Cortona

Cortona is a small beautiful town in the Valdichiana valley, in the province of Arezzo in Tuscany.

Around this wonderful place is the stone walls, dating back to Etruscan times, sits on the top of a hill about 600 meters above sea level.

This position over the valley offers a fantastic view from all over the town of the surrounding valley.

Your tour in the city can begin with the main square of Cortona( Piazza della Repubblica), with town hall building overlooking the square.

The city is very small but offers many interesting places to visit, among these the Diocesan Museum (where is most popular panel painting of the Annunciation by Beato Angelico) and the MAEC (The Etruscan Academy Museum of the City of Cortona), where you can to see many artifacts found in the Etruscan archeological sites.

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You must to see also and the Santa Margherita Sanctuary, patron of the city, and to the Girifalco Fortress. Both are on the highest point on the hill and from the main square its easy to reach after a short, uphill walk The Girifalco Fortress is constructed for military purposes, and today is only one part open to the public. Various small shops on the main streets ( via Nazionale ) of Cortona offer local handmade items and many gastronomic products.

Great red wines are made in the area (Sangiovese,Merlot,Syrah) and all of the wine bars offer a wide selection ( vine from Cortona,from Montepulciano,Montalcino,etc). Many restaurants in the city offering traditional local and Tuscan food.

Your tour must to go a few kilometers outside of Cortona’s walls, you’ll find the Franciscan hermitage Le Celle, the first monastery built by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1211. Through the many years, the hermitage was restructured and enlarged several times but Saint Francis’s small cell has always been conserved in its original state.

On this most beautiful place of Cortona still lives and work small community of friars.

Cortona has experienced a tourism success with the release of the book and film of the same name “Under the Tuscan Sun” by Francis Mayes.

As the book was a huge success in the world so it is our Cortona experienced a boom of tourism.

Hundreds of people a month come to see the famous house from the movie “Bramasole” and that refreshes memories from the book. In summer, Cortona organizes many festival, between other things Cortona Mix Festival, an annual event dedicated to the music which sees the participation of several international stars and artists.