The Porta Sole district and its gate is a point of historical, artistic, and cultural interest in Perugia. The Porta Sole was the highest point in Perugia hill-top town and retains a place of respect in Italian literature: the great poet Dante Alighieri mentioned it several times in the Paradise of the Divine Comedy.
The following route is designed for those who have half a day to devote entirely to discovering the Porta Sole district and part of that of Monteluce: being a fairly long route, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
The route begins in Piazza Matteotti, a stone's throw from the very central Corso Vannucci. From the square, take via Volte della Pace, one of the most beautiful and particular streets in the whole city: the road follows and traces the path of the Etruscan walls, proceeding in a curvilinear direction, in a sort of fascinating run-up to the past. The cross vaults separate the earth from the sky, giving the street a truly characteristic flavor.
From here you reach Piazza Piccinino, where you can see the signs of what remains of an ancient medieval tower: it is easy to identify the remains from a plaque dated 1639, whose inscriptions remind passers-by that the property belonged to the noble Oddi family. We then return to Piazza Danti, thus describing a small circular route. In the Middle Ages, the square was occupied by a large and colorful market, and this custom is still repeated today: every Tuesday and Saturday a terracotta market is set up.
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| Via delle Prome under the snow |
Next to the historic "Turreno" theater, via del Sole begins and leads to piazza Michelotti, once known as Monte del Sole. The reason is easy to understand once you reach the square: this is the highest area of the acropolis of Perugia, and right here, in pre-Christian times, the sacred temples stood. Subsequently, at the end of the 1300s, the fortress of Monmaggiore was built here, which was in turn destroyed in favor of the sixteenth and seventeenth-century architectures that have remained until today.
Parallel to via del Sole runs via delle Prome, a suggestive street made up of a stupendous staircase, made up of three ramps, one of which lies against the Etruscan walls. At the top of the staircase you can admire a spectacular panorama of Borgo Sant'Angelo and Borgo Sant'Antonio. Descending the stairs, however, one returns via Scoscesa and via Bartolo, which then comes out in piazza Fortebraccio, where the Etruscan arch and the University of Foreigners are located.
Turning from piazza Michelotti, continue the ascent along via dell'Aquila, arriving at the highest point in all of Perugia, 493 meters above sea level. From here it is possible to see another segment of the city's belvedere, which on very clear days and at sunset add a touch of magic to the postcard panorama.
The rather narrow and dimly lit street descends towards Piazzetta San Severo, often also called Piazzetta Raffaello. Its second name is a tribute to the 1400 chapel that overlooks the square, where the only fresco by Raphael in Perugia is kept. It is a work that represents the Trinity, dated 1505; the genius of Urbino left it unfinished, and it was another great artist, Perugino, who finished it.
The route then continues along the characteristic Via della Viola, a rather small but very populated and busy road, and then along Via della Torricella, which overlooks the present-day Largo di Porta Pesa, where a gate of the same name once stood. The name of this gate derives from the fact that the carts were weighed in this passageway; born as a continuation of the Porta Sole district, the village of Porta Pesa winds towards the east, then giving way to the Monteluce district, more modern also from an architectural point of view.
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| Cappella Vitalucci, monumental cemetery |
Leaving Largo di Porta Pesa you then enter the Monteluce area: continuing along via Brunacci you arrive at the Romanesque-Gothic style church of Santa Maria di Monteluce. The particularity of the church was that it was practically annexed to a 13th-century convent, which became the hospital of Perugia at the end of the 1920s. Inside the church, which can still be visited, there are important frescoes of the Umbrian and Sienese schools dating back to the 1300s.
For those who still want to walk - but it is also possible to continue by car - it is possible to go back along via Brunacci and take via Enrico dal Pozzo, the ancient Etruscan and then Roman road that went towards the Tiber. After San Bevignate, you will arrive further on at the monumental city cemetery, inaugurated in 1849. The entrance was designed by the architect Alessandro Arienti; inside the cemetery there are truly admirable chapels and funeral monuments, belonging to the most famous and important families of Perugia.
Photo credit by Alex Barrow, maresogno67 e Perugia-City