Castello, Terni, Spoleto, Narni, 
 Orvieto, Chiusi, Cortona and many others less or 
 
 291
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 better known. It is the diversity and contrast of these 
 towns which charms one, but space forbids that we 
 should offer anything beyond a few small travelling 
 notes concerning one or two of them. 
 
 GuBBIO. 
 
 The road to Gubbio from Perugia leads over a 
 mountain pass as wild, and as forbidding in its aspect, 
 as that of any in the Alps. Leaving the broad and 
 wooded valley of the Tiber it winds in long fantastic 
 wind-swept curves across the spines of the lower 
 Apennines, then plunges somewhat suddenly down into 
 the smiling fields and oak woods of the valley under 
 Gubbio. The position of the town is most remarkable. 
 It looks out on a smiling peaceful valley, but is backed 
 by a terrific mountain gorge which would serve as an 
 iron breastplate in the time of siege. Gubbio is a 
 small brown-coloured town, compact and perfect in 
 its parts ; it has never changed since the middle 
 ages. A fine Roman theatre, a mysterious Roman 
 mausoleum, fallen asleep on the cornfields outside the 
 city walls, tell of her early prime, but the character of 
 the place, as we see it now, is purely mediaeval. The 
 people themselves have the spirit of their ancestors ; 
 the worship, which is almost like a fetish worship, of 
 their patron Saint Ubaldo is as passionate in its intensity 
 to-day as it was seven hundred years ago, when 
 Barbarossa threatened to destroy the town.^ There is 
 
 1 In 1 155 Frederick Barbarossa besieged Gubbio, but the 
 Bishop of the city — Ubaldo — pleaded in such passionate terms 
 for her deliverance, that the Emperor renounced the siege. 
 Since then the holy Bishop is worshipped with almost barbaric 
 rites in the city. On his feast-day (May 15) his image, and 
 those of the two other patron Saints of the town, are carried in 
 a weird and almost horrible procession from midday until night- 
 292
 
 Giibbio 
 
 scarcely a single new building in Gubbio. The great 
 weaving-looms in the piazza are a relic of the city's 
 commerce in the Middle Ages, and the exquisite line 
 of the palace of her rulers, Palazzo dei Consoli, with 
 the slim bell tower soaring up against the barren out- 
 line of the gorge, lives in one's memory Jong after 
 many othirr points of Umbrian cities are forgotten. 
 
 Gubbio's bell tower and Gubbio's Madonna are 
 points which we remember with delight. Almost 
 every Umbrian city has its local painter. Nelli is the 
 painter of Gubbio and the gem of all his works has been 
 left on the actual wall for which it first was painted. 
 It was icy wintry weather, although the month was 
 May, when we arrived at Gubbio, but in the fields 
 all round it the flax shone grey and blue like a lagune. 
 Had Nelli seen such flax fields when he painted his 
 Madonna's and his angels' gowns ? The stuffs he 
 gave them were as blue, as pure, as all these flowers 
 put together. 1 
 
 fall through the streets. They are mounted on immense 
 candelabra — ceri—o{ extraordinary shape, and weighing each 
 several tons. The young men of the town, dressed in 
 white shirts and trousers and coloured caps, and staggering, 
 half mad with wine and weariness, bear them upon their 
 shoulders at a half trot. At nightfall they make a final rush 
 with these Umbrian juggernauts up the mountain side to the 
 chapel of the Saint, and there the ceri remain in peace for 
 the remainder of the year, till fetched for the same barbaric 
 performance the following May. hor a full and most in- 
 teresting account of this ceremony we must refer the reader 
 to Mr Bower's delightful book on the " Ceri of Gubbio." 
 
 1 Ottaviano Nelli, born sometime towards the end of the 
 fourteenth century, son of Martino Nelli and a native of 
 Gubbio. He was one of the very earliest masters of the Um- 
 brian school of painting, following close and copying without 
 ambition the work of the Sienese. The fresco in S. Maria 
 Nuova at Gubbio is considered his masterpiece. It strives 
 towards beautiful colouring and sentiment rather than correct 
 drawing.
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 Spello. 
 
 Early one morning we left Perugia and passed along 
 the plain to Spello. We found it in a halo of May 
 sunlight. There was nothing grim or forbidding, 
 nothing Etruscan about the smiling little town ; 
 the sunlight and the air crept into the heart of its 
 streets and set-med to linger there. Yet these were 
 narrow and steep and made for war and not for 
 peace or comfort, just like the streets of Perugia. 
 Their character indeed is so purely mediaeval and 
 untouched, that the chains which guarded them 
 at nightfall are even left hanging in one place to 
 the walls. 
 
 Right away from the town amongst the olive trees 
 we came to the convent of S. Girolamo. There in 
 the back of the choir is the little fresco of the 
 Maniage of the Virgin by Pinturicchio — faint in 
 colour and fragile in outline, but charming in its 
 composition. 
 
 Pinturicchio is the painter of Spello ; there is much 
 of his work in the churches. He came there to 
 paint for Troilo, one of the Baglioni, lords of Spello. 
 Hence he was called to Siena to do his well-known 
 series of frescoes for the Piccolomini. A whole chapel 
 in S. Maria Maggiore is covered with his works, and 
 he has put his own portrait amongst them with a string 
 of beads, a brush and palette hanging from it. The 
 artist's face is thin and melancholy, but the frescoes round 
 it are large in line and treatment and some of the best 
 specimens of his religious work. There they stand 
 mouldering mysteriously in the dim light of the little 
 old church for which this master made them four 
 hundred years ago. We lingered long before them, 
 then passed back into the sunlit street and drove away 
 through the gate of the town with the Roman senators 
 294
 
 Folig 
 
 no 
 
 above it and out across the hot dry plain to the city of 
 Foligno.i 
 
 FoLIGNO.- 
 
 Sunk, as it were, in a broad basin of plain, through 
 which the quiet waters of Clitumnus drain slowly to 
 the Tiber, is the city of Foligno — that city which 
 Perugia so detested, so offended in the past. The 
 town has all the character of the towns of the 
 plciin. Driving through its straight and even streets 
 we felt as though we were in Lombardy, in Padua or 
 Ferrara. There were Lombard lions in the porch and 
 Loinbard beasts around the arch of the Duomo. The 
 houses were all shut up, square, silent, cool, preparing, 
 as it seemed, for summer heat and dust, and infinite 
 hours of afternoon. The place was flat and drowsy, 
 but we liked it and studied m its churches with delight. 
 
 Niccolo Alunno is the painter of Foligno. Some of 
 his work is scattered through the churches, and more 
 is gathered together in the small Pinacoteca together 
 with that of other early Umbrian masters. Very gold 
 and brown the frescoes seemed, very sober and religious 
 in their sentiment. Here one could study the Umbrian 
 school, apart from the Peruginesque, and it struck 
 us that the art of the first Umbrian painters was a 
 natural, and (if one may say so in this age of critics) 
 an inspired one, which sprang straight up from the soil 
 about the feet of the painters, and was only influenced 
 
 1 Spello was at one time a Roman colony. The Roman 
 gate Porta Veneris is well preserved. A little to the left of 
 the town, outside its present wails, are the remains of its old 
 theatre. The town is also connected with the mythical history 
 of Orlando, and a long inscription on the walls records the 
 facts minutely. 
 
 - Albcrgo delta Posta — a really admirable inn. 
 
 295
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 at certain purely decorative points by the teaching of 
 the Florentines. The angels were the Umbrian 
 children, well groomed, well fed, and wholly un- 
 affected. Neither Paganism nor Christianity had very 
 much to do with them. When Perugino's ripened 
 influence came in, they weakened as garden flowers 
 weaken, in their power of appeal through pure simpli- 
 city. The first faces of Umbrian saints and angels 
 were simple like the Umbrian dog-rose. Perugino 
 turned them into garden roses. Both in their way were 
 fair, but the former flowers seemed nearer the divine 
 than those which had been trained and cultivated. 
 
 It is not possible to mention here all the pictures of 
 Foligno. There are two fine Alunnos in S. Niccolo ; 
 and a rather surprising Mantegna with the colour of 
 brown wine — colour of passion and pain, which clashes 
 with the Perugino just beside it — on the chapel of 
 the Nunziatella. The Palazzo Communale is covered 
 with the work of Nelli, but one feels that the painter 
 who so loved what was gay and rich and beautiful (see 
 his picture at Gubbio) wanted a lot more gold and 
 ultramarine than his patron allowed him when painting 
 the ceiling of this chapel. 
 
 Before leaving Foligno we went into the church of S. 
 Matia infra Portas. It is so old, this little low basilica, 
 that it has sunk quite deep into the soil around it. In- 
 side are many faded frescoes, brown and gold, and full 
 of almost painful early sentiment. As we stood among 
 them in the dusk, a blackbird poured a flood of freshest 
 song in through the door from the light of the court- 
 yard. " How your bird sings ! " we said to the custode. 
 " Yes," said the man ; " he sings all day ; but whether 
 for love or rage I cannot tell." . . • And it struck us 
 that no Umbrian of a hill town, or no Perugian any- 
 way, would have made this profoundly melancholy 
 statement about a tame bird's song. 
 296
 
 Montefalco 
 
 MONTEFALCO. 
 
 The road from Foligno to Montefalco leads all 
 along the flat at first, through the peaceful vale of 
 the Clitumnus. Sometimes we crossed the water and 
 saw the reeds and rushes growing, and felt the cool 
 fresh breath of the enchanted stream. Then passing 
 under a mediaeval watch-tower we left the flat land and 
 began the steep ascent to Montefalco. 
 
 The town stands on a hill in the very heart of Um- 
 bria, and hence it is called by the people the r'lngh'iera 
 d' Umbria. We saw it "on a day of many days," and 
 it struck us that this was. the site of the city of our dreams 
 — the best, the fairest we had ever met in travel. The 
 sun was low as we drove through the gates. Far 
 below us and around us stretched the Umbrian land- 
 scape, the bed of the old Umbrian lake : long green 
 waves of blue and green, seething in the heated air of 
 the May afternoon. ^ 
 
 The town felt very quiet and deserted. The grass 
 grew everywhere through the stones of its piazza. 
 In silence the children played, in silence the women 
 sat at their doors, the place had fallen asleep. 
 But once the city knew prosperity, and many painters 
 climbed the steep roads from the plain below, and 
 came to Montefalco to leave some impress of their 
 art upon the walls of chapels and of churches. 
 Hither came Benozzo Gozzoli in 1449, and here he 
 painted many of liis early frescoes. What brought the 
 
 1 Melanzio, the delightful painter ot" Montefalco, had noted 
 this blue-green light ol spring, he had caught it in his very 
 soul, and put it back into his landscapes, into his Virgin's 
 gown, yes, and even into the shadows on the faces of his 
 saints. "Fourth-rate" a critic called him, but we, who have 
 no \vi>h or power to criticise, loved him for the harmony 
 which we found between his native landscape and his 
 pictures. 
 
