Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo

History

Also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, it was constructed between 1473 and 1481 by Lombard builders Gasparino d'Antonio and Leone di Matteo to accommodate the city's judiciary. It stands on Piazza del Sopramuro (now Piazza Matteotti), a 13th-century artificial terrace built over a steep slope outside the Etruscan city walls. The building, combining Renaissance architecture with Gothic elements, served as the seat of the Capitano del popolo, a key civic authority.

Originally crowned with crenellations similar to those of the nearby Palazzo dei Priori, the structure lost its top floor in the 1741 earthquake. It was later reinforced and restored by architect Luigi Vanvitelli.

Description

The façade features four mullioned windows with garlands, a loggia for public proclamations supported by large corbels, and a richly decorated portal with twisted columns, two Perugia griffins grasping a calf and a ram, and a lunette depicting an allegory of Justice—a sword-bearing woman with a smile—accompanied by the Latin inscription "Iustitia Virtutum Domina" (1472).

To the left of the building are Gothic arches leading to the Lanari Loggia, the 1932 covered market, and a panoramic terrace overlooking Assisi, Monte Subasio, and Torgiano.

Università Vecchia

The adjacent building to the right was begun in 1453 with a ground floor of Gothic arches. In the late 15th century, Pope Sixtus IV relocated the Studium Perusinum—now the University of Perugia, one of Italy's earliest universities—to this site. Between 1490 and 1520, two upper floors with Renaissance cross windows were added, attributed to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. Since the early 19th century, the building has been used for judicial offices.