Exploring Umbria - Città della Pieve
Città della Pieve is known as the birthplace of both the Renaissance painter, Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino, and Mario Draghi, the former Prime Minister of Italy and also the former President of the European Central Bank. Perugino was the teacher of another important artist, Raffaello. The drive from Foligno takes an hour and fifteen minutes. We found the free parking lot pretty easily.
We began with a visit to the Oratorio di San Bartolomeo to see the late 14th Century fresco by Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio called La Crocifisione, the Crucifixion, or as it better known, Il Pianto degli Angeli, The Weeping of the Angels. We’ve read two descriptions of this work. In one, the style is referred to as Byzantine with stylized figures, almond shaped eyes, and a lack of perspective. In another the stylized angels are associated with the Sienese Gothic Style. The oratorio is in the cloister of the Church of St. Francis / Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima.
Pictures of Città della Pieve
The town is having its festival during the evenings and the flags for all of the neighborhoods are out. It made the atmosphere quite festive. We wandered through town, admired the view from the “belvedere” spots, and made our way to the other side of town to the Church of St. Peter from 1200 AD. It houses a Perugino fresco from 1508 of St. Anthony Abate.
Perugino - The Adoration of the Magi
With the entrance fee to the Palazzo, we also had admission to the Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi which has a Perugino’s Deposition from the Cross from 1517. It is badly damaged, but they have an interesting display that shows how it would have looked, and there are some similarities to Raffaello’s Deposition from the Cross.
More Pictures from Our Wandering Città della Pieve
