This town stands at 508 metres above sealevel, overlooking the Valdichiana and Lake Trasimeno. Pietro Vannucci, known as "Il Perugino", was born here (ca 1450‑1523). That he was inspired by the landscape is evident in the numerous works of art that are extants" here, in the Cathedral and in S. Maria dei Servi.
The town, first known as Castel della Pieve, was developed in the 7th centuryA.D. around an observation outpost from which the forces of the Chiusi Longobard Duke could survey Byzantìne Perugia. It grew further as the marshes of the Valdichiana expanded in the 12th and 13th centuries. Though Guelph Perugia conquered it in 1188, Città della Pieve consistently rebelled against it, and became an independent Ghibelline Comune under the protection of Frederick II of Swabia.
In 1600, Pope Clement VIII established a diocese here and the town became Città. When in 1780 Pope Pius VI and the Tuscan Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo agreed on the reclamation of the Valdichiana marshes, the Water Concordat was signed here. Architectural examples in Città della Pieve range from the Romanesque to the Neoclassical: the Cathedral of Santi Gervasio e Protasio (the ancient pieve i.e. the baptismal church), the Romanesque Municipal Tower, the Gothic Fortress, the rococo Palazzo della Fargna-Laval. Various cultural and folklore events take place here. On the Sunday after Ferragosto (i.e. August 15th), the Palio dei Terzieri is held, with an Historical Procession in Renaissance costumes and the Carousel of the Bulls, an archery contest.
"The Adoration of the Magi"(1504) by Pietro Perugino, in the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi. The scene portrays a chivalrous procession that extends into the far distance, in one of the broadest landscapes ever painted by Perugino. Though idealized, the scenery is evidently that of the Valdichiana and Lake Trasimeno as seen from Città della Pieve. Classical and Hellenistic sculpture is echoed in the posture and elegant costumes of the numerous figures.
Palazzo della Corgna. This palace, by the architect Galeazzo Alessi, was built by Ascanio della Corgna, whom Pope Julius III del Monte, his uncle, had nominated Perpetual Governor of Castel della Pieve in 1550.
The interior decorations, in the grotesque style, @include frescoed ceilings depicting: "The Concert" by Niccolò Circignani known as "il Pomarancio" (1564); "The Banquet of the Gods" and "The Amours of the Gods", by the Tuscan painter Salvio Savini (1580).
The Church of S. Agostino. Now deconsacrated and public property, the church was built by Augustinian monks in the 13th century. The interior was redesigned by the late‑l8th century, architect Andrea Vici,i pupil of Van Wittel (Vanvitelli). The side altars are decorated with numerous canvases and panels of the Umbrian and
Tuscan Schools of the 16th to 18th centuries. There are interesting works by Circignani and Savini (latter half of the 16th century). The Cathedral Art Collection. Displayednext to the Cathedral sacristy, this is a collection of religious metalware, vestments, detatched frescoes and canvas paintings from various churches of the area.