Perugia audiotours

Perugia sits on a ridge in the heart of Umbria at around 450 meters, and climbing into it from the valley below is an experience that prepares you for what the city has to offer: layers, effort, revelation. The Etruscans built here long before the Romans arrived, and the Arco Etrusco, an arch from the third century BCE that still frames the northern entrance to the old city, reminds you that Perugia's timeline dwarfs most of Europe's. The Palazzo dei Priori on Corso Vannucci is one of the finest medieval civic buildings in Italy, a gothic pile that has housed the local government since the 1290s.

The city is home to the Universita per Stranieri, one of Italy's oldest universities for foreign students, which opened in 1925 and fills Perugia with international language learners year-round.

The result is a city that is older than almost anywhere but feels perpetually young. The Corso Vannucci fills with an evening passeggiata that starts around 6pm and runs until dinner, students and locals mixing in a ritual that feels entirely natural rather than performed.