 Introduction
Arrival Plane
Florence's Amerigo Vespucci [FLR], Perugia [PEG], and Pisa's Galileo Galilei [PSA] are the closest airports; Rome's Fiumicino [FCO], Milan's Malpensa [MXP], and Bologna [BLQ] airports are also convenient - e.g. there are fast shuttle trains from Fiumicino Aeroporto directly to both Roma Termini and Roma Tiburtina. The train ride to Cortona's Camucia or Terontola stations takes 1-2 hours you can purchase tickets to your final destination at the train station in the airport. In Milan, take the direct shuttle bus from the Malpensa airport to the Milano Centrale train station if you are transferring to a train; if you are going to stay in downtown Milano instead of taking a train immediately to another city there's an express shuttle which goes to several of the metro (subway) stations. In Florence, take the direct shuttle bus from the airport to the Santa Maria Novella (Firenze S.M.N.) train station.
Train
Cortona is well served with regular trains that take you directly to Arezzo, Florence, Bologna and Milan in one direction, or Orvieto, Rome, Naples and Amalfi in the other. Trains stop frequently at the railway station in Camucia at the bottom of the Cortonese hill, or even more frequently from Terontola station (further south).Perugia can be reached by train from Terontola station quite quickly, via a branch line, and Siena via another branch line from Arezzo station.
CAMUCIA AND TERONTOLA railways station are connected by hourly buses to the centre of Cortona (the bus terminal is in Piazza Garibaldi). Bus tickets can be bought at all tobacconists, newspaper stalls, and most coffee bars, but not on the buses themselves. Perugia can be reached by train from Terontola station quite quickly, via a branch line, and Siena via another branch line from Arezzo station. Taxis can be hired from the railway stations of Terontola and Camucia, or in the centre of Cortona in Piazza della Repubblica.
Car
By car, whether coming north from Rome or south from Florence, you take the A1 autostrada and exit at USCITA VALDICHIANA, which is also the main exit for Perugia. On leaving the tollbooth turn right. After 500 yards bear right at the sign for Perugia and you will be fed onto the Siena-Perugia freeway, heading east. After 2 miles (3 kilometers) take the exit for Cortona.
History and Culture
Cortona took part in all the wars against Rome until 310 B.C. when Fabius Rullianus defeated the Etruscans and took Perugia. and began incrementally to dominate and absorb the Etruscan (and Umbrian) civilizations. Perugia, with other cities including Cortona, then made peace with Rome. Later Cortona was destroyed by the Lombards but was during the middle and late middle ages, ultimately finding itself, by the 16th century, firmly within the Grand Duchy of Tuscan where it remained until Italian unification in 1860.
Many famous men were born or lived in Cortona: Brother Elias (Elia Coppi), the famous companion of St. Francis of Assisi, and later Vicar-General of the Franciscan Order; Cardinals Egidio Boni and Silvio Passerini; the painter Luca Signorelli; the architect and painter Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona). St. Margaret of Cortona (1248-97) was born at Laviano (Alviano) in the Diocese of Chiusi, and became the mistress of a nobleman of the vicinity. Her body rests in a beautiful sarcophagus in the church dedicated to her at Cortona. The cathedral and the other churches of Cortona possess numerous works of art, especially paintings of the school of Luca Signorelli and of Fra Angelico.
Churches and Museums
A short distance north of Piazza Signorelli, in the Piazza del Duomo, stands the cathedral (Santa Maria), a Renaissance structure built over an earlier Romanesque church. In its present form it is predominantly the work of Giuliano da Sangallo (1445-1516) or of his followers. The interior is divided into three aisles by slender columns, with fine carved altars (1644) by Francesco Mazzuoli. The choir contains a number of good paintings, including some by pupils of Luca Signorelli. Adjoining the cathedral is the Bishop's Palace (Palazzo Vescovile), the present aspect of which dates mainly from the late 19th century.