 297
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 splendid Florentine to the tiny town we wondered ? He 
 came in the very prime of his youth, and they say that 
 he did so, simply because he was connected with the 
 Dominicans of the place. Certainly he settled here for 
 sevt n years or so, did j^ood work, and spread the 
 influence of Florence throughout the minds of the rising 
 Umbrian masters. Benozzo's early work at Moniefaico 
 is fresh, raw, naive. It lacks the finish and the gilded 
 ornaments of the Riccardi chapel, but in exchange 
 it holds a certain simple and religious sentiment which 
 is lacking in his later frescoes. The best of his 
 paintings are in the church of S. Francesco,^ and there 
 are several other good pictures of the Umbrian painters 
 here — a fine Tioerio d'Assisi and some things by 
 Melanzio. In one of the latter, a portrait of the painter 
 by himself — a tall, slim youth with long light hair and 
 earnest face full of quiet thought and stn ngth. Melanzio 
 is the painter of Montefalco, and luckily his work is well 
 preserved in many of the churches. The little frieze of 
 angels playing with carnations above the left hand altar 
 as one enters the church of the Illuminata, is one of the 
 most fascinating bits of detail that we have ever seen. 
 
 Before leaving Montefalco we drov^ out to the con- 
 vent of S. Fortunate, which lies to the east of the town. 
 There were pictures there — of these we remember little; 
 but the lanes which led to the convent we never shall 
 forget. They were warm deep lanes and the hedges 
 above were full of dog-roses and honeysuckle, the light 
 inside was green and blue like the landscape down upon 
 the plain. The lanes of Montefalco were as beautiful 
 
 1 This airy old church has been converted into the Pinacoteca 
 of Montefalco. It is one of the few local picure galleries which 
 ever really pleased us. The pictures and frescoes taken from 
 their altars in the neighbouring churches have found a home and 
 not a prison on its wide walls ; their dignity and sentiment 
 have not been taken from them in the change of their position. 
 2q8
 
 Tr 
 
 evt 
 
 a vision as we have ever seen. Like the frescoes of 
 Melanzio they had the colour of a tropic butterfly, and 
 like the flight of butterflies they hover in our memory. 
 
 FoLIGNO TO SpOLETO. 
 
 In the very height of the midday we left Foligno 
 and took the road to Spoleto. It is a fine broad road, 
 passing along the site of the old Flaminian Way, grand, 
 dusty, white, with a feeling that Rome is at the end of 
 it, and Umbria but a little land to be passed quickly by. 
 As we trundled along in our clumsy landau dragged by 
 a pair of miserable horses, we thought of all the popes, 
 the emperors and legions, who, going south or north- 
 wards, had passed in this direction. The dust flew up 
 and almost choked us ; it was the week of the wild roses, 
 and the hedges were all aglow with their delicious blos- 
 soms, their petals bent wide back as though to catch 
 the very essence of the sunlight on their golden stamens. 
 We left the main road a little below Trevi, and 
 driving through fields and oak woods, passed up the 
 hills by a steep short cut which leads to the town above. 
 This road cannot be recommended to travellers unless 
 they go on foot ; our poor little city horses struggled 
 painfully over the sand and pebbles of the numerous 
 streams it crosses. But what a stretch of country for 
 the artist ! Everywhere the poppies were in flower — 
 a shimmer of pure cadmiums and carmines under the 
 oaks and the olives. After about an hour's climb we 
 came out suddenly on the broad bastions of the road 
 which runs from Trevi to the convent of S. Martino. 
 
 Trevi. 
 
 The tiny town of Trevi is a familiar object to all who 
 pass along the line to Rome. It stands, as one expects 
 
 299
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 all Umbrian towns to stand, a crown of buildings closely 
 packed upon a little hill-top. The city felt bare and 
 baked when we entered it, and we left it soon to wander 
 round its bastion-road ; a thing which was fairer far than 
 all the pictures in the churches.^ Long we sat in the 
 grasses, tracing out the landmarks in the heat mist far 
 below us : Montefalco in the foreground, Perugia 
 behind it, Assisi and Spello a little to the right, and, 
 sunk in the broad plain of the Clitumnus, just as 
 Raphael painted them four hundred years ago, the houses 
 and the towers of Foligno. 
 
 The Temple of Clitumnus. 
 
 ■• Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges, et maxima taurus 
 Victima, saepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro, 
 Romanos ad templa Deum duxere triumphos." 
 
 Georg. ii. 146. 
 
 Barely three miles from Trevi, just off the dusty road, 
 in the burning heat of a brewing storm, we came to the 
 Temple of Clitumnus. This marvellously romantic 
 spot needs no description of ours, for the tiny temple 
 seems to hold the very essence of what is best in pagan 
 art and worship, and its praises have been sung by classic 
 poets throughout the course of centuries.- 
 
 1 There are one or two pictures by Lo Spagna in Trevi, 
 the best one in the church ot the Lagrime, to the south of the 
 town. 
 
 - There is considerable doubt felt nowadays as to whether the 
 exquisite little temple once dedicated to the river god Clitum- 
 nus which we now see standing above the river, is really the 
 same as that early one described by Pliny. The work on it is 
 certainly very late Roman, if, indeed, it be Roman at all; the 
 emblems are, many of them, purely those of Christian art. But 
 as the temple was turned into a Christian chapel (dedicated to 
 S. Salvadore), it may, perhaps, be that its detail was altered to 
 suit the altered creed. However these things be, the tiny 
 building remains one of the most charming and romantic points 
 in Umbria — one of the sweetest tributes that man's mind ever 
 paid to the spirits of Nature. Before leaving the spot one should 
 300
 
 Temple of Clitumnus 
 
 With the following stanzas passing through one's 
 mind, one may linger very long and pleasantly down by 
 the water's edge, and dragging one's liands in the cool 
 stream, and looking towards the temple up above, dream 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF CLITUMNUS 
 
 golden dreams of river gods and hamadryads as well 
 as of " milk white steer." 
 
 walk on to the place below the road, where the river springs 
 straight from the foot of the hills — a limpid stream, rising 
 almost invisibly through the grass and trees which overshadow 
 its mysterious source. 
 
 301
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 But thou, CIttumnus ! in thy sweetest wave 
 
 Of the most living ciystal that was e'er 
 The haunt of river nymph, to j^aze and lave 
 
 Hei limbs where nothing hid tht-m, thou dost rear 
 Thy grassy banks whereon the milk-white steer 
 
 Grazes; the purest god of gmtle waters! 
 And most serene ol aspect, and most clear ; 
 
 Surely that stream was unprofaned by slaughters — 
 
 A mirror and a bath foi Beauty's youngest daughters! 
 
 And on thy happy shore a Temple still, 
 
 Of small ami delicate propDition, keeps, 
 Upon a mild declivity of hill, 
 
 its memory of tht-c : beneath it sweeps 
 Thy current's calmness ; oft from out it leaps 
 
 The finny darrer with the glittering scales, 
 Who dwells and revels in thy glassy deeps : 
 
 While, chance, some scattered water-lily sails 
 
 Down where the shallower wave still tells its bubbling 
 tales. 
 
 ' Pass not unblest the Genius of the placet 
 
 If through the air a zephyr more serene 
 Win to the brow, 'tis his: and if ye trace 
 
 Along his margin a more eloquent green. 
 If on the heart the freshness of the scene 
 
 Sprinkle its coolness, and from the dry dust 
 Of weary life a moment lave it clean 
 
 With Nature's baptism, — 'tis to him ye must 
 
 Pay orisons for this suspension of disgust." 
 
 See " Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." Canto IV. 
 stanza Ixvi.. etc. 
 
 Spoleto. 
 
 Late in the light of a thundery evening we drove into 
 the town of Spoleto. As our weary horses dragged us 
 through the city gates, and up and under the walls of the 
 silent town, a sort of terror and of gloom possessed our 
 spirits. Here was something new and big and strange. 
 What did it mean ? Gradually we became accus- 
 302
 
 Spoleto 
 
 tomed to the spirit of the place, and seemed to realise 
 the reason of its grim impression. 
 
 For days we had been steeped in Umbrian landscape 
 as one expects to know it nowadays, in gentle fields, in 
 lanes, and hills and sunny pastures — in those .••ame things 
 which gave to the Umbrian saints and painters the 
 spirit of peace. Spoleto had none of these. Spoleto is 
 purely Umbrian, as far as geography goes, she was at 
 one time the head of Umbrian matters, but the town 
 was always independent, a thing apart, or rather, per-. 
 haps, influenced by the influence of larger rules and 
 kingdoms. Hers is a stirring history,^ and the sense of 
 her wars and of her dukes lives on within her stones, and 
 is stamped upon her houses and her church walls. There 
 was a smell of dukes and cardinals, of pomposity and 
 vastness, even in the rooms of our inn ^ ; and the very 
 
 1 Spoleto, like nearly every other important Umbrian city, was 
 at one time a Roman colony (512). Later she and Benevento 
 were the first of the Italian cities to form themselves into 
 duchie« under the Lombards; and the dukes of Spoleto form an 
 important point in Umbrian history, as at one time they ruled 
 over the whole of Umbria. (Later, as we have seen, Perugia 
 got the ascendency.) Spoleto was Ghibelline in spirit, made in- 
 cessant wars with neighbouring towns which favoured the Pope, 
 and quarrelled constantly with the popes themselves. The extra- 
 ordinary position of the town, serving, so to speak, as an inland 
 harbour off" the Fiaminian Way, exposed her to constant attacks 
 from passing hordes and armies, and one of the most dramatic 
 points in her early history is that of the repulse of Hannibal : 
 " Alone, in the midst of universal dismay, the youthful colony of 
 Spoleto lost not its courage," says a local historian, " and after 
 a period of less than twenty-four years from its foundation made 
 its name illustrious, by associating it with one of the most 
 memorable events of antiquity." I3y resisting the army of the 
 African, Spoleto, of course, was of great assistance to Rome, as 
 the repulse was the first solid ciieck in his advance. 
 
 " Albergo Luccini, a rambling old palace belonging in old 
 days to a Cardinal, and now to Signor Luccini. An interesting 
 inn, which should be better known and more frequented. Its 
 landlord has made a beautiful collection of the old furniture,
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 landscape round seemed throttled by the passing of 
 imperial people. It was as though a great emperor had 
 taken a peasant girl and dressed her up in gorgeous 
 clothes and given her a splendid palace for a home. 
 The girl (the gentle spirit of Umbria) withered, but the 
 palace built for her remained, and the best thing about 
 it — its grand supply of freshest water from the hills 
 above, brought down in great Roman aqueducts — has 
 never been removed. 
 
 As we pondered these things we remembered the 
 brown roofs and the square of S. Lorenzo at Perugia, 
 and we thought them better than all the grandeur of 
 imperial powers stuffed into a narrow creek of the 
 Umbrian hills. 
 
