Perugia first appears in history as Perusia, one of the twelve confederate cities of Etruria. It is
first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BCE between
the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important part in
the rebellion of 295, and was reduced, with Vulsinii and Arretium
(Arezzo), to seek for peace in the following year.
In 216 and 205 BCE it assisted Rome in the Second
Punic War but afterwards it is not mentioned until 41-40 BCE, when
Lucius Antonius took refuge there, and was reduced by Octavian after
a long siege, and its senators sent to their death. A number of lead
bullets used by slingers have been found in and around the city (Corpus
Inscr. Lat. xi. 1212). The city was burnt, we are told, with the
exception of the temples of Vulcan and Juno— the massive Etruscan
terrace-walls, naturally, can hardly have suffered at all— and the
town, with the territory for a mile round, was allowed to be
occupied by whoever chose. It must have been rebuilt almost at once,
for several bases exist, inscribed Augusta sacr(um) Perusia restituta; but it did not become a colonia until 251-253 CE.
It is hardly mentioned except by the geographers
until it was captured and laid waste in 547 by Totila, after a long
siege. Totila is said to have ordered the city's bishop, Herculanus
of Perugia, to be flayed and killed. St. Herculanus (Sant' Ercolano)
later became the city's patron saint.
In the Lombard period it is spoken of as one of
the principal cities of Tuscia. In the ninth century, with the
consent of Charles the Great and Louis the Pious, it passed under
the popes; but by the eleventh century its commune was asserting
itself, and for many centuries the city continued to maintain an
independent life, warring against many of the neighboring lands and
cities— Foligno, Assisi, Spoleto, Todi, Siena, Arezzo, etc. In the
struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines, it remained loyal for the
most part to the Guelph party.
On various occasions the popes found asylum from the tumults of
Rome within its walls, and it was the meeting-place of fives
conclaves, including those which elected Honorius II (1124),
Honorius IV (1285), Celestine V (1294), and
Clement V (1305). But Perugia had no mind simply to sub serve the
papal interests and never accepted papal sovereignty. At the time of
Rienzi's unfortunate enterprise in reviving the Roman republic,
Perugia sent ten ambassadors to pay him honor; and, when papal
legates sought to coerce it by foreign soldiers, or to exact
contributions, they met with vigorous resistance, which broke into
open warfare with Pope Urban V in 1369; Perugia was forced to accept a papal
legate. The abbot of Cluny Monmaggiore was expelled by a popular uprising in
1375, and his fortification of Porta Sole was destroyed.
Civic peace was constantly disturbed in the fourteenth century by
struggles between the party representing the people (Raspanti)
and the nobles (Beccherini). After the assassination of
Biordo Michelotti (1398), Perugia became a pawn in the Italian
Wars, passing to Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1400), the Pope (1403), to
Ladislas of Naples (1408-14) before it settled into a period of
sound governance under the Signoria of the condottiero
Braccio da Montone (1416-24). Following mutual atrocities of the
Oddi and the Baglioni families, power was at last concentrated in
the Baglioni, who, though they had no legal position, defied all
other authority, though their bloody internal squabbles culminated
in a massacre, 14 July 1500.
Gian Paolo Baglioni was lured to Rome in 1520 and beheaded by
Leo X; and in 1540 Rodolfo, who had slain a papal legate, was defeated by
Pier Luigi Farnese, and the city, captured and plundered by his
soldiery, was deprived of its privileges. A citadel known as the
Rocca Paolina, after the name of Pope Paul III, was built, to designs of
Antonio da Sangallo the Younger "ad coercendam Perusinorum
audaciam."
In 1797, the city was conquered by French troops. On 4 February 1798,
the Tiberina Republic was formed, with Perugia as capital,
and the French tricolor as flag. In 1799, the Tiberina Republic merged to the
Roman Republic.
In 1832, 1838, 1854 and 1997
Perugia was visited by earthquakes; Following the collapse of the
Roman republic of 1848-49, when the Rocca was in part
demolished, in May 1849 it was seized by the Austrians. After
another futile insurrection in the June of 1859,
which was bloodily defeated by
Pius IX's troops, it was finally united, along with the rest of
Umbria, to Piedmont, in 1860.
Perugia today
Perugia has become famous for
chocolate, mostly because of a single firm, Perugina, whose Baci
(kisses) are widely exported. Perugia chocolate is very popular in
Italy, and the city hosts a chocolate festival in October of every year.
Eurochocolate is a yearly festival celebrating chocolate: every October
Perugia becomes the European capital for chocoholics! The event takes place
in the city historical center and lasts eight days, involving loads of
people thanks to many exhibitions, outdoors workshops, games, tasting stands
and meetings.
Perugia today hosts two main universities, the
Universita' degli Studi and the
Foreigners University (Universita' per Stranieri), and are
melting pots for students from all over Italy and the world. Stranieri serves as an Italian language and culture school for
students from all over the world. The city also hosts the Umbra
Institute, an American school for students studying abroad in
Perugia. The Universita' dei Sapori(University of Tastes), Accademia delle belle arti (Art Academy), and Scuola di
giornalismo radio televisivo (a radio-television journalism
school owned by RAI - the Italian State Television Network) are
located in the city as well.
The city symbol is the
griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on
buildings around the city.
Umbria Jazz
Umbria Jazz is the most highly rated Jazz festival in
Europe, and one of the best in the world. After its first time in 1973, each
year Perugia has hosted dozens of great artists, such as Dizzy Gillespie,
Sam Rivers, Herbie Hanckok, Enrico Rava, Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton and in
the last times Dedee Bridgewater, Gilberto Gil , Milton Nascimento, Terence
Blanchard, Paolo Conte, Vinicio Capossela, Nicola Arigliano, Miriam Makeba,
Renzo Arbore and the Swing Maniacs, Sergio Cammariere, The Coolbone Brass
Band of New Orleans, Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel Gospel Singers, and many
others! www.umbriajazz.com
Palazzo dei Priori: the center of communal government. 
Eurochocolate - Photo © 
Umbria Jazz - Photo © 