History
At the beginning of its life Perugia was inhabited by Umbrian people, then it was ruled by Etrurians (VI century b.C.) and became the most important centre of the northern Tiber valley. Around 310 b.C. Perugia entered a conflict against Rome, and in 295 b.C. it had to surrender after the defeat in the Battle of Sentino. Perugia was deeply involved in the civil war between Antonio and Ottaviano. Ottaviano conquered the town in 40 b.C.: the town had been almost destroyed, but it was soon rebuilt and was called “Augusta”. At the half of III century a.C., Emperor Vibio Treboniano Gallo gave to Perugia the “ius colonige”: the town, that already was a municipality, took the name of “Colonia Vibia Augusta Perusia”. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Perugia was destroyed by Totila in 547 and the Bishop Ercolano was killed; at the end of the Greek-Gothic War (535-553) the town passed to Byzantines and then to Longobards. Between 1200 and 1300 there was the government by Priors, they were elected among the merchants that were part of the Guilds. In XI century Perugia became a powerful Guelph town and it was independent from the Pontifical State. In XIV century there were violent fights between nobles and common people and there was also a war against the Pope who wanted to control Umbrian towns. The war ended thanks to the Peace of Bologna in 1370 and Perugia had to acknowledge the authority and the power of the Pope, Urbano V. Then there was a rebellion against the Abbot of Cluny, called Monmaggiore. The inhabitants were really angry against his power. The abbot flew away; the fortress he had ordered to build near Porta Sole was destroyed. In the following centuries the town was always the stage of the fights of different sides that wanted the power: there was a government of the people led by Biordo Michelotti (killed in 1398); then that of Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1400). Three years later the power passed again to the Pope, then to Ladislao di Napoli and then to Braccio Fortebracci da Montone. In the following years there was a war between Oddi and Baglioni families. Baglioni family won but there were inner fights in the family itself and many members were killed. Among the people killed in the famous night of 14th July 1500, there was the beautiful Grifonetto that Raffaello portrayed in the deposition ordered by the mother of the young man. Baglioni family governed until 1531 when the armies of Pope Paul III conquered the town. The government of the Popes lasted until the settlement of the Reign of Italy (there were only some short interruptions during the periods of French Republic and Roman Republic). In 1863 Perugia was proposed as the capital of the Reign. But Florence was chosen, even if King Vittorio Emanuele II liked the idea of having Perugia as the capital.
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Written by Stefania Maffeo
Translation by Linda Liguori |
