Sciri Tower

The Torre degli Sciri (Sciri Tower) provides an unparalleled panoramic view of Perugia which can be reached by a steep stairway to the top. It’s the only remaining architecturally complete tower.

All of the city’s other towers which formerly characterized the city skyline were cut down to size by order of Pope Paul, born Alessandro Farnese, instigator of the construction of the Rocca Paolina fortress and the political and social ‘normalisation’ of Perugia.

The lofty towers symbolized the wealth of a handful of noble families which was seen as a threat to the new reaffirmed auctoritas of the Papal States. To get an idea of what the city looked like before the impertinent towers were torn down, go no further than the fresco paintings by Benedetto Bonfigli in the Cappella dei Priori (1455-1480) or Berto di Giovanni’s gonfalon in the Cathedral of Perugia (1526).

The Sciri Tower remained unscathed because, even in those days, it was considered a strategic viewpoint enabling control of the city. Its bulky, dense architecture dominated one of the main royal thoroughfares of the city leading west via the Porta Trasimena towards the lake. One its military and strategic value had receded, in 1680 it became the residence of the Third order of Franciscans under Sister Lucia Tartaglini of Cortona and then the Oblate Sisterhood of San Filippo Neri.
 

Contacts:

Address: Via degli Sciri - 06123 Perugia PG

Phone: 393 5145793

Email: viadeipriori.perugia@gmail.com

Website: http://www.visitaperugia.it/