Perugino, an exhibition celebrates the artist in his home town, Città della Pieve

Città della Pieve celebrates Perugino, the great Renaissance painter born in the Umbrian town itself, five hundred years after his death: from July 2 to September 30, Città della Pieve is in fact hosting the exhibition ...at his baptism he was called Pietro. Il Perugino a Città della Pieve, curated by Vittoria Garibaldi, Francesco Federico Mancini, Nicoletta Baldini and with a talk by Antonio Natali. In the year of celebrations of the great Umbrian master, born Pietro Vannucci, his hometown pays tribute to an absolute protagonist of the Italian Renaissance.

The exhibition itinerary is spread over three exhibition venues, namely Palazzo Della Corgna, Museo Civico Diocesano di Santa Maria dei Servi and Oratorio di Santa Maria dei Bianchi, in which in situ works by Pietro Vannucci are displayed in dialogue with other masterpieces by the master and other illustrious Renaissance painters such as Pintoricchio, Cosimo Rosselli, Ghirlandaio and their collaborators, Florentine and Umbrian. Twenty-seven works retrace a fundamental part of art history through masterpieces from the most important Italian and foreign museums: from the Pinacoteca Vaticana to the Uffizi Galleries, from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna to the National Gallery of Umbria.

The exhibition aims to pick up the threads from the extraordinary works Perugino left in his city, namely The Adoration of the Magi from theOratorio dei Bianchi, the Baptism of the Cathedral, the Deposition from the Cross and the Lamentation over the Dead Christ in the church of Santa Maria dei Servi, investigating the sources of inspiration, the models devised by Perugino himself and other painters, the historical context in which the works were created and the birth of that “Perugino model” so important for coeval painters and later generations.

The first section of the exhibition offers a reflection on theAdoration of the Magi from Città della Pieve (pictured) in comparison with the Adoration of the Shepherds. The second section, curated by Antonio Natali, focuses on the Baptism of Christ from the Pieve cathedral, displayed within an immersive room where comparisons with other similar works will be highlighted. The third section concerns Pietro Vannucci’s work within the Sistine Chapel in relation to his collaborators. The fourth section will deal with the Divine Painter’s Florentine workshop while the fifth section is devoted to the Chapel of Santa Maria della Stella, the Deposition from the Cross (or Descent from the Cross) and Lamentation over the Dead Christ. The exhibition is also enriched with five original manuscripts that testify to the strong ties between Pietro Vannucci and Città della Pieve, including the contract between the confraternity of the Disciplinati of Città della Pieve and the painter for the payment of the fresco created at the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi.

Undersecretary for Culture Vittorio Sgarbi, who attended the exhibition press conference, explained that “Città della Pieve is a place of happiness. Perugino in the town where he was born leaves his extreme works where thought is closest to God. Looking at his Adoration of the Magi we feel it too.”

Mayor of Città della Pieve Fausto Risini remarked on the importance of the exhibition and the project behind it: “Petrus Christofori Vannutii di Castro Plebis, that is how Perugino signed his name on the panel of the high altar of the Cathedral of Città della Pieve, the altarpiece of the pievesi that depicts the two patron saints Gervasius and Protasius holding up the gonfalons with the insignia of the city. Pietro Vannucci is proud to remark on his origins. On the fifth centenary of his death, therefore, the municipality of Città della Pieve wanted to set in motion a great organization, a team effort capable of paying homage to its most illustrious son in the best possible way, a celebration worthy of his greatness and of the bequest to the city of no less than five masterpieces, in addition to those we know have been lost. Since taking office, the Administration has worked toward this goal, creating an organizational committee and a scientific one with prestigious names: Vittoria Garibaldi, Francesco Federico Mancini, Nicoletta Baldini, and Antonio Natali. A work of years, a great investment for the future of the city with renovated exhibition spaces, over thirty works from some of the most important Italian and European museums, attention to new technologies with digital reconstructions and an immersive room. This exhibition is a great gamble in which his hometown has stood ready with an exciting and extraordinarily high-quality exhibition project, the echoes of which are destined to last.”

Ilaria Borletti Buitoni, president of the Promoting Committee for the celebrations of the fifth centenary of the death of the painter Pietro Vannucci known as “Il Perugino,” added: “Among the objectives of the Promoting Committee of Perugino is to promote the figure of one of the most important painters of the fifteenth century, but also to encourage processes of tourism development for the entire Umbrian region. This important new exhibition initiative dedicated to Perugino, in addition to proposing extraordinary examples of his art, has the merit of leading us through the villages of Città della Pieve, the town that gave him birth and that saw his career established, leading us to discover, or rediscover, precious treasures such as Palazzo Della Corgna, the Diocesan Museum of Santa Maria dei Servi and the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi.”

Organized by the Municipality of Città della Pieve thanks also to the contribution of the “Promoting Committee of the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the death of the painter Pietro Vannucci known as ”il Perugino," which awarded the quality exhibition project, the exhibition will be open to the public starting Sunday, July 2, and can be visited daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. A single entrance ticket allows access to all venues. The full ticket costs 14 euros, the reduced ticket 10 euros (groups of minimum 15 people, children from 13 to 25 years old), for residents of the municipality of Città della Pieve there is a special reduced ticket at 5 euros, the ticket is free for children up to 12 years old, ICOM members and tour guides. You can purchase your ticket at www.peruginocittadellapieve.it. The initiative is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism, Region of Umbria, ENIT - National Agency for Tourism, Federturismo Confindustria, Chamber of Commerce of Umbria, RAI Umbria. An invitation-only opening is scheduled for Saturday, July 1, at 5:30 p.m. at the Sala Sant’Agostino in Città della Pieve in the presence of Città della Pieve Mayor Fausto Risini, authorities and curators.

Perugino, an exhibition celebrates the artist in his home town, Città della Pieve

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