Under the Cortona Sun!

Well I ventured out early today, caught the bus to Florence and boarded my first train to Cortona! I am so glad I did. Cortona is so far my most favorite place in Italy!

I know what you may be thinking; how cheesy it is of me to visit a city most recently known for the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. Well, the truth is, I learned it is one of the oldest and most art-filled cities in the region so I just had to go! And, in case you were wondering, I did not see a single, solitary building or fountain that was depicted in the movie. So there. ha ha

The ride from the train station was about two hours. The station is over three miles away from the actual center of the city so you either catch a bus or take a cab. At the bus stop, I met three other ladies traveling solo and we all pitched in and treated ourselves to a cab ride up the hill! The hill was full of switchbacks and the entire town is very, very hilly and steep.

The cab driver dropped us off at the Piazza della Rupublica, or the center of town. This place is completely idyllic. Smaller streets than I am used to seeing in hilltowns with very narrow passageways. Every turn holds something special and the tourists today were very, very view. The main avenue, via Nazionale, is very flat compared to the rest of the city. I strolled this avenue first and got acquainted with some of the shops, had some lunch (way cheaper this time) and ended at the Piazza Garibaldi, a bus turn around area with a fantastic view of the valley.

Then, I wandered back up the avenue and up a hill to find the Museo dell’Accademia Etrucsca. This museum houses everything from ancient paintings and mosaics to actual money used in Roman times. Today, I wished I had majored in Art History so I could have appreciated more of what I saw. If you go to Cortona, the museum is a must.

Past the museum was the Duomo, which did not look very duomo-ish. Then straight down, and I mean straight down, was a little street called via Janelli. I read in my tour book that there were medieval homes there, still in use today. I found them and took some photos. They looked totally out of place in this old town! I headed back via Crusis and Santa Margherita to the city center where I grabbed a cab to return to the bus station. The hills were so steep! I could not believe them.

Overall, Cortona is a very small town and one can get through it pretty quickly but, the hills there and the cobblestone streets will definitely slow you down. The shop people are very, very nice and welcome tourists. I highly recommend this little gem of a hilltown if you have plans to visit Italy. I would not make this a place to stay your entire time but a day or two is not a bad idea.

On the way home, I connected with one of the ladies I met on my taxi ride. Her name was Sunjin and she lives in South Korea. Her English was very good and we talked the entire train ride back to Florence. She was here for her fourth time and gave me some good tips. One of which was avoiding Rome. She is the second person I have heard from that told me Rome is not a good place to visit alone. With my recent luck lately with bus terminals and so forth, I am skipping Rome (sorry Dave!). Instead, I am hitting Verona, which sounds lovely! I think my pace are these little hilltowns and not the cities.

I hope you enjoy the photos below of one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Ciao!