The Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo is a rare combination of Medieval and Renaissance architecture.

Erected between 1472 and 1481 by the Lombard architects Gasparino di Antonio and Leone di Matteo, the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo has a doorway similar in style to that of Palazzo dei Priori, while its twin-windows are trimmed with Renaissance wreaths.

The half moon above the doorway contains a statue representing Justice, almost as if the architects were already aware that the building would come to be used as the city's court house.

After a serious earthquake in 1741 the third floor had to be demolished and was replaced by a mezzanine.

 
The ground floor, with its gothic arches, of the adjacent Università Vecchia was begun in 1453. In 1483 Sixtus IV decided to make it the seat of the Studium Perusinum, or university, which had existed since 1320 under the name of Santa Sofia, founded by Cardinal Nicola Capocci. Between 1490 and 1514 two more storeys were added, allegedly to designs by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo.

On the left side of the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo two Gothic archways lead to the Loggia dei Lanari (wool-merchants), used occasionally today for art or handicraft exhibitions, and to the 1932 covered market with its underground car park, elevators, and a large terrace with a splendid view over the southern part of town and on the valley below.

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