 Yet Spoleto is a place which excites a strong and 
 lasting fascination. Its situation is magnificent. The 
 citadel of Theodoric soars above it : a mighty block of 
 masonry ; at its feet the Duomo and the town, and at 
 its back the towering crags, covered here and there 
 with a dense growth of ilex, box, and oak. Town 
 and mountain are divided by a deep gorge, but this is 
 spanned by the Roman aqueduct, 266 feet in height, 
 and the most remarkable point of the whole town. To 
 get a full impression of Spoleto one should cross the 
 aqueduct and walk or ride to Monte Luco, a convent 
 built immediately above the city, in the midst of the 
 ilex woods. Thence, on a broad bastion, outside the 
 cell where S. Francis came to pray, one's eye wanders 
 over a magnificent stretch of plain and hill and river, 
 backed by a land of barren mountain tops and gorges. 
 
 Very few treasures of art are left in the town itself, 
 
 pottery, etc. of the neighbourhood, and the vast rooms of his 
 house are filled with these fine things. We can imagine no 
 more fascinating abode for any person bitten with a love of 
 history and (alas for its landlord) solitude.
 
 Narni 
 
 and these are as bruised, as scattered, and unsatisfactory 
 as those of any city whose history is one of fighting and 
 perpetual sieges rather than of artists or of fame. Lo 
 Spagna hvcd at Spoleto, and worked there largely ; but 
 the gentle style of his colouring, the peace and often 
 affectation of his figures seems out of place on 
 the altars of half bai baric or barocco churches. 
 Kverywheic there are bits of Roman building picked 
 up and stuck about on pavements and facades : a painful 
 mixture, lacking care and order. Several of the 
 churches have good Lombard fronts ; the Chiesa del 
 Crocitisso is built from the ruins of a Roman temple, 
 but the place is only a pain to see in its dilap'da ion. 
 
 The Duomo is a really impressive building, with a 
 splendid Lomb.ird front — a broad balcony supported by 
 columns, and eight rose windows above it. Tne roof 
 of the choir is pamted by Filippo Lippi. 
 
 Filij'po Ivippi died at Spoleto in 1489. He was 
 poisoned, some say, this Florentine monk, because of 
 his loves with an Umbrian lady. Lorenzo de' Medici 
 triid to get his body back that they might bury 
 it in 1- lorencf, but the Spoletans refused, pleading 
 th.it they possessed so few objects of interest of their 
 own that they must needs keep the bones of this great 
 painter tor an ornament. So Lorenzo caused his 
 tomb to be built in the cathedral of Spoleto. As we 
 turned from the long Latin inscription written above it 
 we lelt that Browning's lines would liave served the 
 purpose just as well, and much more shortly : 
 
 '' Floivtr 0" the clove, 
 
 Ail the Latin I construe is, ' omo ' / Inve / " 
 
 Narni. 
 
 Leaving Trevi and its cataracts to the left we passed 
 in the train to Narni. We came there for an hour, 
 we stayed a whole day and a night, fascinated by the 
 
 "^ 305
 
 The Story of Perugia 
 
 marvellous view which met us from the windows of 
 the inn.^ Part of the city of Narni is built immediately 
 upon the steep crags which overhang the gorge of the 
 Nar. From this side the position of the city may be 
 practically called inaccessible, and over it our windows 
 looked. We had seen the Umbrian plains and valleys, 
 we had seen Spoleto ; Narni again was a fresh surprise, 
 it seemed to represent to us the Umbrian Alps. The 
 place has a tempestuous history. There is a certain 
 beaten look, about its walls which reminded us of 
 Perugia, and, indeed, the cities are alike in many ways. 
 Both were practically in the power of the Popes 
 whilst considering themselves as independent repub- 
 lics, both fostering perpetual feuds between the neigh- 
 bouring cities."- But whereas Perugia has kept an ample 
 record of her past, that of Narni is almost obliterated. 
 Through a piece of misguided policy she laid herself 
 open to a horrible siege in 1527 (see pamphlet by 
 Giuseppe Terrenzi). The Bourbons entered the town, 
 sacked the houses, butchered her inhabitants, destroyed 
 her considerable treasures of art, and finally, made an 
 end of nearly all her archives. 
 
 In Narni, however, we did not look for art. We came 
 there almost unexpectedly, and unexpectedly we stayed, 
 wandering through its streets, discovering with delight 
 the rare and lovely bits of Lombard tracery on house 
 and church door, and passing in and out between the 
 Roman gateways.^ At night we sat in the quiet rooms 
 
 1 Alhcrgo Jcir Aitgelo, a thoroughly delightful house, clean, 
 well-kept, miraculously cheap, and hospitable, with airy 
 rooms (no luxuries), and one of the most surprising views 
 in Umbria. 
 
 " The history of Narni is full of one long conflict with Trevi. 
 
 ■■ The Duomo is almost perfect still, and datf^s from the 
 thirteenth century. A beautiful basilica, with unspoiled 
 columns, a fine pulpit, and one or two good pictures. 
 306
 
 V 
 
 
 1 \ 
 
 
 NARNI (with ANGELO inn IN FOREnROUNo) 
 
 307
 
 Orvieto 
 
 of the Angelo inn, and listened to the nightingales 
 which sang with their habitual vehemence deep in the 
 ilex woods across the river Nar. They had sung, no 
 doubt, in just this fashion hundreds of years ago, when 
 the Bourbons broke into the town and half destroyed 
 her people. 
 
 Orvieto. 
 
 In the dull light of coming rain we turned our backs 
 on Narni and took the train for Orte. We left the 
 sun at the same time as we left the green and wooded 
 hills and valleys. The rain came down in sheets at 
 Orte ; and we found ourselves in the deadly land — 
 the land of grey volcanic strata, bare like a bone, in the 
 valley of the Paglia. Dreary enough was the outlook 
 when we came to Orvieto. The city seemed as 
 though it had been drenched in the ink of a wounded 
 sepia ; the streets were black and foul, the houses 
 low and closely packed ; walls without towers, dwindled 
 and decayed rather than bombarded, and people with 
 fever-stricken faces huddled in the square. 
 
 Heavy drenching rain of spring. Under the darkness 
 of the clouds, soaring high as a glorious vision above 
 the miserable houses — a peacock in a hen-coop, a 
 miracle of marbles and mosaics — the Duomo of 
 Orvieto ! . . . No one who has ever seen the building 
 can forget it, for it is like a great surprise ; it startles 
 and astounds one in the midst of the decay around it. 
 Here, if anywhere in Umbria, the power of the Pope or 
 of the Church was sealed on the rebellious souls of its 
 inhabitants ; here to commemorate a dubious miracle 
 men made a dream in stone. ^ To describe its splen- 
 
 1 The cathedral was begun at the end of the thirteenth 
 century. Nicholas IV. laid the first stone in 1290. It was 
 built to commemorate a miracle which happened to a priest at
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 dours were in this small sketch a mere impertinence. 
 But if we wish to see what is perhaps the finest bit of 
 Gothic work in Italy, if we wish to learn the power 
 of Signorelli's painting, it is certain that we must come 
 hither and study at Orvieto. 
 
 As we turned our back on the cathedral we 
 wondered what it was about her people which had 
 allowed them to foster such a mighty piece of purest 
 art throughout a turbulent history. Certainly the 
 popes had power in the city.^ They made it a 
 mighty church, they made for it an almost mightier 
 well ! When Clement VII. fled from Rome in 
 1527 he took refuge in Orvieto, and, haunted by the 
 fear of drought in case of siege, conceived the extra- 
 ordinary idea of building a colossal well, for which 
 purpose he employed the same architect as Paul III. 
 employed to build his fortress at Perugia. 
 
 Signorelli painted a picture of the Inferno for 
 Orvieto, Sangallo built for it an Inferno in bricks ! 
 Feathery mosses, sombre ferns have grown across the 
 inside walls of the great poz%o (which was built on a 
 scale to suit a train of ascending and descending 
 elephants) ; they seemed to seethe like sulphurous 
 smoke in the dark and fetid air and we hurried from 
 it gladly into the rain of the street. . . . 
 
 Chiusi. 
 
 From Orvieto we went to Chiusi. The rain went 
 
 Bolsena (near Orvieto), who, disbelieving in the sacraments, 
 beheld them turned to actual flesh and blood. The napkin 
 with the blood stains is kept in a marvellously beautiful shrine 
 in the Duomo — a thing of rare and exquisite workmanship in 
 silver and enamels. 
 
 1 The popes were always flying from Rome to Orvieto for 
 safety. Thirty-two of them are recorded to have stayed in the 
 town. 
 
 • 3IC
 
 Citta della Pieve 
 
 with us too, and of the town itself we saw but Httle, only 
 all around us in the dense woods, in the silent soaking 
 air of night, the nightingales were singing their piercing 
 penetrating songs of love and May. The air was full 
 of the strong sweet voices and of the scent of grow- 
 ing leaves, of privet, and wet earth. Chiusi is a 
 centre of interest to students of Etruscan history, 
 and although the little town exports its treasures to 
 every museum in Europe its own is full of beauties 
 still. We lingered long among them, fascinated by 
 the goblin birds wliich are perched upon the vases and 
 the pent roof of the tombs, fascinated by the excellence 
 and the variety of the greater part of all the objects in 
 the cases. The rain poured pitilessly upon the streets of 
 Chiusi ; it swept in sheets across the lake and over the 
 towers of Montepulciano, and we abandoned all hopes of 
 going to the tombs themselves and drove away across 
 the marshes and up the wooded hills to Citta della 
 Pieve.^ 
 
 Citta della Pieve. 
 
 . . . "j'etais tout de meme persuade que Citta 
 della Pieve reste la ville la plus merveilleuse de 
 I'Ombrie," says M. Broussole ; and we ourselves in 
 many ways agreed with him. The charm of the town 
 consists firstly, in its situation, and secondly, in its 
 association. It commands wide views northwards 
 over the lakes of Chiusi and of Trasimene, and 
 southwards towards Rome. The hill on which it 
 stands is densely wooded, there is perpetual peace in 
 its streets, it is the birth-place of Pietro Perugino 
 
 • The road from Chiusi to Citta della Pieve is marvellously 
 beautiful, winding up through one of those virgin forests of 
 oaks whicli still are scattered through various tracts of central 
 Italy. 
 
 31'
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 and contains some faint fair bits of the master's later 
 work. All day we wandered through the town, and 
 when the evening came we foimd ourselves at service 
 in the church of Santa Maria dei Servi. 
 
 It was May, the month of Mary. The people from 
 the town came pouring in for benediction. They were 
 nearly all of them very poor people, the men haggard 
 with perpetual labour in the fields,^ quiet and eager 
 even when very old ; the girls fair, slim, colourless, 
 their shawls too well defining the slender slope of their 
 thin shoulders ; the children brown and fascinating, and 
 the older women lost in prayer. (We have noticed 
 that the veriest hags in Umbria seem to pray as though 
 they fully realised the sins of their forefathers, and felt 
 the present generation needed all their prayers. ) Peace 
 and poverty were the two things which were stamped 
 most clearly on the faces of the congregation. The 
 priests themselves looked poor and worn, shorn of 
 their fat homes and privileges. There were not many 
 candles on the altar and these they lighted slowly one 
 by one. Then they begun to sing a long low wailing 
 chaunt in praise of Mary. 
 
