Note 14 — Chapter II · The Condottieri and the Rise of the Nobles

On all the lower hills and in the plains around Perugia the nobles had their strongholds—great walled citadels of bricks and mortar, like the nests of prehistoric birds. Deruta was one of these, belonging to the Baglioni in early times: Bettona, another (where some descendants of the Baglioni still live in a large red villa). In the Palazzo degli Oddi—Via dei Priori—some well-kept canvasses still show what the nests of the Oddi looked like, and also their position.