Located on a hill about 500 meters above sea level, Cortona dominates the valley below (Val di Chiana). Thanks also to this strategic position that allowed him to control the surrounding terrors, Cortonastarting betweenVIII and the 7th century BC, became a very powerful city.Among the interesting places to visit in CortonaThe Museum of the Etruscan AcademyThe Cathedral of Cortona, the Church of S. Francesco and theHermitage of the Cells. Excellent are also the gastronomic specialties among which the bovine meat of breed 'Chianina(of Val di Chiana).
Arezzo turns out to be of even preEtrusca thanks to the chance discovery of stone tools dating back to the paleolithic during the excavations of a tunnel of the railway line Rome-Florence shortly after the middle of 1800. It then became one of the cities Etruscan most important along with Cortona as well as Closed e Orvieto. Thanks to its strategic location on the territory Arezzo became an important city of theRoman Empire that was being born. In Middle Ages l'Arezzo Ghibellina with its growing power inevitably collides with Florence e Siena. Arezzo is the birthplace of Giorgio Vasari, the biographer of the Renaissanceperiod in which a great artistic and urban development of the city took place, preserved and visible until today.
Among the interesting places to visit in Arezzo: the Basilica of St. Francis (with the frescoes of Piero della Francesca), the Vasari House, the Cathedral, the Vasari Loggias at Big square.
The excursion of Cortona e Arezzo foresees the departure from Florence at 9am and a return at 5pm. The total duration, including transportation, is approx. 8 hours. Both of them can be visited independently but for a more complete and historical visit we suggest to do it with a local Authorized Guide (with an extra cost, always book it with us) all day (both cities) or half day (one of the two).
