CORTONA

 

General information about Cortona

Cortona is in the South Eastern corner of Tuscany, in the province of Arezzo, and lies 105Km south east of Florence. Cortona doesn’t get as many visitor as other Tuscan hill towns, but don’t expect it too be a ghost town. Quite a few people travel here to see Villa Bramasole the villa made famous by the movie **Under the Tuscan Sun**link to amazon.

Cortona dates back to the 4th Century BC, to the time when this land was inhabited by the Etruscans. The Etruscans lived in the region of Tuscany between the 9th century and 1st Century B.C. Cortona was an Important Etruscan city.

Cortona sits on a hilltop, you will walk quite a few narrow hilly streets with wonderful views of the countryside. These narrow streets, beautiful Piazzas, view points, make Cortona one of the prettiest towns in Tuscany.

GETTING TO CORTONA

BY CAR

The easiest way to get to Cortona is to drive here, from Florence is an easy one down the A1 Auto Strande. For Cortona you’ll need to exit at Betolle Valdichiana it should take about an hour.

CAR RENTAL

I recommend using the following two car rental websites.

**Discover Cars** includes offerings from all the major international rental companies as well as lots of smaller local agencies, which often have much better pricing.

**Rental Cars** is very similar although they tend to list mostly larger companies. Owned by Booking.com so it’s certainly backed by a familiar and reputable brand.

BY TRAIN

The two closest train stations to Cortona are the Terentola station (on the Terontola Perugia – Assisi Railway line and the Florence – Rome railway line and the Camucia station (on the Florence – Rome Railway Line) from both station, you can get to the city centre by bus or Taxi. You can book you tickets directly with the service provider. We use ****Trainline***** We find their website is easy and straight forward to navigate.

BY BUS

The best way to get to Cortona by bus is to take the train to the Camucia or Terontola stations and then take the bus to the historic city centre. 

DRIVING DISTANCES

 

• • Montepulciano  –      31Km

• • Moutalcino –             66Km

• • Pienza                     50Km

• • Prezzo                     30Km

• • Florence                120Km

• • Siena                       75Km

HOW LONG TO SPEND IN CORTONA

Cortona is well known as a beautiful Tuscan Hill town, so it’s very popular with day trippers as far away as Florence. Cortona can be seen in one lovely day but I think it is special enough to give two if you have time. A little more time to linger on it’s streets or take Cypress lined walk out to see Frances Mayes idealistic Tuscan home. This town is a place to relax, a place to sit in the Piazza or walk through the market leisurely. A place to take in breath taking views

while listening to the fountains as you have a picnic in the park, a place where you can walk through the back streets discovering Italy. This place is a place to see.

So, if you only have one day Cortona – take it. But if you have two ……even better.

 Things to do in CORTONA

*****Piazza Della Repubbica

Piazza Della Repubblica is the perfect Italian piazza, It’s the one that you image when you think of Italy, it’s small, charming and full of life. Enjoy sitting savouring a cappuccino and cornetto at one of the cafes or just relaxing on the steps while taking in a little people watching Italian style.

 

 

**** Meet the Etruscans at Muso Dell’ Accademia Etrusca (MAEC)

From the eigth century B.C. Cortona was a member of the Etruscan League of cities, and jewellery, bronzes, and other local finds are on display at this sophisticated Museum in the beautiful Palazzo Casali. The stand out is a massive, 2500-year-old oil-lamp chandelier that would be the prize of any modern home-design showroom. It is a large museum spanning over several floors. A visit here lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or longer, depending on your interest in Etruscan history.

Visit the Diocesan Museum

This art museum is located on Piazza del Duomo on the site of the church of Jesu. This museum contains notable works of art, including a cross painted by Pietro Lorenzetti, the Cortona triptych by Fra Angelico, and Madonna and child by Niccolo di  Segna.

STROLL ALONG VIA NAZIONALE

Stroll down the only flat street in town, Via Nazionale is the main thoroughfare through Cortona.

Along this pedestration street are small restaurants, shops and places to go wine tasting. Via Nazionale connects two of the most popular Piazzas in town, Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza delca Repubblica.

TO THE TOP OF CORTONA

Basilica Di Santa Margherita and *** GIRIFALCO***  Medici Fortress, taking the walk up to the very top of Cortona’s hill to see Balilica di Santa Margherita will be something that you will remember forever. This is one of our favourite churches and the view is breath taking. The walk up, although a bit of a trek, is lovely and takes you some quaint and quite areas of town. If you are feeling a little more adventurous and still have a little more hike in you, you can continue up the hill to the side of the churches to see a GIRIFALCO Fortress.

