The journey begins in the heart of Perugia, the city where Gerardo Dottori was born on November 11, 1884. A plaque on Via del Deposito commemorates the event and celebrates the artist’s contribution, highlighting how he brought "new colors to his land" through Futurist art.

The Civic Museum at Palazzo della Penna, located in the heart of Perugia's historic center, houses one of the most important collections of Gerardo Dottori’s works. The museum preserves 48 pieces, including paintings and drawings, spanning the artist’s entire career, from his early Futurist works to his iconic Aeropainting creations. This collection allows visitors to follow a chronological and thematic path through the most significant phases of Dottori’s artistic evolution, from his beginnings to his mature Futurist works, with a particular emphasis on the 1920s and the Aeropainting movement of the 1930s, of which Dottori was a founding and leading figure internationally. The Palazzo della Penna collection also includes works by other Umbrian Futurist artists such as Leandra Angelucci Cominazzini, Alessandro Bruschetti, Enrico Cagianelli, and Giuseppe Preziosi, each of whom reinterpreted Dottori’s legacy in unique ways. The museum is further enriched by an important array of documentary materials, including letters, photographs, films, and other historical items, offering a comprehensive overview of Dottori’s artistic and personal journey, as well as his cultural exchanges within the international Futurist movement.

In the gardens named after Rosa and Cecilia Caselli Moretti, next to the Church of Sant’Ercolano, stands a marble bust of Dottori, created by the workshop of Master Matteo Peducci. The bust depicts the artist during the golden age of Aeropainting, with a small airplane on the lapel of his jacket, symbolizing his commitment to this innovative movement.

Inaugurated by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the restaurant was a true novelty for its time, becoming a symbol of avant-garde culture in the city. Panels displayed inside the restaurant narrate the extraordinary work Dottori created between 1923 and 1924, curating not only architectural and scenographic elements but also decorations inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy in strict Futurist style. The restaurant spanned three floors, each dedicated to one of Dante’s canticas: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. The Inferno hall featured bold decorations in the Depero style, such as a stylized devil with triangular shapes and multicolored flames. The Paradise hall, or Marinetti Hall, displayed elegant star motifs, an element the artist would reprise in other famous works. Although the original setup was unfortunately destroyed in the 1950s during renovations, a faithful reconstruction can now be admired through vintage photographs and original sketches that convey the beauty and innovation of this extraordinary project.

On Corso Vannucci, by appointment, visitors can explore Palazzo Graziani, home to the Perugia Foundation, which houses a valuable collection of 18 works by Dottori. This collection includes some of the painter’s most significant masterpieces, including his only figurative self-portrait.

Dottori studied at this academy during his youth, where he began developing the innovative language that would later make him one of the leading exponents of Futurist Aeropainting. The museum preserves two works considered among the most important of his Futurist period: Canto delle montagne (Song of the Mountains) and Sole sulle torri (Sun Over the Towers), which clearly express the concept of Futurist dynamism and his love for the Umbrian landscape. The Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts also provides an overview of the cultural and historical context, allowing a full understanding of Dottori's education and the influences he received during his years of study, when the Futurist movement was beginning to gain traction in Italy.

Within Palazzo Gallenga, the mural La Luce dell’Antica Madre (The Light of the Ancient Mother, 1937) celebrates the central role of Rome in Italian culture and history. The work depicts Aeneas aboard his ships gazing at St. Peter's Basilica and the Colosseum—direct references to the Lateran Pacts of 1929. From these iconic Roman landmarks emerge roads and aqueducts that cross verdant expanses. In the foreground, five male figures are depicted building structures; the figure on the far left was originally modeled after Mussolini, but Dottori later altered the features into a generic male face following the end of the Fascist regime.

In 1946, Dottori undertook a significant artistic project in this church. Initially commissioned to decorate the church’s vaulted ceiling, he created a star-filled blue sky, adding a sense of depth and spatiality to the sacred space. Later, he was tasked with decorating the wall behind the main altar, where he painted a majestic Aeropainting of Lake Trasimeno. The work uniquely combines Futurist themes of movement and light with the 16th-century Umbrian painting tradition, transforming the sacred space into a modern masterpiece.

The triptych The Death of St. Francis Before the Porziuncola (1923) was not originally conceived for the 15th-century church of San Francesco al Monte, where it is now housed, but was created in Dottori's studio during his exploration of Futurist sacred art in the 1920s. The triptych mirrors medieval Umbrian art with its tripartite form and pointed arches. The central panel depicts The Death of St. Francis, while the left panel shows St. Francis and the Wolf and the right panel illustrates The Sermon to the Birds. The central composition is particularly striking, with the saint's body gently resting on the Umbrian hills, illuminated by radiant beams emanating from the Porziuncola that envelop the saint. In 1971, Dottori donated the work to the Monteripido fraternity, where it remains. The second part of the itinerary unfolds outside the historic center, in the immediate vicinity of the city, but we recommend traveling by car or public transport.

Le pitture murali interne furono eseguite da Dottori nel 1943. Nella parete di fondo sopra l’altare si trova una grande immagine della Madonna con il Bambino in braccio. Ai suoi piedi, due angeli sostengono una piccola chiesa, mentre frati minori accompagnano malati al suo interno. Le figure sono immerse in un paesaggio umbro, con dolci colline, alberi rigogliosi e un lago stilizzato in prospettiva fish-eye. Il cielo, realizzato con tecnica divisionista, dona all’opera un senso di serenità.

Sulla cupola interna, l’artista Gerardo Dottori ha raffigurato quattro santi noti per la loro dedizione ai poveri: san Francesco d’Assisi, san Vincenzo de’ Paoli, sant’Antonio da Padova e sant’Anna con la Vergine bambina. Lo sfondo è desolato, illuminato solo da fasci di luce e grandi croci di vetro che creano giochi di luce all’interno.

Un episodio significativo dell’attività artistica di Gerardo Dottori si colloca nel contesto imprenditoriale della storica azienda Luisa Spagnoli, famosa per la produzione di capi in angora. Nel 1947, Mario Spagnoli, figlio della fondatrice Luisa, commissionò a Dottori e ad altri artisti umbri la decorazione della Città dell’Angora, un innovativo complesso industriale a Perugia che coniugava l’attività produttiva con un progetto sociale e culturale di grande lungimiranza. In questo contesto, le opere murali di Dottori e di altri artisti dovevano rappresentare l'incontro tra la dimensione artistica e quella sociale. Le pitture murali realizzate dall’artista all’interno dell’azienda, per lo più inedite e svelate solo di recente grazie alla sensibilità di Nicoletta Spagnoli, pronipote di Luisa, sono una sintesi raffinata tra la tradizione decorativa e le innovazioni del Futurismo. (Il ciclo pittorico è visitabile su prenotazione).

La Chiesa delle Suore di Gesù Redentore, conosciuta anche come Chiesa del Bellocchio dal nome del quartiere, si trova lungo la via Pievaiola, poco dopo la stazione ferroviaria di Perugia. Costruita nel 1905, ha una navata unica decorata con affreschi che narrano episodi della vita della Vergine Maria, realizzati da Gerardo Dottori nel 1928. Tra le scene più significative troviamo la Nascita di Maria, ambientata in un interno con una prospettiva rialzata e un pavimento quadrettato, e l’Annunciazione, suddivisa in due scomparti: l'angelo inginocchiato a sinistra e la Vergine a destra, collocati su una terrazza che si affaccia su un paesaggio umbro. Altri affreschi che si possono ammirare nella chiesa sono la Madonna in trono col Bambino su un trono marmoreo, la Morte di San Giuseppe e la Fuga in Egitto.