What to see in Città di Castello, one-day itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Municipal Art Gallery and Palazzo Albizzini.
Tourist information
City of Umbria located within a valley located between the hills of the Tiberina Valley, near the border with Tuscany, Città di Castello boasts an illustrious past.
Its name was Tifernum Tiberium, in the Roman period, and Castrum Felicitas, in the Middle Ages.
From 1230 it was called Civitas Castelli, or Città di Castello.
From the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, under the Lordship of the Vitelli family, whose members were very close to the Medici of Florence, famous artists such as Giorgio Vasari and Luca Signorelli were called to work in Città di Castello, also elegant palaces were built and commissioned works of art, which gave the city a Renaissance appearance.
Another lineage, which has played an important role in the history of this city, is that of the Albizzini family.
In 1503 it was created by the young Raphael, for their chapel dedicated to San Giuseppe in the church of San Francesco, Lo Sposalizio della Vergine, an oil on board which is now exhibited in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.
What see
The center of the town consists of Piazza Matteotti, where interesting architectures overlook, including the former Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo Bondi-Mancini, Palazzo Vitelli-Bufalini, Palazzo Cappelletti and the side facade of Palazzo Bufalini.
The Palazzo dei Priori, located in Piazza Gabriotti, was built between 1322 and 1338 by Angelo da Orvieto.
It has a rustic rusticated facade and constitutes one of the most famous municipal offices in Umbria.
The Cathedral, of Romanesque origin, was enlarged in 1356 and almost completely renovated between 1494 and 1529.
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Little remains of the original construction, however the Cathedral Museum preserves an important collection of sacred objects dating back to the early Christian era.
Adjacent to the Cathedral stands the medieval Civic Tower, called by the Tower of the Bishop, who had a twin that was destroyed.
The municipal art gallery, located in the sixteenth-century Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera, houses in its rooms works ranging from 1300 until the last century, with notable examples of Raphael, Signorelli, Ghirlandaio, Andrea Della Robbia, Ghiberti, Vivarini, Raffaellino del Colle, Pomarancio.
The fifteenth-century Palazzo Albizzini houses a rich collection of works by the artist Alberto Burri, born in Città di Castello, who represents one of the major protagonists of contemporary art.
