Palazzo Vescovile

(late 17th Cetury)

The present Palazzo Vescovile stands on the site of two earlier buildings:

• Palazzo dei Consoli (early 13th century), the first secular governmental palace of Perugia, stood on the site of the two bays on the left  of the present palace . 

• Palazzo del Podestà stood on the site of the three bays to the right of it.  

• It was extended to the right in 1284 to form a new palace for Pope Martin IV.  This involved vaulting Via della Maestà della Volte, and traces of the pilasters that supported the vaults can be seen on the right wall of the palace.   
  

• It was largely rebuilt after a fire in 1329: traces of three Gothic windows on the 1st floor of Palazzo Vescovile probably came from the 14th century rebuilding.
  

• Other traces of the earlier palaces can be seen at the back of the present structure, in Via Ritorta.
  
  

These palaces burned down in 1534when Ridolfo Baglioni took Perugia and murdered the papal representative, Cinzio Filonardi who was living there.

The original Palazzo Vescovile (Bishop's Palace), which stood to the left these buildings, also burned down in 1534.  Two bifore windows high up on the facade of the building to the left of the present palace (one of which is visible in the illustration above) belonged to this earlier palace. 

Photographs of the present palace taken in the late 19th century show its facade of covered by black and white frescoes, but these were removed in a later restoration. 

Return to Walk I.