True, the outside commune has many more people—6000 or so, including both the proprietors of Podere Molinaccio and the agriturismo Poggio del Pero, both part of Italy’s Divertimento Group. But wherever you are in the commune, the magical walled city looms above in your vista.
Panicale Draws Visitors With Interests in Italian Renaissance Art
Taking a tour with Elena Aloia, an art historian and docent with Sistema Museo, we learned that to Italians Panicale is first and foremost the city of the painter who is called “The Perugino”. Born Pietro Vannucci, The Perugino was the most important mentor to Raphael, whose name admittedly traveled further. Art enthusiasts who know this history and The Perugino’s influence on Italian Renaissance art will find much to revel in within the town.
More though, just walking its streets through narrow pathways and in between structures that date back to Medieval times, will likely give most Americans a sense that they are reaching back to an antiquity that you cannot find at home.
Panicale Embroidery Museum is Viewed by Appointment Only
For those of us who love knotted and embroidered textiles of all kinds, it is the Embroidery Museum in Panicale that warrants putting it on your Italy tour map.
