La rocca Flea is located on the hill of San Michele Arcangelo, near the historic center of Gualdo Tadino. Going downhill along via della Rocca, you quickly reach porta San Benedetto, not far from the main city square.
La rocca was born as the primitive inhabited nucleus of the city of Gualdo Tadino, soon becoming one of the most important fortresses in Umbria.
In the 16th century it was transformed into the residence of the papal legates and the interior, adapted for the purpose, was decorated with frescoes of which only small fragments remain. With the transformation into a prison in 1888, further modifications were made. Recently restored, it now houses the civic museum.
In addition to the museum it hosts, the rocca is also important from an architectural point of view. The ancient fortification that has watched over the Gualdo Tadino plain for over a thousand years, like all ancient castles, has its rich baggage of facts, characters and episodes not always known to the public, which lie between history and legend.
The exhibition route is divided into three sections. The archaeological one displays finds that document the settlement of the Gualdo territory from prehistory to the early Middle Ages. The ceramics section illustrates the vast 19th- and 20th-century production, inspired by the sixteenth-century lusterware which, like Gubbio and Deruta, made Gualdo Tadino one of the most famous centers of regional ceramic production. The art gallery, established following the nationalizations, includes works mostly from local churches and fully representative of the figurative culture on the border between Umbria and Marche. Of considerable interest is the large polyptych by Niccolò di Liberatore called l’Alunno (1471), from San Francesco, and the 15th-century paintings by Matteo da Gualdo, progenitor of the local school active until the mid-16th century. Frescoes by Matteo da Gualdo can also be found in the church of San Francesco, visitable on occasions organized by the city museums.
Information about Civic Museum – Rocca Flea
Via della Rocca,
06023 Gualdo Tadino (Perugia)
075916078
cultura@tadino.it
https://www.tadino.it
Source: MIBACT
