Cortona is a town in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo and has been starring in Frances Mayes's film “Under the Tuscan Sun” is set in Cortona and has made the town rather popular in recent years.
Cortona is a small charming town enclosed by stone walls dating back to Etruscan and Roman times, at an altitude of 600 meters. Positioned over the valley it opens up to a spectacular view from all over the town of the surrounding valley and even Lake Trasimeno.
The city though small doesn’t lack interesting places to visit, among these the Diocesan Museum and the Etruscan Academy Museum, where many artifacts found in the Etruscan archeological sites in the area are displayed.
Don’t skip the beautiful Santa Margherita Sanctuary, patron of the city, and the Girifalco Fortress. Cortona is famed for its great red wines made in the area There are many restaurants in the city, most offering traditional local and Tuscan cuisine (the Chianina cattle, one of Italy's oldest, high-quality bovine breeds is bred in Valdichiana).
Just outside of Cortona's walls you'll find the Franciscan hermitage Le Celle, the first monastery built by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1211. In summer, Cortona organizes the Tuscan Sun Festival, an annual event dedicated to the arts where international stars and artists participate.
All in all, Cortona is an ideal destination combining art, great food, thermal baths and nature, along with the remarkable landscape.
Tuscany is a place like nowhere else in the world; this is the reason why this region is at the tops bucket lists all over the globe. Amazing landscapes, beautiful hilltop towns and the fantastic capital city of Florence charm everyone who decides to visit it. It is a majestic region with almost half of the artistic heritage of Italy and fantastic landscapes. Due to its mild weather, you could visit Tuscany all year round. It’s a region with exceptional art towns and hilltop villages and with a heritage of a glorious past with unspoiled nature, spectacular sea coast, and beautiful islands. Here you will taste some of the best wine varieties and then you can relax to one of its thermal spas.
The birthplace of the Roman Empire and Renaissance, Italy, showcases many of the world’s greatest artworks, architectural buildings and over the top gastronomical proposals. This is the country where the word “style” expresses the whole nation. Italy has more Unesco World Heritage cultural sites than any other country; among them are Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera, Michelangelo’s David and Sistine Chapel and da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
Learn more