In Florence We Say Buona Sera in the Afternoon

I do not mean to confuse you this post is principally about PERUGIA.

The title of this blog is something our history of science professor said. It made it sound like they only say ‘buona sera’ (good afternoon) in Florence. It struck me as a funny comment. I apologize if you do not get it or think it is funny.

It seems as if each town we visit is even more wonderful than the last. Perugia is a gem not too far from Assisi. The Perugians have embraced modern architecture in a way that we have rarely seen in Italy. Maura was our tour guide again. She has come to be one of my favorites. We entered on the low side of the city and took a series of escalators to get up to the city center. We went through a tunnel and emerged in some sort of cavern, but it was man made with brick vaulted ceilings. This was the old foundations of a large fortress that once stood as a symbol of oppression for the people. The pope built it to defend against the local people, not outside enemies. The architect built the fortress on top of the existing city. You can see the medieval streets, and some of the workshops  that were preserved. Where there once was sky now there is brick.  An entire section of the city was erased from the people’s memory. When they regained independence the people destroyed the fortress, but kept the foundations as a reminder of what their town used to be.  Aldo Rossi did a piazza and the surrounding buildings near the train station. I was excited to see it, but let’s just say it looks better in photographs. Photoshop can make almost anything look good. We rode the Mini metro, which as you will see is pretty small. It was designed by Jean Nouvel, and the stations are quite nicely detailed. We also encountered a medieval aquaduct that is now an elevated pedestrian path. Other than that we saw a Palazzo, Cathedral, couple of fountains. You know the usual stuff.