PERUGIA Art and monuments - Collegio del Cambio

Sala dell'Udienza [Council room]

Along with the Merchants Guild, the Bankers Guild was also one of the most powerful in the city (Cambio = exchange).

The Collegio del Cambio (seat of the guild) [in Palazzo dei Priori] was built between 1452 and 1457. The entrance doorway is a beautifully crafted work in wood that dates back to 1505.

The first room, the Sala dei Legisti (lawyers room), contains inlaid furniture and wood panellings against the walls by Giampietro Zuccari (1615-21).

This room leads to the Sala dell’Udienza (council room), which is the finest and best preserved 15th century secular room in Italy.

The wooden furniture is by Domenico del Tasso and Antonio da Mercatello (1490-93). The furniture highlights well the frescoes by Perugino (1498-1500) that adorn the walls and crossbow vaulting.

Selfport

The theme of the frescoes is a result of the influence of the humanist Francesco Maturanzio, a teacher at the Studium Perusinum university.

The paintings represent the four Cardinal Virtues along with well known ancient figures. One of the dividing pillars features a self-portrait of Perugino.

The niche above what is known as the Court contains a statue of Justice attributed to Benedetto da Maiano.

The passageway in the right hand corner leads to the chapel of St John the Baptist, which was restored in the 16th century and was decorated with frescoes by Giannicola di Paolo, an apprentice of Perugino (vault: 1511 and walls: 1528-29).