Palazzo dei Priori

About this place

The Palazzo dei Priori or comunale is one of the best examples in Italy of a public palace from the communal era. It is located in the central Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Umbria. It extends along Corso Vannucci up to Via Boncambi. It still houses part of the municipality, and, on the third floor, the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. It takes its name from the Priori, the highest political authority governing the city in the medieval era. Notice how the building presents itself to the surrounding streets or landscape, then compare its public and more intimate spaces. This helps explain how architecture expressed the position, resources and ambitions of the people who commissioned it.