 It had thundered and rained since morning. The 
 day died out in an orange glow which filtered through 
 the hedges on the road outside and fell through the 
 door of the church, gilding, as though with the softness 
 of a vision, the groups of tired people. It rested with 
 a wonderful radiance on the faded fresco above the 
 chapel where we sat.- 
 
 1 It must be remembered that the only wealth of these hill- 
 set Umbrian cities, or rather the only source of life, comes 
 from the fields outside them. There is no commerce or 
 manufacturing of any sort in a town like Citta della Pieve. 
 
 - Descent from the Cross by Perugino. A door was at one 
 time driven through the fresco, thus exactly cutting away the 
 principal figure— that of our Saviour. The picture has been
 
 Citta dell a Pieve 
 
 In all the country round, it would have been difficult 
 to find a scene more steeped in the spirit of pastoral 
 Umbria than this one : the half-ruined church, the 
 graceful tired people, the thin priests, and the faded 
 fresco of Perugino ; the whole saved from squalor 
 by the splendour of the sunlight on the land outside 
 the door. 
 
 We opened a book which we had carried with us on 
 our journey and read the following lines : 
 
 •• Oh ! qui nous delivrcra du mal de science ! N'est-ce point 
 folie d'avoir dtouffe a grand peine tous les meilleurs instincts 
 de notre etre, pour obeir a la mode du jour et nous faire une 
 ame critique! Adieu les beaux enthousiasmes ! On n'ose 
 plus aimer la verite d'aujourd'liui depuis qu'on ne sait jamais 
 qu'elle sera celle de demain ! II y, a des erreurs dont on ne 
 peut se consoler. Quelle pitie de s'etre prosterne tant de fois 
 avec toutes les tendresses de son ame croyante devant un 
 escalier vermoulu que des moines trompeurs exhibaient depuis 
 des siecles comme ayant abrite la sainte penitence d'un saint 
 Alexis qui n'a jamais existe! Ne donnons plus jamais notre 
 coeur a la verite ! Promenons sur les choses et les hommes 
 I'eternel sourire de notre indifference moqueuse. C'est la 
 qu' est le plaisir et le charme de la saine critique. Tout sera 
 parfait quand les liistoires commeiiceront et finiront par ce 
 gai refrain Chi lo su." ' 
 
 Chi lo sa. — The words brought up before our eyes a 
 host of images : hedges and fields, woods and plains, 
 green with the green of the May-time : white roads 
 and poppy fields, the oak. woods under Trevi, the ilex 
 
 spoilt in other ways ; but it is full of Pietro's graceful senti- 
 ment, and the group of the Marys at the foot of the cross is 
 one of the most touching things that we remember of the Master. 
 1 See Pcler'tnagcis Ombriens, p. 265. M. Eroussole had been 
 staying at Citra della Pieve, and, carried away by the excessive 
 charm of the place, he revolted a little from the learned dis- 
 sertations of a local historian, and broke into the sentiments 
 which we quote above.
 
 'The Story oj Perugia 
 
 groves of Spoleto, the long low lines of shining Trasi- 
 mene, the marshy shores of Chiusi ; and still more fair 
 And more romantic, the cool green stream of the 
 Clitumnus flowing beneath the pagan temple of a Roman 
 river god. . . . That was the vision we had learned to 
 love and know, with no attempt to criticise, and it was 
 all composed of natural things. Dimly in the past we 
 saw another vision : our study at Perugia. Piles and 
 piles of manuscripts were there ; books and maps, and 
 guides, pamphlets, chronicles and histories — the records 
 of men's doings, one and all. 
 
 What about all this history, these interminable records 
 of building and of quarrelling, of burying and strife ? 
 What in fact about all these Perugian P's : — Perse- 
 ciizione, Protezlone, Process'ione ; Popes, people, painters, 
 and Priori ? What had all these persons done to touch 
 or trammel permanently the eternal smile of Umbrian 
 nature through which we had been passing ? Surely 
 there were lovers who, amongst the savage bands of 
 men who skirmished down the hill across the plains in 
 order to insult or to offend their neighbours, stopped to 
 snatch a white rose from the hedges where they grew 
 in thousands ? And there were women, young and 
 pure and peaceful, ignorant of the Pope, indifferent to 
 the Baglioni, who waited for them in their homes — 
 women with the faces of Bonfigli's angels, Bonfigli's 
 roses, maybe, twisted in their hair ? . . . 
 
 With dim delight we realised that whatever 
 the doings of the past may have been in Umbria 
 as elsewhere, the microscopic scratches made by him 
 through centuries upon the calm smooth breast of 
 Nature have now all turned to a delicate adornment. 
 The war and the strife, the hurrying and skurrying to 
 power have vanished utterly. Man's work is there : 
 wonderful little cities of men made one with Nature 
 3'4
 
 C it til dell a Pi eve 
 
 now; frescoes fading into death around the quiet 
 altars of forgotten churches, fortresses and wells and 
 city walls, bridges and the tombs of vanished nations ; 
 new buildings rising here and there upon the old, new 
 people praying or parading, where the old had fought 
 and prayed. But above them all the balm of sun and 
 rain, of rivers, lakes and water-courses doing their work. 
 
 As the twilight fell we left the church. Early the 
 following morning we turned our faces northward on 
 Perugia, but took a last long look at Perugino's altar- 
 piece in the church of the Disciplinati. Faint golds, 
 faint greens, a quiet landscape, with low hills falling 
 peacefully on a low stretch of valley. No harsh 
 shadows, no high lights, the shepherds crossing down 
 the paths behind their browsing sheep. The Virgin, 
 a type of purest girlhood with just enough of the 
 woman in the way she holds the Child to show it 
 is her own ; young men, for kings, with angel faces, 
 and the smile of saints ; no touch of passion, no 
 glimmer of pain . . . that was the sense of the picture. 
 
 As we looked at it the people from the town came 
 in to see it too, the baker and the smith, the driver 
 and the local painter. " You see," said the smith, 
 " it is a very beautiful thing this picture of ours ; and 
 when we hear it is uncovered we come to see it too. 
 We particularly like that white dog in the background, 
 and the shepherds are exactly like the life. We often 
 come to look at it — how should we do otherwise?" 
 
 The smith was tall and slim and very gentle. His 
 face was like that of the youthful king who holds the 
 chalice in Pietro's fresco, it merely lacked the affecta- 
 tion, and his perfectly simple comments seemed to us 
 more genuine and impressive than many books of critics. 
 We listened to them gladly, but as we turned our faces
 
 T'he Story of Perugia 
 
 homewards, we remembered certain other subtle and 
 deHghtful phrases written by AHnda Brunanionti upon a 
 work, of Perugino. With these calm words we close 
 a book which opened with the clash of swords and the 
 conflicts of the Umbrian people : 
 
 " Sorrow does not disturb serenity ; pain is at en- 
 mity with joy but not with peace. This Christian law 
 is incarnated within our art. Peace and not joy is in 
 her idylls ; peace in the landscapes which are so utterly 
 our own, and so serenely beautiful. How often — even 
 whilst my vision wandered into the infinitude of sky 
 behind our blue green hills, and further again beyond 
 the outposts of the Apennines, and further still away 
 into the depths of the azure-laden air — have I not 
 said unto myself; ' This vision surely is of an insuper- 
 able loveliness ! How therefore could our artists fail 
 to be above all things ideal when Nature of herself 
 had trained them in schools of such an exquisite 
 perfection ? ' " 
 
 316
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abbot, of S. Pietro (Guidalotti), 
 
 38 ; treacherously assassinates B. 
 
 Michelotti, 39 ; flies from Perugia, 
 
 40. 
 Adone Doni, picture by, iig; 181. 
 AcJiLULK, Kin? of the Lombards, 
 
 recaptures Perugia, 15. 
 Alua.no, bishop of (Cardinal Angel- 
 
 ico), Urban VI. 's Vicar General in 
 
 Perugia, 30. 184. 
 Ai.BOKNOZ, Cardinal, attempts to 
 
 recover States of the Church. 30. 
 Alexander VI., Pope, enmity 
 
 with I'aglioni, (note) 55; 263. 
 Ai.KAN'i, Domenicoand Orazio, 234 ; 
 
 264 ; 265. 
 Alunno, Niccolo, 235 ; 251 ; 295. 
 Angelico, Fra Beato, 235 ; his 
 
 pictures at Perugia. Z56, 257. 258. 
 Aquila, siege of. by B. Forte- 
 
 braccio, 48 ; 49 ; 50 ; 207 ; 209. 
 Akezzo, 18 ; wars with Perugia, 21, 
 
 22, III, 112; 291. 
 Akmanni, Cri>ti:ino, contributes 
 
 towards building of S. Domenico, 
 
 164. 
 Assist, taken by Totila, 13 ; 18 ; 
 
 wars with Perugia, 19 ; 30 ; 37 . 
 
 41 ; 43 ; 60 ; 85 ; 98 ; 118 ; 182 ; 
 
 290 ; 300. 
 Audience Chamber of Magistrates, 
 
 Renaissance woodwork in, 220. 
 Augustus, Emperor, takes Perugia, 
 
 9 ; 12 ; 91 ; 171. 
 
 B 
 
 Baccio d'Agnolo, igo. 
 
 Baglioni, 33 murder of Pandolfo. 
 37 ; Spello giv^n to Malatesta, 51 ; 
 blood feud- with the degli Oddi, 
 55, 112; Matarazzo, historian of 
 
 the, 58 ; described by J. A. 
 Symonds, 59, 60 ; beauty of the, 
 61; treachery of Gritonetto, 62; 
 marriage of Lavinia Colonna with 
 Astorre, 6;; massacre of the, 64, 
 65 ; fl ght of Atalanta, Zenobia 
 and Gianpaolo, 65 ; death of 
 Grifonetto, 66, 161, 162; Gian- 
 paolo, despot of Perugia, 67 ; 
 character of Gianpaolo, 68 ; death 
 of Gianpaolo, 6 j; murder ol Gen- 
 tile and Gttieotto, 69; death of 
 Orazi'', 69; betrayal of Florence 
 by Malatesta, 70; de cendants of 
 the, 70 ; Ridolfo, fires the People's 
 Palace, assassinates Pope's 
 Legate, and is driven out of 
 Perugia. 71 ; Peruvians recal 
 Ridolfo. 74: Ridolfo, makes peace 
 with Paul II L, 75 ; destruction of 
 palaces of, 75 ; dying words of 
 Malatesta, 76 ; tomb of Bishop 
 Giovanni Andrea, 146; Benedetto, 
 helps in destruction nf Paul lll.'s 
 foitress, 151 ; Chapel in S. Pietro 
 of the, 172; (noie) 255; tomb 
 of the Volumiiii discovered on 
 property of Count, 282. 
 
 Barbiano, Albeiigo di, 41. 
 
 Baroccio. Fedcrigo, frrsco by, in 
 Palazzo Puublico, 119 ; picture in 
 S. Lorenzo by, 136 ; his love of 
 Perugia, 137. 
 
 BAkToLr, Taddeo, 235 ; 236. 
 
 Bartoli, historian, quoted, 19, 26 ; 
 28. 
 
 Bastia, (note) 70 ; 71. 
 
