Perugia - a magical medieval city where the mountains merge with the sky
I must say right away that this is not a story in my usual style, it is rather a small essay in pictures.
I was not ready at all for the meeting with this city. My plans included a visit to the fat Bologna. But "Accord" in one fell swoop crossed out Bologna from my plans and categorically inserted the capital of Umbria - Perugia. How and why was not clear, since in normal cases Perugia is included in the route through the Umbrian region. And here, it is not clear with what fright, suddenly an announcement: tomorrow we are going to Perugia. Well, for "Accord" this is a common practice, they have everything through the stump of the deck. It was possible, of course, to quarrel, but it is better to think about how to benefit from this.
On reflection, I considered this replacement a big plus. First, we will get to Umbria and get the opportunity to see the only region of Italy that does not have access to the sea. Secondly, Accord announced that we only need to pay for a transfer of 8 euros if we do not want to take an excursion. We didn't want to. But, nevertheless, we decided to go, even being unprepared, without a compiled route, which means that we will just walk and get to know the city along the way.
Perugia turned out to be completely different from the Italy that I had seen before. It was some kind of mystical ancient city, hidden high under the clouds, where the mountains merge with the sky.
Metamorphoses began immediately upon arrival. It turns out that in order to get into the city, you first need to enter the mini-subway, the escalator of which will take you up.
And the road to the city will lead you through multiple dungeons. For some reason, I remembered the phrase of Henry Morton: “In such a city, only kill. ”
Coming out of the dungeon, you will be breathless, because you will find yourself on top of a mountain, and in front of you in a foggy haze, Perugia will stretch across the boundless expanses.
Mamma mia, this is beautiful!
Taking a breath, we go down the stairs to the city.
We are in the Middle Ages, and time seems to have stopped. The road winds up and down, then leads to a dead end, continuous labyrinths of streets and some ominous color is in the air.
And here, in general, there is some kind of heap, on the old foundation, new superstructures, apparently, were built in the Ukrainian style "hi-tak":
Looking at the balconies, you understand that ordinary earthly life flows in the city.
Well, some more or less flat streets are already beginning to appear.
Morning… Cafes are closed… It seems that the city is still sleeping. We walk along the main street.
The houses are somehow uneven, as if wavy, or something...
The Priori Palace is the representation of the noble families that ruled Perugia.
One of the side walls of the Cathedral overlooks November 4th Square. The square is named after the unification of Italy. The main sights here are the Saint Lorenzo Cathedral and the Fountain Maggiore.
Ancient Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Near the cathedral is seated Pope Julius III as the ruler of the city. And to the right, from the stone pulpit, Saint Bernardino told the inhabitants of Perugia about their vices.
Maggiore Fountain. And the main symbols of the city -? lion and griffin:
Everything is very old, gothic and ascetic. There is no elegant Italian pretentiousness, beautiful lines and colors, some kind of stone bag. Everything is shrouded in antiquity and mystery.
In some places, Perugia still resembles Italy familiar to us.
Even the unchanging Vittorio Emanuele II is in his place:
We just go where our eyes look (or our feet lead).
Let's go to the market, ordinary provincial life flows here, there are few people.
The assortment is the same: fruits and vegetables.
Cheese and butcher shops:
And this is probably the morning catch:
This is how I saw not Italian Italy at all. Or, conversely, Italian? Who knows, perhaps this country appears to us in different guises, each of which is unique and authentic. In any case, I am glad that I ended up in this unusual city for me, located high in the mountains and not crowned with the sea.
