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The
introduction of the worship of the God of the Christian, must have taken place in Perugia
during first centuries of the Christian era and must have altered the whole tenor
of life in the city and the surrounding area. The first bishop of Perugia, S.
Ercolano I, held office during the first half of the second century. One of his converts,
S. Costanzo, became one of the patron saints of the city. In 395, the Roman Empire,
was divided into two empires, the eastern, having Constantinople as its capital, and the
western, ruled from Rome. |
| This division involved further weakening of strength already
much decayed: the tale of the rest of the millennium is one of foreign invasions and
foreign domination. In 476, the first of the invasions which resulted in
prolonged occupation of the country began. During all the vicissitudes and the changes of
government with which these dark centuries were filled, Perugia, coveted as being a key
position on the way to Rome from the north, was hard to take and not easy to hold. One episode in its conflicts with the
barbarian is chronicled in great detail by her historians: the siege which she endured
from Totila the Goth. On his way south to Rome, in 545, he delayed in order to
reduce the cities of Umbria to submission. Perugia was his hardest task; it has been
stated that the siege lasted for several years. |
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Some modern critics even question the fact that Totila ever entered
Perugia, but medieval Perugians certainly believed it. In 979 the church
of S.Pietro, one of the first Christian churches built in Perugia, was
consecrated. The church became the first cathedral and residence of bishops; it owed its
existence to a Perugian noble, Pietro Vincioli, who had become a Benedictine monk and to
his many distinguished friends that provided him with ample funds. |
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