BACK IN THE LIMELIGHT

It’s time for you to explore two delightful towns that have provided marvellous backdrops for a couple of world-acclaimed movies. Roberto Benigni’s Oscar-award-winning Life is beautiful and Audrey Wells’ novel-inspired Under the Tuscan Sun take place respectively in Arezzo and Cortona, two of the region’s oldest towns, boasting origins that date as far back as the 8th century BC. Artistic wonders, exquisite craftsmanship, gastronomic delights and a virtually unchanged medieval atmosphere explain why these two Tuscan celebrities are stepping back into the limelight.

Meet your driver outside your accommodation in Florence and relax on the ride to the hilltop town of Arezzo. Here your private guide will be waiting ready to lead you on a carefully planned trail through the town’s quaint streets and treat you to tales of its founding, vicissitudes and triumphs throughout the ages. Known to have been inhabited since the Neolithic era, Arezzo was one of the wealthiest and most powerful pre-Roman settlements. The city flourished during the Middle Ages and Renaissance when it became a thriving cultural hub and embarked on a period of grandiose expansion. Several architectural and artistic masterpieces attest to the skill and extraordinary heights reached by Tuscan craftsmen from the 1200s to the 16th century and to the prime role played by Arezzo in fostering some of the most brilliant talents of the time.

You will explore the picture-perfect central square, Piazza Grande, surrounded by elegant palazzi, Giorgio Vasari’s arcaded loggia and the semicircular apse of the Romanesque Pieve of Santa Maria Assunta. Once the main marketplace, today this square hosts the Saracen Joust, a historical chivalry tournament that takes place twice a year in June and September recalling the olden days when knights would polish their skills in combat in preparation for a possible Moorish invasion. Other sights not to be missed include the treasures preserved within the Gothic Cathedral of Santi Pietro e Donato and the precious 13th century Crucifix by Cimabue hanging inside the Church of San Domenico.

But Arezzo’s most prized jewel is Piero della Francesca’s fresco cycle of the Legend of the True Cross decorating the walls of the Church of San Francesco. Your guide will unlock the meaning behind these celebrated paintings, which represent the miraculous story of the wood on which Christ was crucified, as recounted in a 13th century tale, and explain why these works occupy such a prominent place in the parade of groundbreaking achievements embraced by the canon of Italian art history.

Enjoy some free time for lunch at one of the town’s charming trattorias before setting off for Cortona. Sitting atop a hill about six hundred metres above sea level, Cortona offers splendid vistas of the Valdichiana extending all the way to Lake Trasimeno. Together with Arezzo, Cortona was one of the most influential towns of the Etruscan era as attested by the ancient foundations of its massive stone walls. The original medieval layout of Cortona lives on, together with its pretty squares, prestigious palazzi and Renaissance fortress which proclaim the importance of the town between the 13th and 16th centuries. Your guide will point out the city’s major landmarks including Piazza della Repubblica, once the site of the ancient Roman forum and still today the hub of Cortona’s social and political life, and Piazza del Duomo, home to the Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta.

Wander through the labyrinth of steep, narrow alleys lined with shops selling hand-made ceramic pieces and gastronomic specialities, before riding in comfort back to your accommodation in Florence.