Cortona

Town · Tuscany, 🇮🇹 Italy

Population 21,133

Area 342 km²

Time zone Europe/Rome

Official website www.comune.cortona.ar.it

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Cortona's Essential Treasures

Cortona's heritage spans from its Etruscan origins to the Renaissance. This hilltop town features the MAEC museum, housing rare artifacts like the bronze Tabula Cortonensis. Architectural highlights include the 13th-century Palazzo Comunale and the Renaissance masterpiece Santa Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio. Religious sites range from the neo-Gothic Basilica of Santa Margherita to the 13th-century hermitage of Le Celle, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. The Diocesan Museum preserves significant works, including Fra Angelico’s Annunciation.

11 places

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Sacred Sites of Cortona

Cortona’s religious landscape spans centuries of architectural evolution, from the 9th-century pre-Romanesque crypts of Abbazia di Farneta to Renaissance masterpieces like Santa Maria del Calcinaio. This collection highlights the town's spiritual heritage, featuring the hilltop Basilica of Santa Margherita, the Franciscan sanctuary of Eremo Le Celle, and the 13th-century Church of San Francesco. These sites preserve significant artworks, relics, and diverse structural styles ranging from Romanesque stone chapels to grand Gothic and Baroque interiors.

14 places

Historic Christian Cemeteries

This collection features rural cemeteries and ancient burial sites surrounding Cortona. It includes significant Etruscan archaeological zones and various parish graveyards across the Val di Chiana. These sites showcase traditional Italian funerary architecture, ranging from pre-Christian mounds to 19th-century Catholic chapels and stone-walled enclosures that reflect the local social history and religious traditions of the Tuscan countryside.

20 places

Massimop / CC BY-SA 3.0

Castles and Manor Houses

This collection features the defensive architecture and feudal estates surrounding Cortona, ranging from the 10th-century Castello di Sorbello to the 16th-century Medicean Fortezza del Girifalco. These structures illustrate the strategic importance of the borderlands between Tuscany and Umbria. The list includes the imposing ruins of Rocca di Pierle and the walled settlement of Castello di Reschio, showcasing the evolution of medieval fortifications and manor houses that once controlled the Val di Chiana.

5 places

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Scenic Peaks and Passes

Explore the high-altitude landscape of the Cortonese mountains along the border of Tuscany and Umbria. This selection features prominent peaks like Monte Spino and Poggio Fabbro, which form part of the Pre-Apennine ridge. It includes the Passo della Cerventosa, a strategic mountain pass on the provincial road connecting Cortona to the Tiber Valley. These sites are defined by their rugged limestone terrain and views spanning the Val di Chiana and Lake Trasimeno.

5 places