The main towns of Umbria and the "majolica" tradition: Perugia and Deruta

This path will take us by car by two of the most beautiful cities of Umbria: Perugia and Deruta. The entire route takes place by car, take the E45 from Sansepolcro towards Perugia / Rome.

Perugia

The city around the middle of the century, it was organized into five districts or villages, denominated by their medieval gates: Porta Sole, Porta Sant'Angelo, Porta Santa Susanna, Eburnea Porta, Porta San Pietro.
 The progressive urban expansion caused the protendersi of villages outside the door, by developing a structure shaped like a star, set on old road directions, along the slopes of the hill.
The five proposed routes in the beautiful guide made available by the City of Perugia through the towns people, following an art-historical-architectural orientation , starting from the city center towards the periphery, to return to the starting point.
The routes follow each other in a counter clockwise pattern from north to south of the city and comply with the numbering of the plates in this town signs.For more informations, in different languages, go to the website where you can download the city guide: http://turismo.comune.perugia.it/canale.asp?id=549
 We can not leave Perugia without  visiting the beautiful National Gallery of Umbria : the collections are housed from 1878 to the upper floors of the Palazzo dei Priori, one of the most interesting examples of civil Gothic buildings in Italy. The collection includes masterpieces of the Master of San Francesco , Arnolfo di Cambio, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Gentile da Fabriano, Beato Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli, Piero della Francesca and Agostino di Duccio, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, a large group of paintings by Pietro Vannucci, called Perugino, in addition to works of Pintoricchio, Orazio Gentileschi, Pietro da Cortona, Valentin de Boulogne, Sebastiano Conca, Subleyras Pierre, Jean Baptiste Wicar. For more informations: http://www.gallerianazionaleumbria.it
Especially fun is to visit Perugia in the period Eurochocolate, when all the streets in the center you can enjoy tons of different varieties of chocolate.

Deruta

Deruta is a town of about 9000 inhabitants of the province of Perugia, known for the production of artistic ceramics. It is situated on a hill situated 15 km from Perugia and 150 from Rome.
Close to the old city walls is the oldest village, from where, going to three doors of the defensive system, you enter the city center.
The handicrafts from Deruta is identified with the production of the famous majolica art, which is one-third of the national total production .
The oldest document in this form of art  dates back to  12 August 1290. In the following centuries Deruta majolica reaches its maximum splendor, spreading in'500 in the major squares in Italy. The color palette is enriched with orange, blue and yellow. Also the technique of luster, with golden reflections in the works more valuable. The first piece to shine, attributed to Deruta, is dated 1501, and is a relief plaque depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Floors such as the church of San Francesco in Deruta, the Santa Maria Maggiore in Spello or the sacristy of San Pietro in Perugia are further evidence of better production of Deruta majolica. Over time the style and the decorations are transformed into "compendiario", drawn by fast, and the "calligraphic", interwoven with flowers, leaves, arabesques, birds and other animals. In Deruta there are shops, laboratories, factories, salt exposure and two art schools of majolica.Deruta is the perfect place to buy souvenirs to take home to decorate your home.  

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Vista di Deruta	Il centro storico della cittadina umbra di Deruta
	Le famose maioliche di Deruta
	I tipici colori e decori delle maioliche di Deruta