164km (102 miles) SE of Florence; 176km (109 miles) N of Rome.

Perugia has had a tortuous history, and like that of any of the more well known cities, its history is pretty complicated. It was one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan confederation, and came under Roman rule in 310 BC. It was always a controversial city, changing allegiance between different factions of the squabbling Romans, usually just on a whim. Unfortunately it was on the losing side in the war between Octavian and Marc Antony, and when Octavian defeated Marc Antony’s brother here in 40 BC, a terrified Perugian noble set fire to his house in a suicide attempt. The flames spread quickly, and most of Perugia burned to the ground. Octavian, now Emperor Augustus, rebuilt the city and called it Augusta Perusia. During the Dark Ages, Perugia held out against Totila the Goth, but it became subject to the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto in the later 6th century.

By the time of the middle Ages, Perugia had prospered as a trade centre, but its, vicious temper, violent infighting, and penchant for poisons had already earned for it a bad reputation. In fact one of its favourite games was the Battaglia dei Sassi or the War of Stones, the main objective of which consisted of pelting one another with large rocks until at least a few dozen people were dead. They were not measly with their nastiness; and what they did to others they did among themselves also. The noble families carried on secret wars of vengeance between themselves, and with the burghers, in their attempts to gain absolute power. The Oddi and the Baglioni were just two of these families. Supported by the Pope, burgher Biordo Michelotti murdered his rivals in the Baglioni family and seized power in1393. He was assassinated five years later and sure enough with a knife in the back. A period of comparative calm came in 1416 with the stewardship of Braccio Fortebraccio, under whose wise and stable rule the city's small empire expanded over the Marches region. But of course he also was murdered by a fellow Perugian while he was besieging L'Aquila in 1424. This was the time for the Baglioni.

When their rivals, the Oddi, lost favour 1488, the Baglioni began their reign in all its atrocious glory. The family specialized in assassination, treachery, and incest turning them into gruesome art forms. When not poisoning their rivals, they killed brothers on their wedding nights, kept pet lions, tore human hearts out of chests for lunch, and had sexual relations with their sisters. In a conspiracy so twisted and ghastly, most of the family slaughtered one another on a single day in August 1500.

Rodolfo, the last of the surviving Baglioni, tried to murder a papal legate in reaction to his uncle's murder at the hands of the pontiff. This angered Pope Paul III, who raised the salt tax a year after promising not to. A rebellion ensued, giving the pope the justification he needed to suppress the city. Papal forces quickly repealed the city's defenses and leveled the Baglioni's old neighborhood. The Pope was not very different from those he had conquered, on has victory he had all Perugia's nuns line up to kiss his feet, an experience which he said left him "very greatly edified."

The massive Rocca Paolina fortress that he erected proved enough to quell most of the rebellious grumblings for a few hundred years, and this gave the Perugini time to slowly mellow down, and save for the uprising in 1859, they were mostly peaceful. The pope sent his Swiss Guards to crush the revol , they did this by pillaging the shops, torching the houses, and murdering citizens in the streets. Within a year, though, Italian unification hit town and King Vittorio Emanuele sensibly sent troops to protect the Swiss guards as they hurriedly drew back from a Perugia finally free from papal control, and out for revenge. 

Though it has had such a gory history, modern Perugia seems to have become a peaceful settlement, and it is now the capital of Umbria. Though it is the capital city, it still retains its medieval hill town characteristics. A town of Gothic palaces standing by the side of jazz cafes, where ancient alleys of stone drop sharply off a nineteenth century shopping esplanade. It produced most of Umbria's finest artists, including Gentile da Fabriano and Perugino from whose workshop emerged Pinturicchio, Lo Spagna, and Raphael. It is a respected university city with a lively student population. 

Perugia now directs its energies into its attempt to become the most cosmopolitan of medieval cities in the world. It is home to one of Italy's largest state universities and also the Università per Stranieri, the country's most prestigious school teaching Italian language and culture to foreigners. Perugina, is the maker of Italy's finest chocolates, and the city holds a suave and chic passeggiata stroll every evening, besides having a jazz festival every summer.