Again, In The Clouds...

Last picture of the mini serie "Perugia in the clouds"... even the fanciest public transport belongs to the clouds! The Minimetro is the proud of the latest technology of Perugia and this very small automatic metro not only makes you smile everytime you see it passing over your head but is also very useful at the end. Connecting the city centre to the stadium takes only 15 minutes. But be careful, the last run is at 9pm!

Still To Heaven?

After having posted the picture yesterday, Perugia seems to give more clues to some higher spiritual life or whatever similar... Where do these stairs lead? Again Heaven? Or might they just allow your mind go in the clouds. In Italian we say avere la testa tra le nuvole - to have our mind among the clouds...

150 Metres To The Right

What is in 150 metres to the right? Heaven? Heaven in Perugia? That is possible since Perugia has so much resources to exploit and so many surprises to make your every day life so special here!

Blue Door

Perugian shutters might be green as previously said but doors might be... blue?
Well, not as a majority, but you can bump in front of a blue door while walking through Perugia, Spello or Orvieto. This is not Nottingham in London but just the Umbrian way to make it different from the traditional old varnished wooden door.
So which one is in Perugia?
I give you an int, it is in Corso Garibaldi. Does it help you? :-)

Dancing on buildings

Little statues, holding up bits of history in their palms, while they dance their immortality away.
Guess where?

Winding roads

Taking a walk down Via della Pergola, you wish you could take all the roads you see, stroll through the olive gardens and even go far far away to the hill tops you see in the distance.

Let's just hope that we'll have perfect weather for roadtrips soon...

Green windows, fresh days

All the windows here are green..almost each and every one of them. The buildings are all painted in earthy colours, and the windows are green like the trees. Is that because the houses breathe through them?

Might be. All I know is that they look mighty well and colour my days , especially when you can smell some freshly cooked pasta when they're open wide.

Pitch-red-blue

On the ground, everything was pitch-dark.
In the air, the colours were playing a bizarre game of tag, flirting with eachother.

The sunsets on the not-so-little hill are always blushing, or engraved with scarlet letters.

Dark and scary

Beautiful paths at night have their own mystery. They turn a shade darker and the trees turn white in the light of your camera.

Strangers walk past you, you hear your footsteps echo on the Via del Acquedotto, but you look above you and see the streets, you look behind you and see the stairs, you look above and the stars blend in with the light of the moon.

That's when you realize...it's not dark. It's not scary. It's just you and Perugia, on a date.

Living In A Castle, Or Almost

No, Perugia is not only an old Medieval city... no, we do not only live in old houses... yes, there are still tracks from the old times... and yes, there are some who live in modern house and Medieval tower, simultaneously!
Yes, this is Perugia!

Save The Culture!

It is currently under discussion whether to close the Academy of Arts - Accademia delle Belle Arti P. Vanucci.
The Academy was founded in 1573 by Orazio Alfani and Bino Sozi and since 1901 it occupies the ex-Franciscain convent, next to San Bernardino's church. The convent also holds the Museum of the Academy.
So as previsouly said, the city of Perugia would like to close the Academy, surely for economical reasons... I personally have not a real opinion about that since I hardly never heard about it but I would just say that, despite the regression period the whole world is going through, we should not forget that culture is essential. It might not give any big income but it certainly brings open-mindness, curiousity to the external and unknown environments around us and liberates imagination and creativity which are both essential to express the strongest feelings we may precisely have at the moment: anger, frustration and incomprehension or hope, joy and love. Or just a strong need to fight for Culture! So please, be welcome to enter the fight and let's save Culture!

Indelible Mark

Can you see whose profile is it?
...
Even though Perugia insists on showing its absolute communist political orientation, there are marks that could never be erased.
So, here above the profile sculpture of Benito Mussolini...
No more comment.

18.03

18.03 and the sun is still on the sky... in a few minutes, though, the sky will take nice sunset colours and that something Perugian could enjoy on this Saturday afternoon! Just for the pleasure of the eyes!

Aboundance Perusia

In the XIIIth century, a little bit earlier than Giotto's frescoes in San Francesco of Assisi, the city of Perusia started an urbanistic project in order to embellish and glorify the prestige of the city. Not only the acquedotto was built (see previous post), but two fountains were commissioned: Arnolfo di Cambio no more existent's fountain and Giovanni Pisano's fountain, more known as fontana maggiore. To be able to bring water to city and, by consequence, to its inhabitants, was meant to prove Perugia's sense of civic protection. Here above, you see one of the numerous sculptures in the fontana maggiore, more precisely the sculpture of Perusia, representend as the abundance domina set in the extreme opposite of the sculpture representing Roma, its worst enemy!