 Battle of the Stones, description 
 of, 45 
 
 Beccherini, nickname of the com- 
 mon folk in Perugia, 27: 105 ; 186. 
 
 Bellisarii s. General, 13. 
 
 Beli.ucci, Pruf , plain of Umbria 
 described by, 3 ; private museum 
 ol, 282. 
 
 3^7
 
 Index 
 
 Benedict XI., Pope, tomb of, 164, 
 166, 167 ; visited by his mother, 
 165 ; death of, 165. 
 
 Benozzo Gozzoli, 235 ; work at 
 Montefalco, 297 ; 298. 
 
 Bernardino, S. of Siena, 55 ; 109 ; 
 representation of, in stained glass 
 window in S. Lorenzo, 138 ; ac- 
 count of 206, 207 ; portrait of, 
 207 ; favourite bell of, 210; miracles 
 of, painted by Fiorenzodi Lorenzo, 
 ^55- 
 
 Berto di Giovanni, 264. 
 
 Bettona, (note) 34 ; (note) 70 ; 
 116 ; 291. 
 
 Bevignate. Fra, plans Perugian 
 Fountain, (note) 125. 
 
 Boccati da Camerino, his 
 pictures, 251. 
 
 Bologna, 41 ; 42 ; 68 ; 221. 
 
 BoNAZZi, Luigi, modern historian 
 of Perugia, quoted. 2; 11; 27; 
 describes lives of exiled nobles, 
 34; 37; 80; (note) gi ; describes 
 growthoi Perugia, 92.93; describes 
 feasts of Perugia, 130 ; 146 ; 149; 
 152 ; mentions miracles of Abbot 
 of S. Pietro, 168 ; describes a day 
 of "Political bacchanalia" in 
 Perugia, 180; on the Flagellants, 
 211. 
 
 BoNFiGi.i, Benedetto, (note) 96 ; 105 ; 
 115 ; Pieta in S. Pietro by, 171 ; 
 in S. Fiorenzo, 182, 232, the 
 Carmine, S. Maria Nuova, 182, 
 Gon/alone by, in Pinacoteca, 
 (note) 213, S. Francesco al Prato, 
 (note) 214; probable master of 
 Perugino, 219 ; Capella del, in 
 Pinacoteca, 237 ; account of, 238, 
 239 ; frescoes in Pinacoteca by, 
 (note) 161, 240, 241, 242 ; picture 
 of f'erugia by, 246 ; pictures in 
 Pinacoteca by, 246, 247 ; 248; 251 ; 
 252. 
 
 Boniface IX., Pope, fortifies mon- 
 astery of S. Pietro, 35, 170; 
 arbitrator between Perugians and 
 B. Michelotti, 35 ; jealous of B. 
 Michelotti. 37, 39; Perugians 
 submit to, 41 ; (note) 73. 
 
 BoNO.Mi, Messer, plans Perugian 
 aqueduct, 129. 
 
 Bower, Mr, (note) 293. 
 
 Broussole, M., 171, quoted, 311, 
 313- 
 
 318 
 
 Browning, Robert, quoted, 305. 
 
 Brufani, Hotel, 152. 
 
 Brunamonte, Alinda, Perugian 
 poetess, (note) 210 ; 266; quoted, 
 316. 
 
 Buffalmacco, Buonamico, prac- 
 tical joke on Perugians by, 160, 
 161. 
 
 Byron, Lord, quoted, 302. 
 
 Caius Cestius (Macedonicus), sets 
 
 fire to Perugia. 10, 91, 194. 
 Caldora, General, 49. 
 Calisciana, 52. 
 Cam bio, The, frescoes in, 216 ; 
 
 Perugino's portrait in, 21S; 224; 
 
 225 ; description of frescoes in, 
 
 226-229 ; 
 Camerino, 38; 235. 
 Campano, Gianantonio, his descrip- 
 tion of B. Fortebraccio, 45 ; his 
 
 account of ' Battle of Stones," 46. 
 C.\NONiCA, The, occasional residence 
 
 of Popes, 25; 26 ; 28 ; de^cription 
 
 of, 146 ; vision of Gregory IX. in, 
 
 149.^ 
 Cantu, Cesare, (note) 20. 
 CapdRALE, Bartolomeo, pictures by, 
 
 248. 
 C.\RPACCio, Vittore, 251. 
 Casalina, 40. 
 Cassinese, M., 173. 
 Castiglion df.l Lago, submits to 
 
 Perugia, i3. 
 Cathedral, The, 17 ; 47 ; washed 
 
 with wine and recon.secrated, 67 ; 
 
 110; used as a fortress, 112; 135 ; 
 
 204. 
 Catherine, S., of Siena, portrait of, 
 
 258. 
 Charles IV., Emperor, 29 ; 104. 
 Charles, of Anjou, 125; 144. 
 Charlemagne, Emperor, 25. 
 ChiAGIO, river, 3. 
 Chiusi, (note) 85 ; wedding-ring of 
 
 the Virgin stolen from. 139, 218; 
 
 276 ; 291 ; description of, 310, 311 ; 
 
 314- , . 
 
 Church of S. Agostino, 189; choir 
 of designed by Perugino, 190 ; pic- 
 ture by scholar of Perugino in, 
 193; 216; 224.
 
 Index 
 
 Chukch of S. Angelo, account of, 
 194 ; early fresco in, iq6. 
 
 S. Bernardino, built in 
 
 honour of S. Bernardino, 206; 
 description of fapade of, 208 ; 210; 
 213; 23S ; 239. 
 
 of the Carmine, 182; (note) 
 
 ^38. 
 
 of S. Costanzo. 49 ; 168 ; 176 ; 
 
 rebuilt by Leo XIII., 177; byzan- 
 tlne doorway of, 177. 
 
 S. Domenico, tower of, 91 ; 
 
 97 ; 163 ; account of, 164 ; tomb 
 of Benedict IX. by (1. Pisano 
 in, 164-167 ; work of A. Ducci 
 in, 167 ; Gothic window in, 167 ; 
 208 ; represented in BonfigU's 
 fresco, 240 
 
 S. Ercolano, 93; 125; 154; 
 
 account of, 156 ; Grifonetto Bag- 
 lioni killed close by, 161 ; 162. 
 
 S Francesco al Prato, 50; 
 
 97 ; (note) 208 ; legend of bell of. 
 210 ; 213 ; Con/alone in Sacristy 
 of, 214 ; 238. 
 
 S. Fiorenzo, 120; 1S2 ; 212; 
 
 Gon/alone in, 232; 238; (note 2) 
 263. 
 
 S. Lorenzo (Cathedral of 
 
 Perugia), 39; 44; former church ot, 
 93 ; 96 ; built partly by Lombard 
 workmen, 97; 123; 133; founda- 
 tion stone laid of, 135 ; descrip- 
 tion of, 13s; Chapel ot S. Bernar- 
 dino with F. Baroccio"s picture in, 
 136; window by A. Fiammingo 
 in, 137; choir and stalls in, 138; 
 Chapel of the Virgin's ring, 138, 
 139 ; ' Miraculous ' picture in, 141 ; 
 Chapel of baptistery in, 142 ; 
 picture by L. Signorclli in, 142: 
 picture by Perugino in, 143 ; urn 
 with ashes of thtee Popes in, 143 : 
 fragments of tomb by G. Pisano 
 in, 145 ; tomb of Bishop Giov. 
 Andrea Baglioni in, 146 ; 216 ; 
 238 ; body of S. Ercolano carried 
 to. 246. 
 
 Madonna della Luce, altar- 
 piece in. 204 ; legend of, 206. 
 
 Maeita delle Volte, (note) 
 
 "5- 
 
 S Maria Nuova, gon/alone 
 
 in, 182 ; 2 8. 
 
 S. M.<ria del Popolo, 138. 
 
 S. Maria dei Servi, 97. 
 
 Church, S.Martino, 214: altar-piece 
 by Giannicola Manni in, 215; 
 (note) 228. 
 
 the Chiesa Nuova, 201. 
 
 S. Pietro, 44: tower of, 91, 
 
 170 ; becomes a ' Nation-Monu- 
 ment,' (note) 163 ; 167 ; Abbot 
 Pietro Vincioli builds, 168, i6g ; 
 first Cathedral of Perugia, 168 ; 
 Pieta by Perugino in, by Bonfigli 
 in, 171 ; pictures by Eusebio di 
 S. (iiorgio, Guido Reni and 
 Vasari in, 171 ; pictures by two 
 Alfani, Salimbcne and Sasso- 
 ferrato in, 172; sacristy in, 172; 
 Mino da Fiesole's altar-piece 
 in, 172 ; description and account 
 of choir, in, 173, 174 ; fresco 
 attributed to Giannicola Manni 
 in, 174 ; anecdote connected with, 
 175; 216; 233; represented in 
 Bonfigli's fresco, 241, 242. 
 
 S. Severo, built by Camal- 
 
 dolese monks, 182; fresco by 
 Perugino and Raphael in, 182, 
 183 ; 263. 
 
 CiATTi, Chronicler, his legend of 
 Noah, 6, of origin of Griflfin in 
 Arms of Perugia, 7 ; 13 ; describes 
 Perueians, 95 ; his legend of the 
 Virgin's wedding ring, 140, 141 ; 
 his legend of Innocent I II. 's ascent 
 into heaven, 143 ; quoted, 176, 
 177 ; 242 ; his legend of S. Erco- 
 lano, 245. 
 
 CiTT.\ DI Castello, iS ; 30; 291. 
 
 CiTTA DELLA PlEVE. rebellion of, 
 19, 20; 85; 2i8 ; 291; birth-place 
 of Perugino, 311; description of, 
 311, (note i) 312 ; (note) 313. 
 
 CiuNiLLo, poet of Aquila, (note) 49. 
 
 Clempnt IV., Pope, 23. 
 
 Clement VII., Pope, 70; 310. 
 
 Clement X.. Pope, 76. 
 
 Clitumnus, river, 300 ; 302. 
 
 Clitomnus, The, temple, descrip- 
 tion of, 300 ; 302. 
 
 CoLOMDA, Blessed, 55. 
 
 Colonna, Cardinal, 27. 
 
 CoMtTOLl Bishop, rebuilds part ot 
 S. Domenico, 164 ; 156. 
 
 Conclave, The, Perugians claim 
 invention of, 26 
 
 CoNESTAiiiLE, Count, on Etruscan 
 Antiquiiiea, 99 ; 194 ; (note) 26S ; 
 273- 
 
 3^9
 
 Index 
 
 ConfraternitA di S. Andrea, its 
 protrction of criminals, 212, 21^. 
 
 CoNsi ANTINE. General, iv 
 
 Convent uf S. Guiliana, 100. 
 
 of Monte Luce, 46 ; 106 ; 
 
 Paul III.'s visit to nuns of, 107; 
 108. 
 
 of Monte Luco, 8 ; 304. 
 
 CoppoLl, Giacomo di Buonconti 
 de', gives houses on Monteripido 
 to Franciscans, 198. 
 
 CosTANZO, S., 24 ; patron of Peru- 
 gia, (note) 117; 126; 168; legend 
 01 176; martyrdom of, 177. 
 