Basilica of Santa Margherita
Dedicated to a famous Cortonese concubine who dedicated herself to the church after the death of her nobleman lover who was killed. Her marble sarcophagus can be found in the church. The church, in Neo- Byzantine style, was built between 1856 and 1897. The Saint's tomb dates from 1362; her relics are in a silver shrine (1646) on the high altar. From the square in front of the church there is a magnificent view into the Val di Chiana.
San Francesco
To the east of the Palazzo Comunale is the Church of San Francesco, the building of which began in begun by Brother Elia Coppi Jan. 23, 1244 to his design, making it one of the earliest Franciscan churches. The exterior of this aisleless Gothic church is plain and undecorated; the interior was, rather unhappily, remodeled in the Baroque period. Its greatest treasure (not always visible) is a Reliquary of the True Cross, consisting of a Byzantine ivory tablet in a 16th century frame. Other relics include the belt, habit, & the pillow which St. Francis of Assisi was using at his death. Frate Elia, who was also the architect and director of work for the Basilica in Assisi, is buried under the choir. The painter Luca Signorelli (d. 1523) is also believed to have been buried here.
San Domenico
The Church of San Domenico in Cortona, outside the town walls to the south, was originally the church of a Dominican friary to which the famous painter Fra Angelico (Giovanni di Pietro, c. 1400-55) belonged for a time. This aisleless Gothic church was built in the early 15th century, in the plain architectural style favored by the Mendicant Orders, and altered later in the century. The altar has a triptych by Lorenzo Gherini (14th/15th centuries); in the chapel on the right is a "Madonna with Angels and Saints" by Luca Signorelli (15th century) and on the wall of the presbytery an “Assumption” by Bartolomeo della Gatta (15th century).
Sant' Agostino
construction started in 1256. A major restoration in 1481, which included a new chapel for the remains of Beato Ugolino Zefferini, was carried out at the expense of the Zefferini family. Remodelled in 1999 and 2000 into a convention center)
Santa Maria Nuova
Outside the town walls (Porta Colonia), to the north, is the Church of Santa Maria Nuova, a Renaissance structure on a square plan with a high dome. Designed by Giovanni Battista Infregliati, it was completely remodeled by Giorgio Vasari. Of the paintings in the interior the most notable is a “Birth of the Virgin” by Alessandro Allori (16th century).
Santa Maria delle Grazie
From the Porta Sant'Agostino, the southwestern town gate, the road to Camucia runs southeast to the Renaissance Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio or of the Madonna del Calcinaio (1485-1513). This is one of the most architecturally important Renaissance churches of Tuscany, it was designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, it is a finely proportioned aisleless domed church on a Latin cross plan. It was built to house a miraculous image of the Virgin, originally on the wall of a limestone quarry (calcinaio) belonging to the local Tanners' Guild and now on the high altar of the church.
San Nicolò
Above the center of the old town of Cortona, half-way up to the Fortezza, is the little 15th century Church of San Nicolò which has a small porch with slender columns. The interior (remodeled in Baroque style) has paintings by Luca Signorelli (two-sided panel-painting, “Descent from the Cross” and “Madonna Enthroned”; fresco, “Madonna with Saints”).
Museo Diocesano
Beside the Duomo is the Diocesan museum and gallery where you will find works by the artist Luca Signorelli, who was born in Cortona, and by Fra Beato Angelico whose paintings of the Annunciation and The Madonna (1436) are said to be among his best. Angelico also did the fresco above the portal to the Chiesa San Domenico (also 1436). Also a group of work by Giuseppe Maria Crespi known as Lo Spagnuolo called Ecstasy of St. Margaret.
Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca
Inside the Palazzo Pretorio is the Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca that displays items from Etruscan, Roman, and Egyptian civilizations and also art and artefacts from the Medieval and Renaissance eras.
Historical buildings and monuments
Also known as the Fortezza del Girifalco, High above the old town of Cortona, at the northeast corner of the walls, looms the Fortezza Medicea. This Mèdici stronghold was built in 1556 on earlier foundations to protect Florentine interests. The views of the valley and lake from the fort are not to be missed.. It now houses an agricultural college and research institute.
