Situated at 600 metres above sea level, Cortona is positioned high over an unrivalled panorama which stretches as far as the Sienese mountains and Lake Trasimeno. A town of Etruscan origin which grew rapidly during the Medieval and Renaissance periods and left behind some important reminders of its past that are still perfectly conserved. Presumably the medieval city sprung up inside the Etruscan walls and was subsequently enlarged with the addition of some splendid Renaissance buildings.
The present day town is still enclosed within the ancient city walls which go up and down the slopes of Monte S. Egidio, stretching for almost three kilometres in total. Once inside the walls, the many historical monuments, which highlight the town’s various architectural styles, offer a feast for the eyes.
Heading along Via Nazionale on foot, you come to the airy Piazza della Repubblica where you can see the thirteenth century Palazzo Civico. A little further on you can find the most noble of all Cortona’s buildings. Palazzo dei Casali, now home to the prestigious and much renowned Museum of the Accademia etrusca (Visits –10am-1pm and 3pm-5pm, closed on Monday). Established in 1727 as an extension of the Accademia etrusca, it contains some valuable antiques from Egyptian and late Roman times, a vast Library (visits on request) and numerous Etruscan ornaments including a famous bronze chandelier, dating from the 5th century BC. There are also works by Pinturicchio and Luca Signorelli, who was born in Cortona and was responsible for the frescoes seen in the Cathedral of Orvieto.
Continuing along Viale delle Mura Etrusche, do not miss the Diocesan Museum (Visits –from April to September, 9.30am-1pm and 3.30pm-7pm; from October to March, 10am-1pm and 3pm-5pm; closed on Monday) housed inside the Church of Gesù, right in front of the cathedral where you can see the stunning Annunciation by Beato Angelico, one of the Tuscan artist’s greatest works, in the upper church. Other works by Beato Angelico and Luca Signorelli are kept in the churches of San Domenico and San Niccolò, which are located in the bottom part of the town, together with the wonderful sanctuary of the Madonna del Calcinaio designed by Francesco di Giorgio, a work of Florentine and Brunelleschi inspiration considered to be the archetype of suburban sanctuaries of the period bridging the 1400 and 1500s.
Just a little distance away on the slopes of Monte Sant’Egidio, you can find Le Celle Hermitage, (to the northeast of the town centre, just outside Porta Colonia), a convent founded by St. Frances between 1211 and 1221 and built into the rock hanging over a torrent where you can visit the saint’s cell. Standing triumphantly on top of the hill is the Girifalco Fortress where you can look down over all Val di Chiana, closed in on the horizon by Monte Amiata, and Lake Trasimeno.
Cortona is also famous for its gastronomic delights, based on excellent quality products such as an extremely delicate olive oil, try the one produced by Azienda Agricola Luigi D’Alessandro in Località Manzano (Tel. 0575 618667), and celebrated wines including Cortona DOC (Azienda Agricola La Calonica, località Capezzine, Tel. 0575 724119; Azienda Agricola Mario Baldetti, località Pietraia, Tel. 0575 67143). Here the real star is the meat of chianina cattle – certified and coming from Valdichiana cattle farms – with an excellent selection of cuts such as the noteworthy steak. Macelleria Carnevali (Frazione Mercatale, Tel. 0575 844243) is one of the area’s most well-known butchers. Another real treat are the typical local deli meats such as Tuscan finocchiona (soft salami flavoured with fennel), local raw hams, sambudelli (pork sausages) and pig’s liver. An interesting titbit of information – the term infinocchiare (hoodwink) comes from the finocchiona which the peasants offered to people going to buy their wine so as to alter the taste thanks to the large amounts of flavourings and spices contained in this particular type of salami.
The most typical local cheeses are made with sheep or goat’s milk such as raviggiolo packed in small wicker baskets. For those with a sweet tooth, Cortona has some excellent cake shops where you can find local specialities such as cantucci (crunchy hazelnut biscuits), ossi di morto (literally “dead people’s bones” due to their flaky consistency) and ricciarelli (soft almond biscuits). We also recommend that you drop in to visit the terracotta and pottery handicrafts and antique furniture shops. Cortona can boast an age-old antiques tradition, with its side streets and alleyways containing dozens of specialist shops, as well as a National Antique Furniture Show, held every year in Palazzo Casali and Palazzo Vagnotti from the end of August to the beginning of September and an attraction for tourists from all over the world.
There are also a large number of local events and festivals including the chestnut festival on October 12 in Teverina di Cortona and on November 9 in San Martino a Bocena. On November 23 Cortona pays host to the Bruschettata – a festival where you can enjoy toasted bread drizzled with the new oil from Cortona’s oil mills – and the Castagnata (chestnut festival).
And on December 8 there is another festival in S. Pietro a Cegliolo where you can enjoy “ciaccia fritta” (a type of fritter). It takes about an hour by car from Cortona to reach the town of Arezzo, passing through Castiglion Fiorentino. The visit of this ancient town has to start with a closer look at the most important works of Piero della Francesca who was born in the nearby village of Sansepolcro and chose Arezzo as the place to express his art. The itinerary can get underway in the Basilica of San Francesco (in the square bearing the same name), a Gothic church dating from the 14th century. The Maggiore Chapel houses the fresco cycle - La leggenda della Vera Croce – a masterpiece completed by the artist in Arezzo between 1452 and 1466.
The tour then moves on to the Cathedral (going along Via Cesalpino until you reach Piazza del Duomo), a Gothic construction built between the end of the 13th and the middle of the 14th centuries. At the end of the left nave, tucked away behind the large thirteenth century sculpture of the cenotaph of the bishop Guido Tarlati, you can see the fresco showing Mary Magdalen (1460 ca).
On the other side of the square you can admire the Palazzo del Comune, surrounded by Renaissance buildings and flanked by an impressive 14th century tower. Instead, if you go down Corso Italia, the ancient road of the medieval city known as Borgo Maestro, you come across the rural Church of S. Maria, one of the most delightful examples of Romanic churches in Tuscany where you can view the splendid polyptych, a Madonna with Child and Saints, by Pietro Lorenzetti. Arezzo is also home to two well-known museums.
The Museum of Modern and Medieval Art (Via S. Lorentino 8, Tel. 0575/409050; Visits – from Tuesday to Sunday 8.30am-7.30pm, closed on Monday) which features bronze works and sculptures from Roman, medieval and Renaissance times, collections of paintings and sculptures from the 14th to the 20th century and ancient coins and weapons as well as a highly original exhibition of 300 majolica and porcelain creations by the leading Italian manufacturers (14th to 18th century). And the Vasari Museum (Via XX Settembre 55, Tel. 0575/40901; Visits –weekdays and Saturday from 9am to 7pm, Sunday and holidays from 9am to 1pm, closed on Tuesday), Giorgio Vasari’s residence in Arezzo, which serves as an expression of Tuscan mannerism where you can admire the rooms decorated with paintings and frescoes as well as a collection of art and objects from the period Vasari lived in.
This chief town of Tuscany is also the perfect spot for picking up antique furniture and objects. Its side streets which lead off and around Piazza Grande are lined with hundreds of small handicraft shops, but the real bargains can be struck when the famous Antiques Market sets up its stands on the first Sunday of the month – a real Mecca for collectors and lovers of bric-a-brac.
And if you happen to be in Arezzo on June 17 or September 2, do not miss the traditional Giostra del Saracino, a popular celebration with ancient origins which sees knights dressed in costume competing against each other in an effort to run through a guy in the form of a Saracen. Then it is time to head back to Tuoro sul Trasimeno.
