Location

The city of Perugia is the capital of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river. Perugia is an ancient hill-top city of 170,000 people, midway between Florence and Rome. It was originally settled by the Etruscans; conquered by Augustus around the time of Christ; became an important political power and cultural center in the middle ages; was subdued by Pope Paul IV in the Guelf-Ghibiline wars; and is now a major University city. See also here for more information about the city.

Perugia main attractions include:

• The Cathedral of S. Lorenzo.
• Palazzo dei Priori (Town Hall, encompassing the Collegio del Cambio, Collegio della Mercanzia, and Galleria Nazionale). The Collegio del Cambio has frescoes by Pietro Perugino, while the Collegio della Mercanzia has a fine later 14th century wooden interior.
• Church and abbey of San Pietro (late 16th century).
• Basilica of San Domenico (begun in 1394 and finished in 1458). It is located in the place where, in Middle Ages times, the market and the horse fair were held, and where the Dominicans settled in 1234. According to Vasari, the church was designed by Giovanni Pisano. The interior decorations were redesigned by Carlo Maderno, while the massive belfry was partially cut around mid-16th century. It houses examples of Umbrian art, including the precious tomb of Pope Benedict XI and a Renaissance wooden choir.
• Church of Sant'Angelo (6th century).
• Church of San Bernardino (with façade by Agostino di Duccio).
• Fontana Maggiore, a medieval fountain designed by Fra Bevignate and sculpted by Nicolò and Giovanni Pisano.
• Church of San Severo, here's retained a fresco painted by Raffaello and Perugino.
• Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the National Gallery of Umbrian art in Middle Ages and Renaissance (it includes works by Duccio, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, Perugino)
• Ipogeo dei Volumni (Hypogeum of the Volumnus family), an Etruscan chamber tomb.
• National Museum of Umbrian Archaeology.
• Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo.
• Porta Augusta, a Roman gate with Etruscan elements.
• the Rocca Paolina, a Renaissance fortress (1540-1543) of which only a bastion today is remaining. The original design was by Antonio and Aristotile da Sangallo, and included the Porta Marzia (3rd century BC), the tower of Gentile Baglioni's house and a mediaeval pit.
• The Etruscan arch.
• The directional centre, Piazza del Bacio by Aldo Rossi the famous architect

Perugia is not only an interesting city in itself, but it is located conveniently close to many major cultural sites, including:

Assisi- the home of St. Francis and the location of the major medieval art masterpieces by Giotto and Simone Martini
Cortona- made recently famous by the book and movie "Under the Tuscan Sun"
Florence - the birthplace of the Renaissance
Siena - at one time the major enemy of Florence, today a very exciting historical city.

Below, you can find a map of the city.

Conference venue

The workshop will be held at the University of Perugia, Perugia (Italy). One of the leading universities in Italy, the University of Perugia has a long history since its foundation as early as in 1308, under a Bull by pope Clement V. Currently, its research programs are conducted by 29 departments with a total of 1,200 full-time staff. The University’s activities also include 25 service organizations and research centers as well as 11 libraries with rich collections and equipment. It had a total enrolment of over 31,000 students for the 2004-2005 academic year.

More detailed information about the conference venue will be given later.