Palazzo Comunale
The west side of the square is dominated by the imposing Palazzo Comunale, which was already in existence in 1241; it was rebuilt in 1275, enlarged in the 16th century and restored in 1896. The front of the palazzo is given its characteristic aspect by the battlemented clock-tower (1509) and the flight of steps (also 16th century) leading up to it.
Palazzone Passerini
Outside Cortona to the east is the Palazzone Passerini, built by Giovanni Battista Caporali for Cardinal Passerini. Dominated by a massive battlemented tower, it has a charming garden with arcades. The rooms of the palace are decorated with frescoes; those in the chapel are attributed to Luca Signorelli, and the story goes that while working on them in 1532 he fell from the scaffolding and died from his injuries. The palace now houses an educational establishment.
Palazzo Pretorio
To the northwest of the Town Hall in Cortona is the Piazza Signorelli, with the Palazzo Pretorio, the facade of which bears the coats of arms of former podestàs; it now houses the Accademia Etrusca (founded 1726) and the Museum of Etruscan Antiquities (Etruscan bronze candelabrum; fifth century B.C.).
Places of Interest
Behind San Domenico there is a lovely little garden, the Parterre, where, a small film festival takes place every summer.
Convento delle Celle
The Convento delle Celle, on the slopes of Monte Sant'Egidio, founded by Saint Francis in 1211, is a charming complex of monks' cells, the first of which were founded by St Francis of Assisi between 1211 and 1221. Visitors can see the little church (1573) and a number of cells. From the convent there is a very fine view of Cortona and many paths in and around the forests surrounding the sanctuary where you can wander and wonder.
Tanella di Pitagora
To the south of Cortona (reached by the road from the Porta Sant'Agostino) is the so-called Cave of Pythagoras, an Etruscan tomb of the fourth century B.C. on a cruciform plan. The tomb chamber, measuring 2.05m by 2.53m, was enclosed by large wedge-shaped blocks. The tomb has no connection with Pythagoras; the name seems to come from a confusion between Cortona and the Greek city of Kroton (now Crotone) in Calabria. There are other Etruscan tombs at Camucia and Il Sodo, in the plain below the town.
Events
March/April
Exhibition & market for Val di Chiana beef - Piazza Chateau Chinon, Camucia (March 25, 2006)
Good Friday - evening procession from Spirito Santo at ~21:00 (April 14, 2006)
Easter Tuesday - procession at Duomo at ~17:30 (April 18, 2006)
Antique auto race up the hill from Camucia to Pza. Garibaldi in Cortona. - (April 29, 2006)
Tulip Festival - Castiglione del Lago (PG). - (April 25, 2006)
Open Exhibition of works by student artists in the University of Georgia's Cortona Program - Palazzo Casali (April 7-9, 2006)
Colata dei Ceri e Offerta dei Ceri - May 19/20
Colata dei Ceri (May 19 in Piazza della Repubblica) e Offerta dei Ceri (May 20 in Piazza della Repubblica) a S. Margherita - period (medieval) costume processions (based on a Cortona Statue dated 1325) on the weekend evenings preceeding the feast of Santa Margherita (May 21, 2006). Friday & Sat. preceeding Ascension; usually the Saturday & Sunday prior to the Giostra. (May 27 & 28, 2006).
Corsa dei Ceri - May 15
In Gubbio [Umbria]). A race with giant candles to Chiesa Sant'Ubaldo. On the eve of Sant'Ubaldo's Feast Day (St. Ubaldo is Gubbio's patron saint).
Giostra dell'Archidado - May 27-28
Historical recreation of AD 1397 archery contest between the quintiere of Cortona in celebration of the wedding of Francesco Casali & Antonia Salembeni in that year.
Tuscan Sun Festival - Aug 05-20
Music, film, & art festival
Cortona Antiquaria - August-September
The Cortona Antiquaria antiques fair is housed in the 18th century halls of Palazzo Vagnotti and Palazzo Casali from the last Saturday in August to the second Sunday in September.
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