Collegio di Cambio

Of the many monuments in Perugia, a must-see sight is the color-draped Collegio di Cambio. The chambers are part of the epic Palazzo dei Priori and housed the important and powerful Currency Exchange Guild. Cambio means "exchange" and this group held sway over monetary policy and functioned also in court hearings. Their headquarters needed to reflect their status, and were elegantly decorated.

The Sala dei Legisti (lawyers hall) is clad in carved and inlaid wood by Giampiero Zuccari, done in 1615. This hall was used by a legal guild, and is the first room in the museum that you'll view. The Sala delle Udienze is the principle room of the Collegio di Cambio, where hearings and meetings were held. Again, there is ornate woodwork but it goes largely unnoticed because of the vibrant riot of frescoes by Perugino, a full-room masterpiece covering the walls and ceiling vaults. There are allegories of the Civic Virtues, a Nativity, and a spatially-set Transfiguration. The vaults bear depictions of the zodiac, and there is a self-portrait of the artist himself on a wall pillar.

The Chapel of St. John the Baptist was originally the church of the Benedictine Abbey San Paolo Valdiponte. It was incorporated into the structure of the Palazzo dei Priori as it grew and acquired by the guild in 1506 and rededicated. Here there is intricate wood inlay, a lovely round portrait of St. John, and frescoes by Giannicola di Paolo, depicted God the Father, the evangelists, the apostles, and the patron saints of Perugia in gorgeous array. The most important frescoes are those that depict the life of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Christ .

The Collegio di Cambio is an artistic jewel.

Open from 9:00 AM til 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM til 5:30 PM. In winter from 9:00 AM til 2:00 PM. Closed Mondays.