Perugia Writings

This sections presents some very special views of Perugia through the works of the Umbra Institute’s creative writing students.

A Living Fairytale

by Brad Leer (Umbra Institute, Spring 2015) Perugia is the Goldilocks of Italian cities. She is not overwhelmingly large, but not too confined. She is not teeming with history like her sisters Roma and Firenze, but she is not lacking in the amount of historical...

A day in Perugia

by Viola Mariotti (Umbra Institute, Fall 2013) It’s nearly Fall and the wind is howling today. At times it blows so hard it makes your hair whirl before your eyes and cover everything there’s to see.  And then suddendly it turns in a gentle breeze and...

A place to call home

by Giulia Carminati (Umbra Institute, Fall 2013)   If there’s anything that I know about this fairly complicated world , is that places are living things, just like any human being on this planet. I often feel like they have a full set of eyes, two breathing...

Perugia with my Senses

 by Kia Dunn (Umbra Institute, Fall 2013) I came equipped with elementary knowledge of the Italian language and a passion for discovery. I’m retraining my brain on how to interact with strangers without feeling threatened, and respecting the culture I’ve...

Three Weeks in Perugia

by Connor Chan (Umbra Institute, Fall 2013) I ascend the hundreds of brick stairs on Via Appia, approaching the archway which adorns the most picturesque of Perugian postcards. The neighborhood’s salmon and yellow hues are bright, even against the dark, overcast sky....

The Lady of Perugia

by Jessica Compton (Umbra Institute, Fall 2013) I knew she would be small. She does not have Milanese sophistication or Florentine art, and that’s why I chose her. She flaunts no heirs, and her humble confidence is derived from thousands of years of establishment upon...