La rivista "Augusta Perusia" (1906-1908) e la rivendicazione dell'identità regionale dell'arte umbra

The essay analyzes the important role played, among Italian art history magazines of the early twentieth century, by “Augusta Perusia”, founded by Ciro Trabalza and published for three years, from 1906 to 1908. It was also the official organ of the Exhibition of Ancient Umbrian Art, held in the Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia in 1907. The magazine contributed decisively to claiming the existence of the regional identity of Umbrian art, differentiating it from that of le Marche and of Tuscany, in the twofold sense of Sienese and Florentine. This contribution underlines debts towards other magazines, in particular to “Napoli nobilissima” and Italian and foreign correspondents and collaborators. It also analyzes the methodology used and the structure formed by columns, giving ample space to the monographic essays dedicated to Umbrian art between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This was the period studied by most correspondents in essays proposing reconstructions or publication of unpublished works that are still very relevant today. The column of “Cronache dell’esposizione” provided an interesting source of information on the museology of the time. Other sections taken into consideration are the “Note e notizie”, which gave information about the activities carried out in the field of the protection of the artistic and naturalistic heritage of the region, firmly denouncing the state of negligence of many Umbrian monuments and “Schede e appunti bibliografici”, an information section concerning on Italian and foreign studies on history, literature, ethnography and Umbrian art.