 

 

 

VILLA BRAMASOLE

Villa Bramasole is featured in the movie ***UNDER THE Tuscan Sun ****** filmed in 2003 starring Dianne Lane, this movie is based on Frances Mayes Memoir. This movie put Cortona on the tourist map and now people travel here from all over the world just to see the villa. If you head out of town through the city park it is about a 30min (2KM) walk. You can find it on google map if you search Bramasole. I wouldn’t do this walk in the heat of the day and make sure to bring some water and a snack as there isn’t anything along the way except some benches to sit on and enjoy the views.

SHOPPING IN CORTONA

There are so many beautiful and unique shops in Cortona as well as some great cafes and restaurants. There are some souvenir shops in Cortona, but you’ll find wonderful art galleries small boutique shops selling everything from food to clothing to shoes, and places to go wine tasting. Vini Di Toscana is a wine shop that offers tasting. It is located on Via Nazionale. We tasted beautiful Tuscan wine, Brunello di Montalcino, Sryah, and others. As a souvenior from Cortona purchase a bottle of the Bramasole, a Syrah produced in Cortona.

Cortona is just the perfect town to go exploring and get lost in.

WHERE TO STAY

Cortona is small and very much on the map for tourists, so don’t be surprised if you can’t find cheap accommodation if staying here. Of course, being a tourist destination means it has lots of options, many of which are very nice, so you have a good selection to choose from.

Below are some places in town that we would recommend.

****Villa Di Piazzano***** just at the bottom of the hill that Cortona sits atop. Villa di Piazzano is a fantastic 5 star hotel set inside a noble villa with manicured gardens and grounds.

*****Monesary Di Cortona Hotel and Spa*******

This boutique Hotel adultonly Hotel is located in an ancient Monestery and boasting a beautiful garden.

****Hotel San Michelle****

Hotel San Michelle is located inside of the oldest buildings in Cortona, the ancient Baldelli Palace located right in town.

****Casa Zeni****

Stylish apartments in the centre of town are attractive and very comfortable you will be tempted to settle in for a very long time.

****Me and You Apartments*****

In the delightful full historic center, very comfortable apartment and has every comfort you need.

RESTAURANT AND DINING      

A favourite in any Cortona menu is Chiana beef which hails from the valley below town. These huge T-Bone, simply grilled, usually serves two. They’re often accompanied by Cortona’s own doc red wines. For lunch or dinner consider trying any of the following restaurant.

TRATTORIA DARDANO

Specialises in grilled meals – chicken, duck, beef, quinea hen all locally raised – served ina homey setting alongside other Tuscan classics.

OSTERIA AL TATRO

Character filled candle lit rooms are the setting for the creations of chef Emiliano Rossi, who pairs local meats and the freshest produce with Cortona wines.

TRATTORIA LA GROTTA

Any meal at Trattoria La Grotta, whether you enjoy it in a medieval, brick vaulted dining room or in the courtyard in good weather, should include the house specialty, light as a feather Gnoochi.

RISTORANTE LA LOGGETTA  

This is one of our favourite restaurants, we always seem to come back here, either for lunch or Dinner, we just love the setting above

PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLILA

The location alone makes it special. But the real highlight are the steaks and the local produce that do justice to the setting.

TRATTORIA TOSCANO

Lays claim to introduce Cortona to the city’s now favourite pasta, Picci Alla Fumato, a very rich combination of ham, cheese, and cream.

DAY TRIPS FROM CORTONA

Several Tuscan hill towns can be added to your visit to Cortona. Here are some of our favourites.

Assisi is located in Umbria, an hour from Cortona by car. This city, which is the birthplace of St. Francis, is also one of Europe’s most popular Pilgrimage sites. People come from around the world to pay homage to the humble saint at the imposing Medieval Basiclica where he is buried.

Arezzo is a 45-minute drive from Cortona, Arrezzo is another beautiful Tuscan town that is a delight to visit. Beyond the modern outskirts is a beautiful Medieval city centre. Welcoming cobblestone streets filled with several churches and art treasures. Wander through the historic city centre, have lunch or dinner in the main square.

Link *****PIENZA ********    is about an hour from Cortona, it’s a beautiful small town, with a population of about 2000 surround by the charming hilly landscape of Val d’orcia, this Renaissance town is even listed as a Unesco world heritage site. On a trip to Pienza, he sure to try the excellent pecorino cheese, a semi-hard sheep milk cheese that is considered the best in Tuscany.

Link *********MONTEPULCIANO*************

It’s only about half an hour from Cortona, the beautiful hill town is famous for its wines, Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano. Go wine tasting, tour the underground wine cellars, and stroll the picturesque streets.

TOURS OF CORTONA

There are lots of tours that include Cortona. From Florence, visit both Cortona and Montepulciano. Cortona you can take a 3 hour private walking tour or a cooking class.

*************                                         **********                                 ***********

Siena, Cortona                                    Private                                     traditional

Montepulciano                                    town                                        or vegan

Val d’orcia                                           Florence                                  Italian

                                                            To Cortona                              Cooking

                                                            Montepulciano                       

LINK******                                           LINK*******                             LINK******