 CoRSo Cavour, historical interest 
 of, 162 ; 163. 
 
 Vanucci, 99; gaiety of, 103; 
 
 105: 106; 114; 116; 152; 201: 
 202 ; 229 ; 246. 
 
 CORTONA, 218; 291. 
 
 Creighton, Dr, Bishop of London, 
 quoted, 211. 
 
 Crowk and Cavacaselle, 236 ; 266. 
 
 Cyprian, assassinated by Totilas 
 orders, 13. 
 
 Damiano, Fra, of Bergamo, makes 
 
 intaraia door in choir of S. Pietro, 
 
 174. 
 Dandolo, Matteo, Doge of Venice, 
 
 70. 
 Dante Alighieri, quoted, 22, 
 
 144, 183. 
 Dan ri, Vincenzio, makes statue of 
 
 Juhus III., i8[. 
 Dennis. G-, hi> description of Arch 
 
 of Augustus, 187. 788; 273; 277; 
 
 quoted, 278, 279, 283, 286 
 Derui a. (notej 34 36 ; 85 ; pottery 
 
 works at, p'obably founded by A. 
 
 Diicci, 'note) 208. 
 Dominic, S. (Domenico), canonized 
 
 at Perugin, 28; 164; meets S 
 
 Francis at Perugia, 197. 
 DonA' I, Signor, catalogue of Etrus- 
 can Mu.seum by, 273. 
 DoNATO, Corso, visits Benedict XL 
 
 at Perugia. 165. 
 Ducci. Agostino (della Robbia) 
 
 (note) 14 -: work at S. Domenico, 
 
 167; fa9ade of S. Bernardino by, 
 
 208. 
 
 E 
 
 Egidio, Fra Beato. death of, iqB ; 
 visited by S. Louis, K. of France, 
 199 ; tomb of, 214, 237. 
 
 Elizabeth, S., Q. of Hungary, 
 canonized at Perugia, 28 ; 259. 
 
 Ercolano, S., bishop of Perugia, 
 13 ; 24 ; (note) 117 ; 126 ; 154 ; 
 translation of body of, 156 ; 
 double procession of. 159; proverb 
 about, 159; BufTalmacco's practi- 
 cal joke on picture of, 160 ; 242; 
 legend of, 245 ; 246. 
 
 Etruscans, 1 he, 4; minkish le- 
 gends (if, 6 ; Herugia one of their 
 chief cities, 8 ; victory of Fabius 
 over, Q ; merged in ihe Romans 
 II ; wall> 01 86, 88, 188 ; 94 ; 
 account of, 268, 271, 27/ ; theii in- 
 flu nee on the Romans, 275 ; their 
 custom oi visiting iomb> at night, 
 285 their use of the Medusa, 
 (n.te 3) 286. 
 
 EusEKio DI S. Giorgio, picture in 
 S. Pietro by, 171; 234: (note) 
 259 ; 262 ; account of, (note 1) 
 263. 
 
 Fabius Maximus, defeats the 
 
 Etruscans, g. 
 Fabketti, chronicles of, 43; 97; 
 
 lit; 120 ; 123 ; 
 Fanti, General Manfredi, takes 
 
 Perugia in iSco So ; 
 Farne'E (Pope Paul IIL), 73. 
 Farnkse, PierLuigi, 73. 
 Fergusson, J., describes S Angelo, 
 
 194. 
 Feronia, Goddess. 106. 
 Fl.^MMiNGO, Arrigo, window in .S. 
 
 Lorenzo by, 137. 
 FioRRNZo I I Lorenzo, fresco in 
 
 Palazzi Pubblico by. 119; 251; 
 
 account of, 252, 255; 262. 
 Flagellants, The, songs of, 159; 
 
 religiousraovcment of, 211; legend 
 
 of, 212. 
 Flaminian way, site of, 299. 
 Flo-ence, accepts Perugia's help, 
 
 22 ; 29 ; 30 ; 47 ; Malatesta Bag- 
 
 lioni betrays, 70; 160; 231; 257. 
 
 320
 
 Index 
 
 KoLiGNo, i8 ; skirmishes with Per- 
 ugia, 20; 85; 235; 291; descrip- 
 tion of, 295 296 ; 2^7 ; 299 ; 300. 
 
 I'ONTIGNANO Perugiiio clies at, 223, 
 burial at, (note) 224. 
 
 FoKTEBKACCio, Braccio, 31 ; 40 ; 
 joins Italian company of S. 
 George, 41 ; rivalry with Atten- 
 dolo Sforza, 42 ; ambition of, 42 ; 
 attempts to take Perugia, 43 ; 
 battle of Sant' Egideo, 43 ; despot 
 of Perugia, 44 ; personality of, 
 45; Martin V.'s jealousy of, 47 ; 
 hiege of Aquila by, 48 ; death of, 
 49 ; hints of Sforza's treachery in 
 Ciunillo's poem towards, (note) 
 49 ; consternation in Perugia at 
 death of, 50 ; Niccolo Piccinino 
 follower of, 51 ; (note) 73 ; (note) 
 100 ; Porta S. Angelo built by, 
 197; 214; (note) 236; loggia of, 
 in Bonfigli's fresco, 246. 
 
 , Niccolo, brings B. Forte- 
 
 braccio's bones to Perugia, 49. 
 
 KoRTKESS, The, of Paul III., found- 
 ation of, 75 ; 79 ; 80 ; 99 ; history 
 of, 151, 152; description of, by A. 
 Trollope, 152, 153 ; 154. 
 
 Fountain, The, 109 ; 111 ; descrip- 
 tion of, 125, 126 ; laws for preser- 
 vation of, 130. 
 
 Kkancis, S., of Assisi, imprisoned 
 in Perugia, 19; canonized in 
 Perugia, 2S ; 98 ; appears to 
 Gregory IX., 149 ; Honorius III. 
 visits, 197 ; meets S. Dominic in 
 Perugia, 197 ; igg ; 206 ; 233 ; 
 , 304- 
 
 Fkederic, Emperor, Barbaiossa, 
 (note) 292. 
 
 Frederic II,, Kmperor, 20. 
 
 Freeman, Professor, quoted, 109. 
 
 Frollieri, Girolamo, (note) 8 ; ac- 
 count of Gianpaolo's character, 
 67, 68 ; 76. 
 
 G 
 
 (Iai.i.kkv, National, The English, 
 picture by Paolo Uccello in, (note) 
 44 ; 267. 
 
 Gatks of Perugia, Etruscan, SS ; 
 99. 
 
 Gentile da Fabkiano, 235. 
 
 Giacomo, Messer, di Servadio, one 
 of the architects of Palazzo Pub- 
 blico, 116. 
 
 Giotto, 235. 
 
 Giovaneli.o di Ben\enuto, plans 
 Palazzo Pubblico, 1 16. 
 
 Goi.uoni, Carlo, describes the 
 Virgin's ring, (note) 140; as a 
 child acts in Palazzo Gallenga, 
 (note) 187. 
 
 GoNFAi.oNi, The, by Bonfigli, in 
 S. Maria Nuova, 182, 238 ; in 
 ■S. Fiorenzo, 182, 232 ; in Pina- 
 coteca, (note) 213, 238 ; in S. 
 Francesco al Prato, 214, 238 ; in 
 S. Lorenzo, 238 ; in the Carmine, 
 (note) 238 ; account of, 231. 
 
 Graziani, chronicler, 50. 
 
 Greece, influence on Etruscan art 
 of, 271. 
 
 Grec;orovius, Ferdinand, quoted, 
 21 ; (note) 146. 
 
 Gregory IX., Pope, visits Perugia, 
 27 ; canonizes .S. Francis of Assisi, 
 S. Domenic and S. Elizabeth of 
 Hungary, 20 ; his vision of S. 
 Francis, 149. 
 
 Gregory XI., Pope, excommuni- 
 cates Perugians, 31 ; 212, 
 
 Griffin, origin of, on Perugia's 
 arms, 7, S. 
 
 Guadabassi, Count, Etruscan col- 
 lection of, 279. 
 
 GuALDo, 22 ; 183 ; 235. 
 
 Glbuio, 18; 38; (note) 85; (note 
 2) 93; 235 ; 265; 291 ; description 
 of, 292. 
 
 Gucci, see Ducci. 
 
 GuiDALOTTi, Abbot, of S. Pietru, 
 his plot against B. Michelotti, 38, 
 39 ; his tiight from Perugia, 40 ; 
 he destroys ca!/«/(i«/7<? of S. Pietro, 
 170. 
 
 H 
 
 Hawkwoou, sir John, (note) 35 ; 
 119; T2o; called in by Abbot of 
 Mommaggiore, 185 ; 186. 
 
 HoNDKius III., pope, election of, 
 26 ; attempts to enforce Papal 
 authority in Perugia, 27 ; 197. 
 321
 
 Index 
 
 1 
 
 Innocent III., Pope, 25; first 
 padrone of Perugia, 26 ; 29 ; 51 ; 
 legend of his ascent into heaven, 
 143 ; 144 ; 145 ; 146. 
 
 Innocent VIII., Pope, 113. 
 
 Jameson, Mrs, 207. 
 
 Janus, 6. 
 
 Jesuits, The, chief power in 
 
 Perugia falls to, 76. 
 John XXI., Pope, 24. 
 John XXIII, Pope, 42. 
 Julius II., Pope, visits Gianpaolo 
 
 Baglioni, 68; 6g. 
 Julius III, Pope, 79; statue of, 
 
 178 ; policy towards Perugians 
 
 of, 180 ; 181 ; 183. 
 Juno, image of, 10. 
 
 Ladislaus, King, of Naples, con- 
 nection with Perugia, 42. 
 
 Lasche, 21 ; 24 ; 95 ; 160. 
 
 LEPfevRE, M. Andre, quoted, 268; 
 (note) 272 ; 273. 
 
 Leo, Emperor, decree against image 
 worship, 15. 
 
 Leo X., Pope, plots against Gian- 
 paolo Baglioni, 69. 
 ' Lippi, Fra Filippo, 163 ; 235 ; 240 ; 
 dies at Spoleto, 305. 
 
 Lombards, The, occupation of Peru- 
 gia by, 14; employed in build- 
 ing Palazzo Pubblico at Perugia, 
 
 97- 
 
 Louis, IX., S., Kuig of France, 
 visits Fra Egidio at Perugia, 
 (note) 117; 199; 200. 
 
 Louis, S., Bishop of Toulouse, door 
 of Palazzo Pubblico at Perugia 
 dedicated to, 116; patron saint of 
 Perugia and of Palazzo dei Priori, 
 (note) 117; 126; 200; fresco of, 
 by Bonfigli, 240, 241, 242. 
 
 LuPATELLi, A., guide-book of Peru- 
 gian art, 98 ; (note) 230. 
 322 
 
 M 
 
 Machiavelli, N., comments on 
 
 action of the Baglioni, 69. 
 Malatesta, Carlo, fighting for the 
 Perugians, is taken prisoner by 
 Braccio Fortebraccio, 43. 
 Malatesta, Galeazzo, 43; (note) 44. 
 Manni, Giannicola, 142 ; 174 ; pic- 
 ture in S. Martino by, 215; paints 
 chapel in the Cambio, 228 ; (note) 
 263 ; pictures in Pinacoteca by, 
 264. 
 
