It is not one of the 20 official Italian state academies of fine art,[3] but is legally recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of education and research, which gives its full name as Accademia di Belle Arti Legalmente Riconosciuta di Perugia "Pietro Vannucci".

[5][6] The school was founded in 1573, and was initially named l’Accademia del Disegno (English: The Academy of Drawing).

[1][7] The school was established on the initiative of the painter Orazio Alfani and the architect and mathematician Raffaello Sozi, and is among the oldest institutions of its kind in Italy; the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze had been established eleven years earlier.

[11] The Royal Academy has an important collection of books, archives which include a gallery of over 600 plaster casts, and works of art accessible for research and display.

[12] Paintings in the archives include works by Mariano Guardabassi, Annibale Brugnoli, Domenico Bruschi, Armando Spadini, Gerardo Dottori, Mario Mafai, Alberto Burri, among others.