PERUGIA, 18 March 2026
Construction crews began earthworks Monday morning at the former Perugina factory site on Via Fontivegge, marking the start of a €47 million mixed-use redevelopment project. Deputy Mayor Luca Benedetti, speaking at the site, confirmed that structural steelwork would arrive by late April. The scheme promises 180 residential units alongside retail and office space.
When we spoke with Massimo Fiorelli, site supervisor for lead contractor Edilizia Centro Italia SpA, he described the excavation phase as proceeding without incident. The soil analysis had flagged potential subsidence risk near the northern boundary, he explained, but remediation piling would address that before the reinforced concrete foundations are poured. Workers in high-visibility vests moved methodically across the site under grey morning skies, while a single tower crane loomed against the outline of the old chocolate factory's brick chimney still standing at the perimeter. According to figures that could not be independently verified, roughly 120 labourers will be employed at peak activity, with most hired from Umbrian subcontractors. The Federazione Regionale Costruttori Umbri has voiced cautious optimism, noting that such large-scale urban infill projects remain rare in the region. Fiorelli added that load-bearing wall construction would likely begin in the third quarter.
Our correspondents in Perugia observed heavy lorries queuing along Via Mario Angeloni as concrete pumping trucks awaited access to the main works compound. Traffic congestion, an inevitable side effect, has sparked complaints from nearby residents and shop owners on Corso Cavour, though municipal officials insist diversionary routes will ease pressure within weeks. Short-term pain for long-term gain, one café owner remarked. The Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Edilizia reported last month that Umbria's construction output grew by 3.2 percent in 2025, outpacing the national average for the first time in a decade. Analysts attribute the uptick partly to PNRR funding channelled into seismic retrofitting following the lingering memory of the 2016 earthquakes that devastated towns only an hour's drive east. Formwork carpentry contracts for the Fontivegge project have already been awarded to three local firms, a decision praised by trade unions seeking to keep skilled employment within the province.
Questions persist about the timeline. The developer, Umbria Urban Investments Srl, initially promised completion by late 2028, yet supply-chain delays affecting prefabricated façade panels could push handover into early 2029. The timeline remains unclear. Steel prices have stabilised after the volatility of 2024, but cement costs continue climbing at roughly 6 percent year-on-year, squeezing margins across the sector. A senior engineer at the Ordine degli Ingegneri di Perugia warned that any further tariff disruptions on imported aggregate could force contractors to renegotiate fixed-price agreements. Still, foot traffic around the development's future piazza is expected to revitalise a neighbourhood that has languished since the relocation of major employers in the 1990s. Local historian Sergio Tarducci noted that the Fontivegge district once housed thriving workshops supplying Etruscan-influenced ceramics to markets as far as Rome.