Honour To San Francesco

Perugia being close to Assisi, we could not not mention San Francesco in this blog. He had such an influence that churches devoted to him are spread all over Umbria, Italia, Europe and so on. And this for now eight hundreds years! Indeed, this year sees the 800th anniversary of the composition of the first Rule of Life which Francesco and his companions presented in Rome to Pope Innocent III and the Papal court in 1209. We do not exactly know what was written, but Tommaso da Celano tells us it was a composition of evangelical passages mixed in with rules to guide the monks in their daily life together. Francesco's calling was infact to live life according to the writings of the Holy Gospel.
Here above, a wooden sculpture represents San Francesco holding the Holy Gospel and a child in the San Francesco church in Perugia. His three knots rope is to recall his further vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Flowering Spring

What a surprise on my way home when I suddenly realised how fast this tree had blossomed! I cannot hardly remember seeing the buds on it that it is already totally blossomed!
Una meraviglia as we would say here!
So Spring is defenitely here, not only the birds sing it every morning, but the trees show it too! What is gonna be next sign? Eating a gelato on the scalette (stairs) of the Duomo? Already done, sorry!

From Water To Way

No picture of the acquedotto has been posted yet so this is high time! Built between 1254 and 1276, it was meant to bring water from monte Pacciano to the city and the fountain - fontana maggiore, in piazza IV Novembre. Among the authors, Fra' Bevignante e Boninsegna da Venezia took part of the project. In the first half of the XIX century, it was transformed into a pedestrian path to connect the borgo Sant'Angelo to the centre.
Nowadays, it is part of the touristic visit of Perugia and is indeed, a very nice way to hit the centre, passing through the 700 year old Porta Conca.

Back To School

It is one week now that university started the second semester, one week to pick up the courses, one week to get used to wake up early and go back to a healthier lifestyle, one week to find the classrooms... talking about that, looking for a Portuguese classroom (yes learning Portuguese in Italy, very logical!), I got up wandering around empty rooms in a university building I did not even know its existence and watching at this beautiful panoramic view. Learning Portuguese was not such a bad idea at the end!

Politically Correct?

Today is the International Women Day. Italian women will get flowers, some of them will show off on the corso in their most expensive and fashion clothes, some other will have a nice lunch in a trattoria, osteria or restaurant (no need to cook today!), and others will maybe just go out and have fun being a woman!
Well, all that celebrating for those who believe that women deserve an international day and have to make the most of it today. On the other hand, the most feminist women will just spend this day as an ordinary day, because women do not need a special day to compensate for all the inequality and suffering some of them, a lot of them indeed, do put up with every day. In fact, the fight is every day...
"Woman is the future of man" as it is written on the poster. What to say?
I would personally rather say: "woman and man together are the future of humanity".
So have a nice day to all of you and let's make the most it all together, hands in hands!
Peace-

First Terrace!

Nothing really artistically special on this picture I admit but, nevertheless, I could not walk through Corso Vanucci without taking a picture of the first terraces on the corso! People do still wear coats and gloves, their hair blowing in the wind but the sun is shining for good! At least for a few hours! But hell, Spring is defenitely here and it feels just good! Cheers!

Looking For Nature?

After having dreamt of those olive trees - olivetti, for nearly 6 months, I decided to jump off my balcony and reach the hill in front it (cf: post from the 10th February, Wild Into The City). It was a sunny afternoon and I was looking forward to wandering among olive trees, smell the olives, touch the olives, watch the olives moving in the wind... but what a surprise when I noticed that it was private and completely enclosed by fences!
Well, my dream just remains a dream and I will look for other olives trees in this full of surprises city!

1, 2, 3, ... 500!

The Italian cultural myth, the most beautiful and beloved car of all times, the symbol of a whole generation, the old Fiat 500 - Cinquecento - is still alive in every Italian's mind! Especially now that you can see the new Fiat 500 driven in every street, the old one, the real one, gets more and more priceless. In blue, white, yellow, green or most commonly famous in red, we love its familiar curves, its mini size and its expression or maybe we just love it because it is the Cinquecento!

Perugian Humour?

Mixing art and consumerism: humour or insult? To laugh or to be shocked?
Well, today, we could only laugh at such a mix, especially in Italy where you encounter the art at every corner...

When the rain is over...

...the Torre degli Sciri, with all its 46 metres, and eight hundred years, seems to be crying, all the water flowing freely down its stone cheeks.

What's left? These tear marks, black with time. Tissues, anyone?