Cortona

Cortona is a 22,104 inhabitants town on a hill in the southeastern part of Tuscany, in Italy. It's part of province of Arezzo and the most important town of the province in the Val di Chiana. Cortona is home of a wine DOC, has appeared on famous films and has an important Etruscan heritage (it was one of the 12 Etruscan cities).

How do I arrive to Cortona?

  Cortona isn't very well connected with the rest of Tuscany but still it isn't so difficult to reach

• Train: the nearest station is Camucia-Cortona, from where there are frequent trains to Arezzo (aprox. 25 minutes) and Florence (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) and even Rome (aprox. 2 hour 45 minutes) in Lazio.
• Bus: there are some buses from Cortona that reach destinations Arezzo (aprox. 1 hour) via Castiglion Fiorentino.
• Car: if you rented a car many places can be reached from Cortona like Castiglion Fiorentino (aprox. 25 minutes), Arezzo (aprox. 35 minutes), Lucignano (aprox. 40 minutes), Montepulciano (aprox. 45 minutes), Siena (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) and Montalcino (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes). It can also be reached from Perugia (aprox. 50 minutes) and Città di Castello (aprox. 1 hour) in Umbria.

History

Cortona was founded by the Etruscans and between the 8th and 7th centuries BC it was important Etruscan kingdom (one of the dodecapoli etrusca) due to its strategic location. Cortona was later taken by Rome. The Goths occupied Cortona in 450 AD, losing its importance.News of high Medieval age in Cortona aren't very clear (it's still unknown if Cortona had a bishopric). Since the 13th century the town was a free municipality allied with Perugia, to defend themselves from Arezzo during the fights between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, that characterized the whole 13th century in Cortona. In the 14th century, Pope John XXII decides to confer the character of a diocese in Cortona and untill the beginning of the 15th century Cortona was entrusted to Casali family. In the 15th century Cortona became part of the Republic of Florence, being an important city from the military point of view, and was attacked by the Spanish army of the Prince of Orange to Cosimo I. Florentine Renaissance flourished in the 16th century in Cortona and in the 17th century Medici dynasty was succeeded the Habsburg-Lorraine, improving the civil infrastructure of the area. In 1727 the Etruscan Academy was born, an early research center of the Etruscan civilization.Cortona was attacked by Napoleon's troops in 1799, returning then to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and being part of united Italy in 1860.
 

What can I visit in Cortona?

The town of Cortona is very nice to be walked, discovering its history that dates back from Etruscan times. Here important films such as Under the Tuscan Sun were filmed and it has an antiquities festival too.

These are Cortona's main attractions:

• Cortona Cathedral (7:30-13 and 15:30-18:30 from May to Sep; winter daily 8-12:30 and 15-17:30 from Oct to Apr; free): 11th century Romanesque-Renaissance style duomo that has been rebuilt many times, not losing all the harmony of the original building. It was the seat of the Bishops of Cortona from 1507 to 1986, and is now a co-cathedral in the present Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro. The cathedral used to have a lot of works of art that now are located at Cortona Diocesan Museum.
  
• Cortona Diocesan Museum (10-19 from Apr to Oct; 10-17 Tue-Sun from Nov to Mar; 5€/ 3€  adults/ reduced): museum placed at the former Church and Oratory of Gesù, 16th century building with 3 works by Luca Signorelli, that exhibits a lot of important works such as Annunciation by Fra Angelico, Lamentation over the dead Christ by Luca Signorelli, a Shaped Cross by Pietro Lorenzetti and the Passerini Tapestry (vestments made to be worn by Pope Leo X de’ Medici during his visit in Cortona).
• Museum of the Etruscan Academy and the Town of Cortona (10-19 from Apr to Oct; 10-17 Tue-Sun from Nov to Mar; 10€/ 7€  adults/ reduced): museum placed at the 13th century Palazzo Casali that displays an excellect collection of Etruscan and Roman remains, 18th century works of arts, Contemporary paintings and even Renaissance globes. Without a doubt the most outstanding part of the collection is the Etruscan one, specially the pieces found in the tombs of Sodo. There's a combined ticket for the Museum of the Etruscan Academy and the Town of Cortona and Cortona Archaeological Park (13€/ 8€  adults/ reduced).
• Palazzo Comunale di Cortona: palace built in the 13th century and reconstructed around 1275 by Master Tuto. It has a roof with painted beams and both the balcony on the façade and the chimney piece were added in the 16th century.
• St. Maria Nuova Church: 16th century church on plans of Cristofanello in Late Renaissance style. It has a painting of the Nativity of Mary by Allori.
  
• Basilica of St. Margherita (8-12 and 15-19 from Jun to Sep; 9-12 and 15-18 from Oct to May): Noegothic basilica completely restored in the 19th century located in one of the highest points of Cortona. Its façade and its colourful interior are worth to be seen. On its high altar it can be found St. Margherita's tomb from the 14th century and there's a wooden crucifix dating to the 13th century too.
  