 Mantegna, Andrea, picture at 
 Foligno, 296. 
 
 Marengo, battle of, 79. 
 
 jMargaritone p'Arezzo, 237. 
 
 Mariotti, Annibale, 21 ; (note) 84 ; 
 86 ; (note i) 93 ; topography of 
 Perugia, 99 ; 107 ; 1 18 ; (note) 
 126 ; 144 ; describes visit of Bene- 
 dict XL's mother to Perugia, 165 ; 
 quoted, t8o ; 190 ; Honorius III. 
 and S. Francis of Assisi, 197 ; 208; 
 notes on Perugino, 224 ; 229 ; 236 ; 
 character of Bonfigli's wife, 238 ; 
 239 ; deplores bad condition of 
 Bonfigli's pictures, 240 ; 262 ; 
 quoted, 265. 
 
 Mariotto, Bernardino di, pictures 
 by, 248. 
 
 Martin IV., Pope, excommunicates 
 Perugians, 21 ; i<i3 ; diesof surfeit 
 of eels in Perugia, 144 ; tomb de- 
 stroyed of, 145. 
 
 Martin V., Pope, sends for Forte- 
 braccio to Florence, 47, 48 ; his 
 wars with Fortebraccio, refuses 
 him Christian burial, 49; enters 
 Perugia as Lord. 51 ; (note) 73. 
 
 M assa, birth-place of S. Bernardino, 
 206. 
 
 Matakazzo, Francesco, describes 
 miserable condition of Perugia, 
 56 ; scholar of Perugia, 58 ; 
 chronicles of, 59 ; his description 
 of Astorre Baglioni (translated by 
 J. A. .Symonds), 60; his admira- 
 tion of the Baglioni, 6i ; 63 ; 64 ; 
 (notes 3 and 4), 65 ; describes 
 Grifonetto Baglioni's death (trans- 
 lated by J. A. S.), 66, 67 ; 225 ; 
 (note) 255. 
 
 Matteo da Siena, 235. 
 
 Maturanzio, see Matarazzo. 
 
 Mauritius, Duke, treachery of, 15.
 
 Index: 
 
 Mei.anzio, Francesco, work at 
 Montefalco, (note) 297 ; 298 ; 299. 
 
 MiCHELOTTi, B., 31 ; 35; account 
 of> 36 > 37 ; 38 ; murder of, 39; 51. 
 
 N 
 
 Napoi-EON, Emperor (Bonaparte), 
 occupies Perugia, 79 ; robs Peru- 
 gia of her ma-terpieces, (note) 91 ; 
 104 ; 118 ; 167 ; 216 ; (note 2) 222. 
 
 Narni, 8; 293; description of, 305 ; 
 306. _ 
 
 Nar, river. 308 ; 311. 
 
 Nelli, Ottaviano, 267; Masterpiece 
 at Gubbio, 295 ; 298. 
 
 Nicholas IV., Pope, (note) 309. 
 
 Noah, legend of, 6. 
 
 NOCERA, 22 ; 1.S3. 
 
 OcTAVius C/ESAR, (Augustus), be- 
 sieges Perugia, 10. 
 
 Oddi, the degli, 31 ; 33 ; (note) 34 ; 
 54 ; 55; expelled from Perugia by 
 the Baglioni, 56 ; 59; 255. 
 
 Oratory of S. Bernardino, see 
 Church. 
 
 Orsini, Bertolda, marries B. 
 iNIichelotti, 38. 
 
 Orsini, Signor, guide-book of 
 Perugia by, 98 ; 247. 
 
 Orvieto, (note) 85 ; 224 ; 291 ; de- 
 .scription of, 309, 310. 
 
 Otto I., Emperor, confirms dona- 
 tion of Perugia to the Papacy, 25. 
 
 Otto III., Emperor, 168. 
 
 Oxford, (note) 100 ; 104. 
 
 P.M.ACE of Justice, 22. 
 
 Palazzo Baldeschi, 23, (note) 235. 
 
 B.iglioni, Palace of Grifo- 
 
 netto, 61. 
 
 I5raceschi, 163; (note) 235. 
 
 (or Palace of) Capitano del 
 
 Popolo, 19 ; (note) 100. 
 Gallenga, (note) 187. 
 
 Palazzo Guidalotti, 39. 
 
 Oddi, degli, (note) 34 ; 201. 
 
 Pubblico (also called dei 
 
 Priori and tie! Podestd), 17 ; 44 ; 
 67; 72 ; bell-tower of, (note i) 
 93 ; 97 ; 98 ; 109 ; in: description 
 of, 113, 114; first architects em- 
 ployed on, 1 16; outer staircase and 
 principal door of, 117, 118; Sala 
 del Malconsigtio in, 119; prisons 
 of, 120, barbarous butchery in, 
 123 ; prisoners liberated ^^ pro 
 ainore Dti" from, 124; repre- 
 sentation of, in Bonfigli's fresco, 
 246 ; (note) 268. 
 
 Paul III.. Pope, builds the Rocca 
 Paolina (or fortress) on the site 
 of the Baglioni houses, 70, 75 ; 
 71 ; 72 ; excommunicates the Peru- 
 gians, 73 ; 75 ; conquers Perugia, 
 75) 76 79 '1 fortress de^troyed of, 
 80; (note) 91 ; visits convent of 
 Monte Luce, 107; no; descrip- 
 tion of fortress of, 151, 152; A. 
 Trollope's account of, 152, 153, 
 154 ; destroys top of campanile of 
 S. Domenico, 164 ; 178 ; 179; 180 ; 
 (note) 222 ; 310. 
 
 Pepin, King of France, cedes 
 Perugia to the Holy See, 25. 
 
 Peruc;ia, 2 ; Prof. Bellucci on, 3 ; 
 a city of the Etruscan league, 4 ; 
 legendary history of, 6 ; origin of 
 grifi"m in city arms, 7 ; 8 ; con- 
 quered by Octavius, 9 ; Caius 
 Cestius sets fire to, Octavius re- 
 builds, 10 ; taken by Belisarius, 
 12 ; ruled alternately by Lom- 
 bards and Goths, 14, 15 ; saved 
 by intercession of S. Zacharius, 
 16 ; early history of, 17 ; dominion 
 extended over Umbria, 18; con- 
 tests with Assisi, Citta della Pieve 
 and Foligno, 19, 20 ; victory of 
 Arezzo over, 21 ; defeats Siena, 
 22 ; 23 ; 24 ; given to Holy See 
 by Pepin, by Charlemagne and 
 by Otto I., 25; Innocent III. 
 dies and Honorius III. is elected 
 in, 26 ; internecine broils, 27 ; 
 Gregory IX. canonizes S. Francis, 
 S. Dominic and S. Elizabeth in, 
 28 ; becomes one of the Tre 
 Communi, 29 ; rebels against 
 Papal authority, 30 ; acknow- 
 
 . ledges dominion of U^rban VI.,
 
 Index 
 
 31 ; 32 ; struggle between nobles 
 and people, 33 ; (note) 34 ; 
 Michelotti enters, 36 ; 37 ; Gian 
 (ialeazzo, Duke of Milan, Lord 
 of, 44 ; Braccio Fortebraccio cap- 
 tures, 42 ; is acclaimed Lord of, 
 41; ' Hattle of the Stones' in, 
 45 ; 47 ; 48 ; Braccio Fortebraccio's 
 bones brought to, 49, ■50 ; Martin 
 V. enters, 51 ; 52 ; (note) 55 ; 56 ; 
 Matarazzo born in, 58 ; 59 ; 60 ; 
 61 ; 62 ; reception of Lavinia 
 Orsini in, 63 ; 64 ; mournful 
 aspect of, 67 ; 68 ; 69 ; Malatesta 
 Baglioni dies in, 70; Paul IH. 
 enters, 71, 72 ; lays interdicts on, 
 73 > 75 • Jesuits ruin, 76 ; annexed 
 to French Empire, 79 ; 80 ; 81 ; 
 82 ; 83; topographical position of. 
 84 ; view from, 85 ; unstable soil 
 of, 86 ; Etruscan walls of, 88 ; 
 91 ; towers of, 93 ; doorways in, 
 95; 96; 97; guide-books to, 98; 
 gates of, 99 ; loo ; 103 ; University 
 of, 104; 105: walks round, 106; 
 109 ; 112 ; 113; 116 ; 119 ; lumieri 
 at, 123; prisons in, 124; 126; 
 fountain in, 129, 130, 135 ; Chapel 
 of S. Bernardino in, 136 ; Baroccio 
 paints in, 137 ; 138 ; wedding- 
 ring of Virgin Mary, in S. Lorenzo 
 in, 139. 140, 141 ; 142 ; death of 
 Martin IV. in, 144 ; Canonica in, 
 146; 149; fortress of Paul in. at, 
 151, 152, 153, 154 ; S. Ercolano, 
 Saint of, 156, 159; 161; 162; 
 (note) 163 ; 164 ; Benedict XI. dies 
 at, 165, 166 : 167 ; 168 ; 171 : 175 ; 
 miracles of S. Costanzo in, 176, 
 177; 181; Church of Camaldolese 
 monks in, 182 ; Dante on, 183; 
 Abbot Mommaggiore builds for- 
 tresses in, 184, is driven out of, 
 186 ; Arch of Augustus in (de- 
 scribed by Dennis), 187; 189; 
 190; 193; meeting of S. Francis 
 and S. Dominic in, 197 ; 199 ; 
 (note) 201 ; Ducci's work at, 
 208, 210; rise of Flagellants in, 
 211, 212; 214; S. Martino in, 
 215 ; Perugino's work at, 216, 
 217; 2i3; Perugino comes to, 
 2ig ; Manni's work at, 228 ; pic- 
 ture gallery in, 230 ; gonfaloni 
 (banners) in, 231, 232 ; pictures in 
 gallery of, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237; 
 
 Bonfigli's work in, 238, 240, 241, 
 242, 245, 251 ; (note) 255 ; Fra 
 Angelico visits, 257 ; 260 ; Peru- 
 gino's pictures in gallery at, 2sp, 
 264 ; Pinturicchio's pictures in 
 gallery at, 260, 261 ; Lo Spagna's 
 picture in gallery at, 262; 
 Raphael's pictures in, 265 ; 
 Academy of, founded, 265 ; 266 ; 
 Museum of, 261, 281 ; tomb of the 
 Volumnii near, 282 ; 290 ; 291 ; 
 road to Gubbio from, 292 ; 254 ; 
 295 ; 300; 304; 306: 315- 
 Perugino, Pietro, (Vanucci) 60 ; 
 85 ; (note 2) 96 ; 115 ; Sposalizio 
 by, 138. 190, 193 ; 142 ; picture 
 in S. Lorenzo by, (note) 143 ; 
 Pieta in S. Pietro by, 171; 
 "Assumption" by, 172; 173; 
 fresco in S. Severo by, 182, 183 ; 
 designs choir of S. Agostino, 190 ; 
 198 ; house of, 202, 203, 204 ; 214 ; 
 
 216 ; Vasari's accusations against, 
 
 217 ; his portrait in the Cambio, 
 
 218 ; his influence on Raphael, 
 218 ; birth of, 219 ; Bonfigli 
 probably first master of, 219 ; 
 goes to Florence, 220 ; pupil of 
 Verrocchio, 220 ; meets Leonardo 
 da Vinci, 220 ; paints in Sistine 
 Chapel. 221 ; returns to Perugia, 
 
 222 ; lawsuit with Michelangelo. 
 
