Archive room

The political might of the Nobile Collegio della Mercanzia (Merchants Guild), spanning several centuries, produced mountains of documents. These are of vital importance not only to the individual history of the Collegio, but also that of the wider city and have now been catalogued by archiving specialists and placed in the state archives, although they remain property of the Mercanzia.

The historical value of this archival cache tracing the major events and protagonists of Perugia’s history is complemented by its artistic value given that many of the manuscripts and regulations feature miniatures painted by some of the foremost masters of that speciality. Perugia’s guild of miniaturists was particularly prolific and enjoyed complete autonomy from the painters’ guild although there was a continual crossover between the genres.

It is notable that many great painters including Perugino and Pinturicchio practised the art of the miniature but the custom of maintaining distinct approaches to each genre continued at least until the end of the 17th century as evidenced by works from Matteo Salvucci and Vincenzo Pellegrini among others. The state archives hold the three Matricole dell’Arte (masterworks) including two produced by The Perugian goldsmith Matteo di Ser Cambio (miniatures of the city gates from 1329 and 1356) and a third from 1599.