The Province of Perugia ( it, Provincia di Perugia) is the larger of the two

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, comprising two-thirds of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

. The province covered all of Umbria until 1927, when the

province of Terni The Province of Terni ( it, Provincia di Terni) is the smaller of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising one-third of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Terni. The province came into being ...

was carved out of its southern third. The province of Perugia has an area of 6,334 km² covering two-thirds of Umbria, and a total population of about 660,000. There are 59

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

s ( it, comuni) in the province. The province has numerous tourist attractions, especially artistic and historical ones, and is home to the Lake Trasimeno, the largest lake of Central Italy. It is historically the ancestral origin of the Umbri, while later it was a Roman province and then part of the Papal States until the late 19th century.

History and topology

The

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

likely founded Perugia in the 6th century BC. The Umbra and

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

valleys are located in the province. The eastern part of the province is a hilly region while the rest was covered by forests. The province lies in the basin of the river Tiber and its tributaries Chiaseio, Nestore, Naja and Chiana. The southern regions are less hilly. Silk, corn and grass are some of the most important agricultural products of the province. The 1840 version of the ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' records that Perugia supplied almost half of the butcher's meat required in the city of Rome. The large number of cattle was fed on grass growing on the plain areas irrigated by the water of Tiber and its tributaries. After the province of Rome, Viterbo and Spoleto e Rieti the Perugian province was the fourth most important of the Papal States. The largest lake in central Italy, Lake Trasimeno is located in the Province of Perugia. The lake has three islands – Polvese, Maggiore and Minore. The lake has a circumference of about 30 miles but is relatively shallow. It is fed by springs in the nearby hills. Perugia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, as the Province of

. The Province of Umbria at the time was somewhat larger than the current

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of Umbria, comprising Rieti to the south (now part of Lazio). It was subdivided into the districts ('' circondari'') of Perugia, Foligno, Orvieto, Terni, Rieti and Spoleto. In 1921, the municipal council of Terni proposed the separation of the province into the new provinces of Perugia and Terni. In 1923, Rieti together with

Cittaducale Cittaducale (locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome and about southeast of Rieti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,799 and an area of . It was ...

were added to the province of Rome (Lazio). The remaining Province of Umbria was divided into the Provinces of Perugia and Terni in 1927.

Administration

The 59 ''comunes'' in the province of Perugia are administered by an elected local authority which is responsible for regional planning, managing and addressing municipalities activities, environment, energy, road maintenance etc. In 2007, 25 people died of consequences of drug overdose in the province of Perugia. This was the highest number of deaths recorded due to drug overdose in any Italian province.

Tourist attractions

The province is well known for its medieval palaces, castles and fortresses. A few important tourist destinations of the province are the Roman amphitheatre near Porta Marzia, Cassero di Porta Sant'Angelo, Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, Cathedral of San Lorenzo, San Bernardino's Pulpit,

Piazza IV Novembre Piazza IV Novembre is a square in the storic center of Perugia. The asymmetrical square opens up to the convergence of the five road axes that structure the medieval city and for its scenography it has represented in every era the privileged plac ...

, Maggiore Fountain, National Gallery of Umbria, National Museum of Umbrian Archaeology and St. Peter's bell tower in the city of Perugia; Basilica of Saint Claire, Upper Basilica of St. Francis, Temple of Minerva (dates back to 1st century B.C.) and Basilica of Santa Maria Degli Angeli in Assisi; Church of Sant'Agostino, Church of Saint Francis and Montefalco hill in Spello; the 14th century fortress Rocca Albornonziana, Arco di Druso and Bridge of Towers in Spoleto; Piazza del Popolo, Palazzo del Capitano and Roman Etruscan Museum in

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

; Cathedral of Santa Maria Argentea in Norcia. The first Christian monk Saint Benedict was born in Norcia. The town of Gubbio has a Roman theater which dates back to 1st century A.D.. Franciscan Path of Peace which was the path traversed by Saint Francis who left all the property he inherited from his father, connects Assisi with Gubbio. Assisi is an

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The cultural festival named "Festival dei due Mondi" held in Spoleto; Festival of the Ceri involving a candle procession to the nearby Basilica of San Ubaldo and a cross bow contest "Cross-Bow Palio" in Gubbio also attract large number of tourists. The province is also known for its cuisine which includes black truffles, Easter Pizza, lentils from Castelluccio and Salami and

cold cut Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on ...

s from Norcia.

Main cities

The principal towns in the province, with a population over 20,000, are:

Gallery

File:IMG 0699 - Perugia - Corso Vannucci - Foto G. Dall'Orto - 5 ago 2006 - 02.jpg,

, ''Corso Vannucci'' File:Gubbio Palazzo dei Consoli z02.jpg, Gubbio File:Rocca Albornoz and Ponte delle Torri, Spoleto.jpg, Spoleto File:Assisi San Francesco BW 2.JPG, Assisi, Basilica of San Francesco

References