Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria - Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria

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Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria

Along Corso Vannucci is housed, on the upper floors of the historic Palazzo dei Priori, the National Gallery of Umbria, one of the richest art collections in Italy. The works preserved here belong to a period from the 13th to the 19th century and represent Umbria's most comprehensive museum collection to date. The National Gallery holds more than 3000 works, 500 of which are on display: paintings, sculptures, ceramics, ancient textiles and goldsmiths' work distributed in 40 rooms, a tower and a chapel for an 800-year-long journey through the history of Italian art.

The History

The origin of this important collection is linked to that of the Accademia del Disegno di Perugia, founded in 1573: here, for the institution's teaching purposes and at least until the second half of the 19th century, a large part of the works still conserved today were collected, to which were added those that were demonised and donated by private individuals. The numerical consistency of the collection, as well as its value, led in 1863 to the establishment of a Civic Art Gallery named after Pietro Vannucci (known as Pietro Perugino) located first in the large church of Montemorcino Nuovo, then inaugurated on the current upper floors of Palazzo dei Priori in 1907. It was only in 1918 that it was ceded to the State under the title of National Gallery of Umbria.

An avant-garde journey through Umbrian art history

After two long years of refurbishment, the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria finally reopened to the public on 1 July 2022 with a modern, sustainable, intuitive exhibition itinerary with state-of-the-art solutions such as new multimedia equipment and augmented captions that now make the visit more stimulating and accessible to all.

From room to room, the collection follows a chronological itinerary. Beginning in the 13th century, the itinerary proposes Umbrian, Tuscan and Marche masterpieces by a number of Medieval and Renaissance protagonists: from the Master of St. Francis to the Tuscans Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, from Arnolfo di Cambio to Duccio di Boninsegna, up to Gentile da Fabriano and Lorenzo Salinbeni. Then we encounter some personalities from the Renaissance period: the works of Beato Angelico and Benozzo Gozzoli, Benedetto Bonfigli's evocative frescoes in the historic Cappella dei Priori, but above all one of the masterpieces the Gallery prides itself on: Piero della Francesca's Polyptych of St. Anthony. Perugino, Pinturicchio and Raphael enjoy a number of monographic rooms due to the large number of works in the collection, while a number of masterpieces of Umbrian art from the 17th to the 20th century conclude the visit: from Orazio Gentileschi to Pietro da Cortona and Sassoferrato to Gerardo Dottori and Alberto Burri. The National Gallery's collection can now also be explored from home! See https://gallerianazionaledellumbria.it/en/collection/

Inside the Gallery you will also find a bookshop, a restoration workshop and a library specialising in Art History that is open to scholars and students and now has over 25,000 volumes. In addition to a conference room, the frescoed Sala Podiani is available for temporary exhibitions, concerts and performances.

March - June: Monday to Sunday: 8:30 am to 7:30 pm. July - December: Mondays: 12:00 to 19:30. Tuesday to Sunday: 8:30 am to 7:30 pm. The ticket office closes at 18:30.

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Main attractions in the vicinity