Cortona, perched on a spur of Monte Sant’Egidio enjoys favourable weather conditions due to its convenient location on the southern hillside and overlooks from its commanding hilltop position the vast expanse of the Valdichiana, hemmed in on one side by gentle rolling hills and on the other side by the northern shores of lake Trasimeno. Viewed from the valley Cortona looks as if carved in stone amidst a sea of olive groves and vineyards.
Cortona’s history is lost in the mists of time: the Virgilio legend has it that Dardanus, the ancestor of Trojans, founded the ancient Corytos. Cortona was one of the 12 Lucumonies and held sway over the then fertile Valdichiana. The architecture of the monumental burial mounds spread over the valley bears testimony to the power and wealth of the Etruscan “princes”. A number of burial mounds, locally called “meloni” (melons) for their resemblance with the namesake fruit, are still to be seen at the foot of the hill. The local Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca houses a variety of archaeological finds amongst which the Tabula Cortonensis, a bronze sheet bearing one of the longest inscriptions ever found in the Etruscan language and the celebrated 4th century B.C. Etruscan Lamp.
Cortona was subsequently a Roman town and later on a free commune perpetually struggling for independence with the neighbouring cities of Arezzo, Siena and Florence.
In 1325 Ranieri Casali was elected the Seigneur of Cortona starting thus the Seignory that ruled over the town until 1409. Cortona was later under the Florentine domination and was subsequently annexed to the Italian kingdom in 1860.
The town’s over 2000 year long history has handed down a number of churches, palaces and monuments which are today the pride and joy of this town.
Imposing churches stand lofty right outside the city walls like the church of Santa Maria Nuova by Gorgio Vasari and the renaissance church of the “Calcinaio” built on designs by Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
Within the city walls the gothic church of S.Francesco, started by Frate Elia, and the Town Hall building and the Palazzo Casali overlooking the two main squares. Climbing towards the hilltop the small Romanesque church of San Cristoforo and the church of S.Niccolò, housing a famous Signorelli panel. A long cypress-tree lined promenade leads up to the Basilica of Santa Margherita, housing the uncorrupted body of the Saint.
One of Cortona’s most charming places is the Eremo delle Celle, founded by St. Francis in 1211 and set in ravine surrounded by a wood of cypresses in an uniquely spiritual scenery.
Cortona also boasts a variety of cultural and folklore events such as the Tuscan Sun Festival (1-15 August) and the “Giostra dell’Archidado”, a cross-bow shooting contest and historical re-enactment of the Casali-Salimbeni wedding, celebrated in 1397.
We recommend visitors stop in one of the many “trattorie” to enjoy a nice Chianina steak and a glass of good Cortona D.O.C. wine.