During the 16th Century Perugia was under the control of the Pope, while living a form of semi-autonomy. During that time the pope had the monopoly on the trade of salt in the whole Papal State, composed by the regions Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo, the Marche and part of Emilia-Romagna.
The Pope Paul III Farnese, subjected to the double attack of the Turkish from the East and the Lutheran from the North, forced a heavy tax on salt, due to the need of financial resources to stop the advance of the heretics. The people of Perugia should have been paid the duty on the basis of their autonomy, but the Pope refused himself.
In 1540 the city of Perugia voted against the tax and started the “Salt War”, symbol of the resentment of the city against the control of the Pope.