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| Crucible Of Faith |
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| Medieval history blends seamlessly with the present in the picturesque italian city of perugia, whose people once rebelled against the pope |
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THE MAIN street of the town was dark and virtually deserted, except for a few souvenir stalls. Stone walls of ancient buildings hemmed in the avenue that ducked under a series of medieval arches. The occasional doorways and windows punctuating the passage-way served no function other than guard the secret lifestyle of the families that once peopled the houses overlooking the street. Our guide helped us reconstruct the pattern of their daily lives from the few clues that were left behind in the underground city of Perugia in central Italy. Yet, there was a time when the prosperous hilltop city, which was ruled by the powerful Baglioni family, basked under the blue Italian sky. Then in the 16th century it sought to break free of the Vatican and establish itself as an independent city state. The Popes mighty army marched in from Rome and crushed the uprising. Then, to set an example to other puppets of the Vatican empire who might contemplate rebellion, the Pope ordered the city to be destroyed, and his palace to be built on the ruins. However, the architect, entrusted with the task could not bring himself to level the grand citadel. So he had it buried and built the Popes palace over the old city.
The Popes vengeful palace, however, met a fate even worse than the citadel over which it presided. For, soon after the unification of Italy in the 19th century, the people of Perugia, instigated by descendents of the Baglioni family, set upon the monument which, incidentally, was never graced by even a single Pope-and razed it to the ground. Today, the residential buildings have taken its place and mesh seamlessly with a city that was shaped by diverse influences, and yet retains its own distinct identity. We strolled through the gracious city that seemed to revel in its own good looks. Sidewalk cafes spilled on to cobblestone streets lined with buildings fashioned in Venetian, Renais-sance, Gothic and other classic architectural styles. High fashion garments winked at us from the show windows of chic modern stores housed in antiquated buildings. Roadside stalls bristled with bargains. The rich aroma of the world-famous perugain chocolates lured us into its factory outlet to sample its delights and buy a few sweet memories to share with loved ones back home. At one end of the main street, we stumbled upon a small chapel where every inch of space on the walls and ceilings were covered with colourful murals celebrating the divinity of Virgin Mary. A modern poster of a mother and child seemed totally out of place till the lady in charge informed us that it invited women to stop by and suckle their hungry infants in privacy. Yes, Perugia was alive with delightful little touches, like rooftop cafes with a panoramic view of the farmlands beyond the city sprawled across the lower slopes of the hills; quaint fountains tucked away in shaded town square gardens; walkways that opened up into courtyards of ancient churches and mounments.
And a lively New Orleans jazz band too, marching down the main street of the city. This delightful musical interlude was part of the annual Umbria Jazz Festival, which showcases some of the best known talent in this genre of music. The jazz extravaganza, which was held in Perugia during the time of our visit, also featured Elton John. But since his performance was slated for the day of our departure, we dropped in one night at the citys main stadium at the foot of an old church bathed in colourful floodlights. We must confess that jazz is not really our kind of music, but before we knew it, we were snared by the intensity of the performance. And by the time he was done with the song, we figured that we did like jazz after all. Like the jazz festival, there is almost always something happening in Perugia. Even otherwise, the city has a lot to offer visitors. At the city museum, for instance, which brims with artistic treasures, we learned that Perugia was the launching pad of modern Italian art. As with most things in Italy, it started with a miracle when a painting of Jesus on the cross spoke to St Francis of Assisi and told him to rebuild his church. The fact that the barefoot saint answered the divine bidding with amazing success is another matter, but the cross is what interests art historians, as it is the first time that a crucifix depicts Christ with his eyes closed. In doing so, it captures the agony of the painful event and humanises Jesus.
A similar crucifix by the same unknown artist who painted the one that spoke to St Francis is the prized treasure of the museum whose many exhibits trace the transformation of religious and secular art from iconic to human figures. An interesting sidelight is the storybook paintings (for the illiterate masses) that depict popular events from the Bible and the lives of saints-the agony of their gruesome martyrdom painted in graphic detail-over a series of panels. But Perugia was not happy with what it had-the city wanted more, and coveted the relics of St Francis in neighbouring Assisi. It was the fear that the more powerful Perugia would plunder its religious riches that prompted Assisi to keep the body of St Francis (which, like that of St Francis Xavier in Old Goa, India, had defied the ravages of death) in hiding. Assisis suspicion of its buying neighbor underscores the fact that Perugia, which lies on the crossroads in the centre of Italy, was, for long, an important and prosperous commercial centre. And the Moneychangers Guild bears testimony to this. Today, it has been converted into a museum, and the walls and ceilings of the trading floor are covered with colourful murals-portraits of senior members of the guild and significant events from the Bible-done by the citys very own Perogani, his student Raphael, and other world-famous artists.
Perugias more recent claim to fame is that it is home to the oldest and best known Italian language university. As a result, it attracts students from all over the world who lend an international flavour to the city of 160,000 residents. We ran into a group of them strolling down in parapet walls of the city in the evening. The setting sun had bathed the tiled roof buildings sprawled below us in its warm glow. Yes, we realized that Perugia may not be as popular as Rome,Venice and other major Italian destinations, but it seemed to be content with its quiet place in the tourist circuit of the country.
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