Arezzo is set in the south-east of Tuscany, in the middle of four marvellous valleys which radiate off from the town: the "Val Tiberina" , "Casentino ", "Valdarno" and "Valdichiana". The artistic city itinerary incudes highly interesting elements with extremely original characteristics, the yearly Antique Furniture Exhibition that takes place at the very beginning of September is very well known and attended by many people. Apart from Valtiberina with its works of art, pastures and woodland, the area also offers splendid landscapes where you can find famous monastic settlements, completely surrounded by century-old trees and numerous romanesque parishes. From the city of Cortona, at 600 m. the valley extends like a garden.
Cortona is a great artistic and cultural attraction not only for its Etruscan past, of which many significant tokens have remained, but also for many architectural and pictorial works of different epochs.Arezzo is made up of an old upper town and a modern lower town, and is an important center for the production of gold jewelry. Within the old town lie the Duomo, decorated with 16th-century stained glass windows, and the Basilica di San Francesco, containing a highly esteemed cycle of frescoes by Piero della Francesca depicting the Legend of the True Cross. The Piazza Grande is a wonderful Medieval square, famous for its regular antiques market, overlooked by several impressive historic buildings, notably the church of Santa Maria della Pieve and the Loggiato del Vasari, the home Vasari built for himself in 1540. |
