An Etruscan-Roman centre, in the VII century it became the powerful Castrum Plebis, which arose around the Church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio. In 1188 it came under the dominion of Perugia, and under Emperor Frederick II the free town (in 1250) began to resemble what we see today. Political and military strife continued until the XVII century, when Città della Pieve came under the Papal States and was turned into an important administrative and religious centre. It remained under the dominion of the Church (with the exception of the Napoleonic years) until 1860.
ART, CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT
The historical centre still maintains the typical medieval urban layout on which Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassic buildings were later constructed, proof of the artistic vitality of this city. The sights to see are the Cathedral of Santi Gervasio e Protasio (Duomo), which houses works by two great Città della Pieve artists – Il Perugino and Il Pomarancio – and the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi, home to the extraordinary Adoration of the Magi by Il Perugino.
Aside from the city tower, built in the XII century, and the Bishop’s tower, a watch tower probably built in 1326, you can visit such noteworthy landmarks as the Rocca (Fortress) with its five towers, Palazzo della Corgna (XVI century), home to the city library and exhibition space, Palazzo Bandini (XVI century) and Palazzo Baglioni, which dates to the XVIII century.
Outside the city walls are the Church of San Francesco, now the sanctuary of the Madonna di Fatima, the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi, home to a fresco by Il Perugino depicting the Descent from the Cross, and the Church of Santa Lucia.
Fun fact: along Via Vannucci you’ll find vicolo Baciadonne, considered the narrowest street in all of Italy for its width of only 50 to 60 cm.
Just outside the city is Santa Maria degli Angeli, a Franciscan hermitage that looks like a Gothic structure with a sail-shaped bell tower.
The town’s location just on the border makes it a characteristic element on the landscape, one in which the countryside of Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany come seamlessly together, an area enhanced by the beauty of nature: gently rolling hills that show off all the colours used by Il Perugino in his art, from the silvery green of the countryside around this lovely village, which exalts the softened shapes of the cultivated fields, to the intense red of terracotta bricks, an echo of an ancient local tradition that dates to the early 1200s.
