The Perugia district is a territory rich in natural beauties, art and history, and it offers to the tourists many interesting things: the magnificent artistic patrimony of Perugia, ancient castles, churches, small villages, archaeological sites, pictoresque landscape, cultural events, folkloristic celebrations; and finally a magic atmosphere of ancient times, simple and genuine, which permeates everything, making it perfectly harmonious.
Perugia, in its dominant position, overlooks the whole surrounding area, with the hills and the valleys connected by good roads, the same roads which connect the town to its suburbs, where as from the 1960s many industrial activities have developed - food and textile the most important.
Both the town of Perugia and the other smaller towns in the district have a typical medieval structure: until the 19th century no change in the form had been made, so you can still admire steep alleys and stairways, ancient houses and superb palaces, a great deal of archs.
Many are the itineraries that can be followed by the visitors after having visited Perugia; among the most interesting those that reach the Etruscan archaeological sites: the Hypogeum of the Volumni, the Hypogeum of San Manno, the Hypogeum of Villa Sperandio and the necropolis of Strozzacapponi.
Leaving Perugia and going North-West you will see two high hills, the Mount Malbe and the Mount Lacugnano, forming a gorge facing the Trasimeno area. You are in the territory of Corciano: its hamlets Capocavallo, Castelvieto, Chiugiana, Mantignana, Migiana, S.Mariano and Solomeo, spread in a semicircle around Mount Malbe were originally a defense for the Perugian territory.
This area is very interesting: the landscape, a real sea of green, is full of medieval castle and towers, and there are places of great charm, such as the Hermitage (11th century) and the Serandino Farm which were once a small convents and are now center for the rehabilitation of injured raptors and a botanical garden; or the superb Pieve del Vescovo, a medieval castle where the Head Mercenary Biordo Michelotti - Prince of Perugia, murdered in 1398 - celebrated his wedding, transformed into a noble palace in the Renaissance; or Migiana, with its historical entrance gate and the ancient mine containing well-preserved ammonite and mollusk fossils.
Going downhillyou arrive to Torgiano, situated on the edge of the Middle Tiber valley, at the confluence of the Chiascio and Tiber Rivers. Torgiano was an important fortress overlooking one of the major bridges on the Tiber (Pontenuovo), with a control tower which was destroyed during the Second World War.
The town preserves significant traces of the ancient city wall - the Guard Tower has become the symbol of Torgiano - interesting churches and the imponent Baroque Palace Graziani-Baglioni, where has been located the Wine Museum, a collection of objects connected with the production, business and consumption of wine from antiquity to our days. The communal territory is mainly agricoltural, with various crops in the plains and olives and grapes on the hillsides: in recent years the wine industry has become very important and has made Torgiano famous all over the world.
The quite countryside, part cultivated, part covered by Mediterranean copse, extends as far as Deruta: here the landscape is characterized by numerous workshops and stores for producing maiolica.
In fact, the craft of Deruta is artistic maiolica: its production dates back to the 13th century ( pitchers,basins,bowls, with very little decoration, for household use) but it was in the 16th century that Deruta maiolica reached its maximum splendour; the best production of this period can be admired in some floors such as those in the Churches of St.Francis in Deruta, St.Mary Major in Spello and in the sacristy of St.Peter in Perugia.
South of Deruta there is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Baths, where there is a collection of more than 600 votive plaques in maiolica, an exceptional testimony of the faith - and superstition - of the people which spans more than three centuries.