• Fortress of Girifalco (10-20 from Jun to Aug; 10-19 from Apr to May and Sep; 10-18 from Oct to Nov and Mar; 10-18 Sa-Sun from Dec to Feb; 5€/ 3€  adults/ reduced): ruins of a fortress built during Cosimo I de' Medici times where getting awesome views of Val di Chiana, Trasimeno Lake in Umbria and the surrounding area.
  
• Cortona Archaeological Park (10-13 and 15-18 from Apr to Sep; 10-14 Fri-Sun from Oct to Mar; 5€/ 3€  adults/ reduced): complex of archaeological monuments distributed distributed on a large area and which embrace the Etruscan and Roman periods. Inside Cortona you can appreciate the remains of the city in the Etruscan period (mighty walls, the mullioned door and a series of underground structures) and from the Roman period (remains of the aqueduct and the cistern of the "Bagni di Bacco"). Outside the plain dominates the meloni (Etruscan mounds from the Archaic period).
  
• Going 3 km north from Cortona there's the Hermitage Convent of Le Celle (7-19), a Franciscan convent located by a stream in the middle of the forest. This convent is known because it was inhabited by St. Francis of Assisi and his cell has been preserved.

Palazzo Comunale di Cortona

Exhibition at the Museum of the Etruscan
Academy and the Town of Cortona

Views of Castiglion Fiorentino

Going 13 km north from Cortona it can be found the town of Castiglion Fiorentino, with 13,195 inhabitants. Picturesque town that is a perfect stop in the way that connects Arezzo and Cortona. Here there's a festival similar to Siena's palio but smaller, Palio dei Rioni (third Sun in Jun). The best idea here is walking for its streets within the walled old town and getting lost to discover it. There are some interesting places to visit such as Cassero Tower (10-12:30 and 15:30-19 Thu-Sun; free), half-ruined tower of the ancient castle of Castiglion Fiorentino, from where getting nice views of Val di Chiana. Close to it, in the former medival fortress, is located Archaeological Civic Museum of Castiglion Fiorentino (10-12:30 and 15:30-18 Fri-Sun; free), a museum with archeological remains and that incorporates the medieval prison cells, the subterranean remains of a 6th-century-BC Etruscan temple and an Etruscan house from the late 4th century BC.. Another interesting place is the Pinacoteca Comunale (10-12:30 and 15:30-18 Fri-Sun; free), an art gallery with a small collection of art that includes masterpieces such as Madonna and Child from the school of Taddeo Gaddi and a Stigmata of St Francis by Bartolomeo della Gatta. In the main square in town, Piazza del Comune, Giorgio Vasari built the Logge del Vasari, a nine arch loggia from 1513 that has been restored some times.

Air view of Lucignano

In case of driving west from Cortona, around 32 km from it there's the town of Lucignano (3,546 inhabitants). It's a well-preserved medieval hill town characterized by an oval shape and is surrounded by countryside, nicknamed the pearl of Val di Chiana. Some of the things to be done here are going to the Museo Comunale di Lucignano (10-17 Tue-Fri and 10-18 Sat-Sun), a small museum with only a few pieces and whose most spectacular piece is a reliquary known as L’albero della vita; the Palazzo Pretorio, 12th century town hall building, is worth a look too. The town has some nice churches such as St. Michele Arcangel Collegiate Church (a Renaissance style church designed by Orazio Porta with nice altarpieces) or St. Francesco Church (a Romanesque-Gothic style church with a bicolored façade and with a fresco attributed to Bartolo di Fredi, Triumph of Death Fresco).Outside the center of the town there's the Sanctuary of Madonna della Querce, a Renaissance style sanctuary whose design is attributed to Giorgio Vasari and that has a nice work of art in one of the altarpieces, Saints Benedict, Apollonia, and Catherine of Siena by Matteo Rosselli.

Where can I eat in Cortona?

  Cortona has nice places where eating traditional Tuscan food. Some of the cheapest and most recommended places to are the patisserie Banchelli (Via Nazionale 11), hamburger restaurant Beerbone Artburger (Via Nazionale 55) or the Tuscan restaurant La Fett'unta (Via Giuseppe Maffei 5). There are also nice choices for medium-prize food such as La Bucaccia (Via Ghibellina 17) or Taverna Pane e Vino (Piazza Luca Signorelli 27).

 In case of wanting to take an original souvenir it's highly recommended to visit Falegnameria Rossia (Via Guelfa 28), with wooden artisan works. 

In Castiglione Fiorentino it's almost compulsory to eat bistecca alla fiorentina at Ristorante Da Muzzicone (Piazza San Francesco 7).

Posted in: Europe,Italy,Tuscany