Day One: Exploring Perugia
Piazza IV Novembre is the heart of the city, boasting the magnificent Fontana Maggiore, a masterpiece by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano that tells Perugia’s story from its founding through the medieval era. Overlooking the square is Palazzo dei Priori, the historical center for judicial and administrative affairs in medieval times.
Inside, highlights include the Sala dei Notari with its stunning 13th-century frescoes; the Nobile Collegio del Cambio, featuring the Chapel of St. John the Baptist and its audience hall decorated with frescoes by Perugino; and the Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia, famous for its intricate wooden stalls in the audience room. From the Palazzo, you can access the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, home to a comprehensive collection of Italian art, from Duccio di Boninsegna to Piero della Francesca. Just a short stroll away, with its main facade opening onto Piazza Danti, stands the 15th-century Cathedral of San Lorenzo, whose steps are crowned by the statue of Pope Julius III—well-loved locally for restoring civic freedoms. Inside the cathedral, you’ll find works by Signorelli, Benedetto da Maiano, and Domenico del Tasso.
Piazza Danti also houses the Etruscan Well (4th-3rd century BC), 35 meters deep and 5 meters wide, once crucial to the city’s water supply during sieges. Don’t miss the Oratory of the Church of San Severo in Piazza Raffaello, featuring Raphael Sanzio’s Trinity fresco (1508) and Perugino’s Saints (1521). The historic center offers plenty more, including the Etruscan Arch (3rd century BC), the Church of the Olivetans, Palazzo Gallenga (home to the University for Foreigners), the Etruscan Walls, the paleo-Christian church of San Michele Arcangelo (5th–6th century, one of Italy’s oldest), the Torre degli Sciri, and the Oratory of San Bernardino.
Day Two: Visiting Orvieto
Perched high on a large tufa cliff that rises dramatically above gentle countryside, Orvieto reveals its heart in Piazza del Duomo—a striking square surrounded by historic buildings and dominated by the silhouette of the 13th-century Cathedral. Its beautifully sculpted facade gleams with colorful mosaics and marble. Inside, you’ll find masterpieces like “The Stories of the Antichrist,” “The Resurrection of the Flesh,” “The Reprobates and the Elect,” and the “Last Judgment” (in the Brizio Chapel) by Luca Signorelli, as well as angels by Beato Angelico.
Don’t miss the experience of climbing the Tower of the Moro, where sweeping views stretch over the city’s rooftops and the breathtaking countryside.
Top museums include the Archaeological Museum, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, and the Claudio Faina Museum—all safeguarding fascinating collections from Orvieto’s civic history. The city’s allure is heightened by two Etruscan necropolises at the base of the cliff (San Martino–Orvieto Scalo), and an underground city expanded in the Middle Ages for various purposes, forming a unique labyrinth carved into the rock. Today, you can visit this mysterious world on the “Orvieto Underground” tour, along with the Pozzo di San Patrizio, a spectacular well built by Antonio da Sangallo in the 16th century for Pope Clement VII.
