Near the Church of S. Agata we inquired for the house of Perugino, but this Via de' Priori so winds and twists that we were told we were too far north, so we turned at a sharp angle, and after a little came to a silent open space in front of a church, the Chiesa Nuova.
Down an arched passage close by, and up a side street on the right, we reached Via Deliziosa; in this Perugino's house is marked by a tablet. There is nothing special in the appearance of the dwelling; the hilly street in which it stands is grass-grown, and weirdly silent.
We went back again to seek for San Bernardino, and descended into a very old quarter of the city, the projecting claw which on this side overlooks the deep valley below Porta Susanna, and forms one point of the Cupa. We had to pass by the last remaining fortress of the nobles, the tall brick Torre degli Scalzi; behind this are remains of the Etruscan wall.
Close by we saw another church, Madonna di Luce, a good example of Renaissance work, gay with a scarlet and gold curtain, in readiness for to-morrow's festa; then, by a quaint little street with flights of brick steps leading down into most picturesque side-turnings, we came in sight of a small house, its grey stone balcony screened from the sunshine by a vine-wreathed pergola.
MADONNA DI LUCE.
In a few minutes we reached the convent of San Francesco, beside which is the matchless façade of the chapel or oratory of San Bernardino of Siena.
