Calcio Travel Notes: Perugia

Perugia is a serene hilltop city, perched equidistant between Florence to the north and Rome to the south. Distinct from those bustling tourist magnets, Perugia retains a peaceful, understated charm.

Getting around Perugia can feel unusual at first. The city’s steep geography has created a unique transport system: a labyrinth of escalators and underground walkways cut through the hillside, while the driverless Minimetrò (€1.50) glides visitors from the plains below to the historic centre in just a few minutes.

For those tackling Perugia on foot, the climb is worth it. At the top, panoramic views stretch across the Umbrian plains to the distant Sibillini Mountains. The city has a terracotta charm that glows in the sunlight, the skyline punctuated with medieval towers.

In Piazza IV Novembre stands the San Lorenzo Cathedral, alongside the centrepiece Fontana Maggiore, once supplied by a Roman aqueduct that still snakes through the city, now serving as a pedestrian walkway. Beneath the surface, the Rocca Paolina’s hidden passageways reveal another layer of Perugia’s history.

The city is also famous for its sweet side: Perugia is Italy’s chocolate-making capital and home to the annual Eurochocolate Festival. Bizarrely, we learned that idyllic, ancient Perugia is twinned with the nondescript city of Scranton, USA – better known as the setting of The Office.

The Club

Perugia’s football history is colourful but turbulent. For decades, the club bounced between Serie B and Serie C before the arrival of president Franco D’Attoma in the 1970s. His ambition transformed Perugia into the “team of miracles,” earning their first-ever promotion to Serie A in 1975.

Remarkably, Perugia came close to winning Serie A just a few years later. In the 1978–79 season, inspired by the memory of midfielder Renato Curi (who had tragically collapsed and died during a match a year earlier), coach Silvano Ramaccioni built a side that went unbeaten all season, the first in Serie A history to do so. Ramaccioni’s austerity tactics enabled little Perugia to compete with their more illustrious opponents. Their 19 draws from 30 games ultimately cost them the title, but second place behind Milan remains the club’s highest finish.

The 1980s brought decline, but the eccentric president, Luciano Gaucci, revived Perugia in the 1990s. Gaucci was a showman: his global transfer strategy unearthed future stars like Hidetoshi Nakata but also produced notorious stunts – signing Saadi Gaddafi, trying to bring a female player into Serie A, and sacking South Korea’s Ahn Jung-Hwan after he knocked Italy out of the 2002 World Cup.

Amidst the chaos, Perugia enjoyed six straight seasons in Serie A and adventures in European competition around the millennium. Despite the president’s proclivity for exotic signings, Perugia were frequently powered by a backbone of Italian talent such as Marco Materazzi, Fabio Grosso, Fabrizio Miccoli, and Fabio Liverani.

Financial collapse followed in 2004, and the club has twice been refounded since. Today, I Grifoni remain a sleeping giant of Serie C, still chasing a return to the heights of their past.

The Stadium

Until the mid-1970s, Perugia’s home was the charming Stadio Santa Giuliana, nestled halfway up the hill. Promotion to Serie A in the mid-70s brought a new ground, the Stadio Renato Curi, named after their fallen hero. Built in just 16 weeks from prefabricated parts, its exposed metal structure resembles a giant Meccano set.

As a purpose-built football ground, there’s no running track – just steep stands hugging the pitch. Only the main tribuna is covered, leaving most of the seats exposed to the elements. In practice, attendances are far lower than the boilerplate capacity of 28,000. The location is convenient: plenty of parking, a Minimetrò station next door, and the city centre and train stations just a short ride away. It also features an adjoining training centre, recently renamed in memory of former Grifoni striker Paolo Rossi.

Beside the stadium sits the club shop (selling a broad selection of shirts and souvenirs) and café, both open on non-matchdays and popular with locals. However, the real gem is the free club museum, tucked into the same building. Packed with historic shirts, boots, documents, and photographs, it charts Perugia’s entire history. Nakata has his own cabinet, while a lone boot belonging to Saadi Gaddafi remains as a reminder of Gaucci’s eccentric reign.

The Match

Tickets are usually available via Ticketone (online or local retail points) about three days before the match; ours cost €15 for the opening-day clash with newly promoted Guidonia Montecelio.

On matchdays, the atmosphere builds around the Curva Nord, home of the ultras. Just outside, chrome catering vans serving up beers and panini, far more inviting than the limited options inside (beer, Borghetti, crisps, soft drinks). We found that paper tickets tend to work more smoothly than digital versions at the turnstiles – worth remembering.

Inside, the ultra groups were selling unofficial scarves (€10) and stickers (€1) from a stairway.

A crowd of just over 4,000 could have felt incredibly sparse, but the majority were packed into the Curva Nord. Flags, flares and a vocal home support generated a vibrant atmosphere. There was a smattering of well-heeled locals in the main tribuna, though two sides of the ground were entirely vacant, aside from a miniature army of travelling tifosi.

The football itself was less memorable. Perugia laboured to a goalless draw, even surviving a missed penalty from their visitors. It was hardly a statement of intent from a supposed giant of Serie C – more a reminder of how far they have to climb.