 223 ; his death, 223, (note) 224 ; 
 paints in the Cambio. 225-228 ; 
 229 ; 239 ; 2.>;2 ; 256 ; 258 ; his 
 work in the Pinacoteca, 259, 260, 
 261; 262 ; (note) 263 ; " Nativity" 
 by, 264 ; 296 ; his birth-place, 
 311 ; picture at Citta della Pieve 
 by, (note 2) 312 ; 313 ; 315 ; 316. 
 
 Piazza degli Aratri, fight in, 
 
 113- 
 d Armi, cattle fair held in 
 
 the, 100 ; 152. 
 
 Emanuele, 152. 
 
 di S, Ercolano, 160. 
 
 Danti, (note) 17S. 
 
 della < jiustizia, 206 ; origin 
 
 of name, 213 ; 214. 
 
 Grimani, 187 ; 189. 
 
 di .S. Lorenzo, 99 ; historical 
 
 interest of, 109, no ; Fountain in, 
 
 125. 
 
 Morl.acchi, 146. 
 
 di Paglia, 178. 
 
 del Pallone, 152.
 
 I?tdex 
 
 Piazza del Papa, 17S; iSi. 
 
 Sopramuro, 100 ; 152. 
 
 PicciNiNo, Niccolo, 31 ; follower of 
 
 iJ. Fortebraccio, 51 ; account of, 
 
 52 ; 28.. 
 PiETRO, S., Vincioli, 16S ; miracles 
 
 of, 169; builds Church of S. 
 
 Pictro, 169. 
 PiNTURiccHio (D. di Betto), 248; 
 
 account of, 260, 261 ; 265 ; fresco 
 
 at Spello by, 294. 
 PiSANO, Giovanni, 125 ; 126 ; 145 ; 
 
 designs S Domenico, 164 ; tomb 
 
 of Benedict XI. by, 166. 
 ^— ^— Niccola, 9S ; 103 ; 125 ; 126. 
 Pius IX., Pope, 79. 
 Plenario, Frate, plans the aqueduct 
 
 of Perugia, 129. 
 PoLVESE, island of, submits to 
 
 Perugia, 18. 
 Porta, Augusta, or Arch of Au- 
 gustus, 88 ; description of, by 
 
 G. Dennis, 187; 188; i8p; 214. 
 Eburnca, Baglioni houses 
 
 near, 63 ; 83 ; 113. 
 
 Mandola, 88. 
 
 Marxia, 88, one of the old 
 
 Etruscan gates, used by San 
 Gallo as a decoration to the 
 fortress, 154, 155. 
 Romana, 167. 
 
 Sole, 13s ; 182 ; 183 ; inci- 
 dent connected with, 184 ; 186 ; 
 187. 
 
 S., Agata, (note) 14. 
 
 S., Angelo, 99; 106; 185; 
 
 196 ; 197. 
 
 S., Antonio, 106 ; 184 ; 186. 
 
 San Carlo. Baglioni houses 
 
 near, 63 
 
 S., Ercolano, 106; 161. 
 
 S., Pietro, 99; 135; 161; 
 
 177 ; (note i) 208 
 Susanna, 88 ; 99 ; 106 ; 201 ; 
 
 Veneris, Roman gate at 
 
 Spello, (note) 297. 
 Prf.fettura, The, 80; 152. 
 
 Raniere, Fra, vision of, 211, 212. 
 Raphael, (Sanzio), Immortalizes 
 .■\storre Baglioni in two pictures, 
 
 60; 138; paints "Entombment" 
 for Atalanla B.iglioni. 161; 173; 
 fresco in S. Severo. 182, 183, 214; 
 231; 234; 2 15, =48; pictures 
 asciibed to, 262, 263 ; 2*14 ; 300. 
 
 Raspanti, nickname of rich burgh- 
 ers in Ptrugia, 27 ; 35 ; rally 
 ruuiid B. Michelotti, 36 ; assassi- 
 nate Pandolfoand Pcllini Baglioni, 
 37 ; 41 ; 42 ; 184 ; 186. 
 
 Ratchis, King, besieges Perugia, 
 15, 16. 
 
 Ravenna, Exarch of, 15. 
 
 Reni, Guido, picture in S. Pictro 
 by, 171- 
 
 Ring, The Wedding, of the Virgin, 
 legend about, 139, 140 ; 141 ; 204. 
 
 Ror.ERT, King, of N.aples, (note) 
 117. 
 
 Rorbia, dclla, 176. 
 
 Rio, a. F., 231. 
 
 Rome, 8 ; 9: 10; 11; 12; 13; 17; 
 submits to B. Fortebraccio, 44. 
 
 Rorcet Ti, Cesarino, designs fagade 
 of Madonna della Luce, 204. 
 
 Rossi, .\damo, 118 ; (note) 229. 
 
 .ScoTTi, Count, guide-book 
 
 of Perugia liy, 93. 
 
 Rumohr, Ch. von, (note) ^27. 
 
 SALiMnENE, Ventura, 172. 
 Sant' Egideo, battle of, 43. 
 .Santi, Giovanni, quoted, 220. 
 Sassoferrato, 172. 
 ScHMin. Colonel, enters Perugia, 80. 
 Sextus IV., Pope, (note) 9^. 
 Sforza, Attendolo. rival of B. Forte- 
 braccio, 42 ; (note) 49. 
 Sforza, Francesco, (note) 42 ; (note) 
 
 49; rival of N. Piccinino, 51 ; 52. 
 Siena, 18 ; 29 ; 186 ; 207 , 236. 
 SlENESE, defeated by Perugians, 22, 
 SiEPi, guide-book of Perugia, 182; 
 
 204 ; 208 ; (note) 215. 
 Sinibaldo Ibi, 234. 
 SisMo.NDi, S. L. de, 42; 43. 
 Spagna, Lo, 234 ; 265 ; 267 ; (note) 
 
 300 ; 305. 
 Spello, 51 ; 71 ; 85 ; 94 ; 265 ; 291 ; 
 
 description of, 294 ; 300. 
 Spoleto, 16; iS'; 79; 85; 177; 
 
 262 ; 265 ; 291 ; 299 ; description 
 
 of, 302-305. 
 
 325
 
 Index 
 
 Stefano da Bergamo, choir in S. 
 
 Pietro by, 173. 
 Stillman, Mr, (note) 229. 
 SvMONDs, J. A., 33; history of 
 
 Baglioni by, 59-70. 
 
 Taddeo Bartoli, 235; 236. 
 Taine, H., quoted, 82; 230; 257, 
 
 290. 
 Temple, of Clitumnus, description 
 
 of 300, 201 ; Byron's stanzas on, 
 
 302. 
 Terni, 291. 
 Theoderic, Emperor, citadel at 
 
 Spoleto of, 304. 
 Thomas, S. Aquinas, 104 ; 144. 
 Tiber, river, 3 ; 25 ; 28 ; 43 ; 169 ; 
 
 292 ; 295. 
 TtBERio d'Assisi, 176 ; 234. 
 Titian, 137; 231. 
 ToDi, iS ; 85. 
 
 Tommaso d'Arcangei.o, (note) 236. 
 Torgiano, 3 ; (note) 70 ; 291. 
 Torre di S. Manno, site of Etrus- 
 can tomb, 213. 
 degli Scirri, (note i) 93 ; last 
 
 of Perugia's towers, 204. 
 ToRRiTA, battle of, 22. 
 Totila, besieges Perugia, 12 ; takes 
 
 Perugia, 13 ; 159 ; Bonfigli's fresco 
 
 of siege by, 242. 
 Towers of Perugia, marked feature 
 
 in olden days, 93. 
 Trasimene, lake, hatchet heads of 
 
 jade found near, 3; 18 ; (note) 21 ; 
 
 24- . . 
 
 Trevi, 85 ; 291 ; description of, 
 
 299, 300 ; 313. _ 
 
 Trollope, Adolphus, description of 
 
 Paul Ill.'s fortress by, 152, 153. 
 
 U 
 
 Ubaldo, S., 159; patron of Gubbio, 
 
 292. 
 University, of Perugia, supposed 
 
 origin of the, (note) 12; 103; 
 
 account of the, 104 ; Etruscan 
 
 museum in the, (note) 267 ; (note) 
 
 268. 
 Urban IV., Pope, 143 ; 144 ; 184. 
 Urban V., Pope, 30. 
 Urban VI., Pope, legend of white 
 
 dove, 31. 
 326 
 
 Urban VIII., Pope, 104. 
 Urbino, 38 ; 235. 
 
 Varano, Nicolina da, wife of B. 
 
 Fortebraccio, 48. 
 Vasari, Giorgio, 125; quoted, 160: 
 
 pictures in §. Pietro by, 171 ; 172 ; 
 
 203 ; accusations against Perugino 
 
 by, 217; 223; quoted, 219; 224; 
 
 Vasari on L'Ingegno, (note) 227 ; 
 
 236 ; 259 ; 261 ; 262. 
 Velasquez, pictures ascribed to. at 
 
 Perugia, (note) 235. 
 Venice, 231. 
 Vermiglioli, Giov. Battista, writes 
 
 on Etruscan antiquities, 99 ; (note) 
 
 126 ; 273 ; (note) 284. 
 Verrocchio, Andrea, 220. 
 Via Bartolo, staircase in, 89; 
 
 Bontempi, 182. 
 
 della Cuparella. 106. 
 
 del Commercio, 202. 
 
 della Conca, 214. 
 
 della Gabbia, 120 ; 
 
 123 ; 
 
 (note) 124. 
 
 Longara, 193. 
 
 della Pera, 269. 
 
 Piscinello, 201. 
 
 dei Priori, (note) 14 ; (note) 
 
 34 ; 201 : 204. 
 
 di San Francesco, 214. 
 
 delle Stalle, 39. 
 
 Vecchia, (note) 92 ; 215. 
 
 del Verzaro, (note) 115. 
 
 Villani, G., quoted 112 ; describes 
 
 death of Benedict XL, 165. 
 ViscoNTi, Gian Galeazzo, 37 ; lord 
 
 of Perugia, 41. 
 Viterbo, 30; 
 VoLUMNii.Tomb of the, description 
 
 of, 282-289. 
 Vulcan, Temple of, 10. 
 
 W 
 
 WiTiGis, King, i; 
 
 Zacchakias, Pope, S., 15; saves 
 
 Perugia, 16. 
 ZuccHERi, The, 137.
 
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