Palazzo della Penna is more than a museum: built on Roman and medieval archaeological remains, it features nineteenth-century wall frescoes, modern architectural inserts and contemporary works. In fact, it houses an important collection of works by Gerardo Dottori (1888-1977), Futurist, Director and Teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts of Perugia, and a series of six large "blackboards" by the artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986).
A palace, therefore, which contains within itself a cross-section of what Perugia can offer the visitor: traces of the classical era, in the city especially Etruscan such as the Arch and the Etruscan Well; of the medieval one, such as the splendid Palazzo dei Priori and the Rocca Paolina; modern, like the elegant buildings that delimit the living room of the city, Corso Vannucci. But the city also offers significant contemporary artistic presences, such as the permanent collection of Dottori's works already mentioned and the Large Black Totem by Alberto Burri, located at the top of the escalators which, from the foot of the acropolis and through the Rocca Paolina - adjacent to Palazzo della Penna - lead to the historic centre.
Even before becoming a Civic Museum, Palazzo della Penna had for years been the site of cultural events, conferences and debates: for the people of Perugia, and not only, a guarantee of the quality of the initiatives hosted.
The opportunity to return was offered to me by the beautiful exhibition "Through glances", which just ended, dedicated to the Perugian collection of the works of Maestro Arturo Checchi, a Tuscan painter by birth but Perugian by adoption.
The exhibition, well structured into sections - Windows, Models, Portraits, Musicians, Marines - allowed me to get to know an artist who worked for a long time in Perugia, where he died.
I found a lot about Perugia, especially in the sections: the Windows, with the urban and hilly landscapes that can be enjoyed from the houses overlooking Piazza Fortebraccio, where Palazzo Gallenga stands majestically, home to the University for Foreigners; and in the Musicians, as representations that evoke Umbria Jazz, the world-famous festival.
I relived the emotion of when, as a university student, I went up Via Battisti in the center with my classmates and, to our right, below us, we looked down on the placid expanse of roofs of the tiny houses - represented by a "window" - each with its irregular geometry, the color from brick red to gray scales, all shadowed by time and moss. I guessed the Roman aqueduct in the middle of those small houses, where I was often a guest of friends away from home but always felt at home. Born around the aqueduct that supplied the city, which later became one of the most evocative connecting routes between the university citadel and the acropolis, they have now almost all been renovated. The pastel colors of the facades: yellow ocher cream white pale red - well rendered by the artist - have maintained the charm of small doll houses, with an intimate and intimate atmosphere.
I also recognized the Rectorate and further north the old workers' houses, built around the majolica factory, later used as student houses and, in the background, the rows of still green and cultivated hills.
And, further back in time, in the dedicated section, the marine microcosm of the umbrellas of the Adriatic coast where, like most Perugians, I spent my boring seaside holidays with aunts and family friends, eager to be accompanied by an almost-daughter.
An important building both in itself and for its permanent collections, a beautiful exhibition, a delicate amarcord: it doesn't happen every day.
Damiana Raschi
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12 Aprile 2025
10,0
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