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Arezzo lies on a hill close to the Appennino Tosco-Romagnolo. As its architecture proves, Arezzo boasts its ancient origin first as one of the greatest Etruscan towns and then a strategic Roman city. The upper part keeps a remarkable medieval aspect with the Cathedral and the Medici Fortress. The rather Gothic Cathedral contains fine works of art among which La Maddalena by Piero della Francesca and the stained-glass windows by Guillame de Marcillat. The central Piazza Grande shows different styles of architecture: next to the medieval towers are the imposing Renaissance Loggiato Vasariano, the Palazzo delle Fraternita dei Laici, a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, and the apse of the Pieve di Santa Maria. The Piazza Grande hosts annually the Giostra del Saracino , a tournament held on the third Sunday of June and the first Sunday of September, and the Antique Fair on the first weekend of every month. The Bacci Chapel in the Basilica di San Francesco houses the stunning Renaissance cycle of frescoes of The legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca. The single-nave church of San Domenico houses the newly restored Crucifix by Cimabue. Many other churches and palaces prove how important and original in the centuries Arezzo was. Notable are the Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla, the church of La Santissima Annunziata, Palazzo Pretorio and Palazzo dei Priori, and at a few minutes outside the walls, the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the Romanesque Pieve di Sant'Eugenia al Bagnoro. The museums offer a large variety of remarkable works of art: the Museo Archeologico Gaio Cilnio Mecenate, the Museo Statale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna, the Museo and Casa Vasari, the Casa Museo Ivan Bruschi and the Museo Diocesano. (APT Arezzo).

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Arezzo

Arezzo

ANGHIARI Stunning medieval little town on sides of the hills between the Sovara and the valley of the Tiber. Its name is connected with a famous battle ( the Battle of Anghiari) fought in 1440 in the plain of Anghiari and painted by Leonardo in the Salone of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence...

BIBBIENA It was an important Etruscan town then a Medieval castle whose Torre dei Tarlati and the Porta dei Fabbri still exist. In the town centre are fine buildings: Palazzo Mazzoleni, Palazzo Niccolini and Palazzo Dovizi, built by cardinal Bernardo Dovizi, born in Bibbiena, secretary to Cardinal Giovanni de'Medici (later Pope Leone X). Among the religious buildings are the church of San Lorenzo which contains glazed teracotta by the Della Robbia school, the rather Rococo Oratorio di San Francesco, the Pieve di Sant'Ippolito, once the chapel of the Tarlati castle, and the Santuario di Santa Maria del Sasso, one of the most important Renaissance buildings in the Casentino...

CAPOLONA It lies along the mountain slopes which form the hook where the Arno river skirts round the Aretines , torce il muso agli Aretini as Dante writes in the Divina Commedia (Purgatorio, XV,48). Of medieval origin, its two sides connected by a Roman bridge, Capolona is the gateway to the Casentino. In the surrounding green countryside stands the Pieve di Santa Maria Maddalena at Stietina, documented in the XI cent, a small three-nave Romanesque church decorated with frescoes of the XV cent. Aretine school...

CASTEL FOCOGNANO Its territory lies along the south-west side of the Pratomagno. The old village with its tower houses the Centro di Documentazione della Cultura Rurale del Casentino (the centre for the rural culture of the Casentino), which deals with the history of the local traditions. A few kilometres from the historic centre stands the Pieve di Sant'Antonino at Socana, one of the most interesting examples of Romanesque architecture...

CASTEL SAN NICCOLO’ The village along the Solani river is dominated by the picturesque Castle of the Conti Guidi. A few steps from Strada stands the Pieve di San Martino in Vado whose sandstone capitals are rich in symbols. Lying on the ridge between the valley of the Arno and the valley of the Solano is Borgo alla Collina, a natural terrace overlooking the wide valley of the Casentino...

CASTIGLION FIORENTINO It has Etruscan-Roman origins, with a nearly entirely preserved circle of walls dominated by the Cassero (donjon). Recent excavations have discovered a V cent. BC sacred area. The Pinacoteca Comunale contains valuable works of jewllery of the XIII cent. and paintings by Margarito, Taddeo Gaddi, Bartolomeo della Gatta and Giorgio Vasari. The XVI cent. Loggia of the Palazzo Comunale, like a balcony, provides a view of the valley of Chio, the natural link between the Valdichiana and the Valtiberina...

CHITIGNANO It is a small mountain village on the way to Monte della Verna. Once a spa resort because of its sulphurous water springs. It was a feudal village of the Ubertini family. Parts of the old Castle and Podesteria are still visible...

CIVITELLA VAL DI CHIANA It lies along the ridge between the Val di Chiana and the Val d'Ambra, at the junction of numerous roads once used for goods transport, especially the wheat produced in the Valdichiana. Its historic centre, which is a characteristic example of feudal architecture, still preserves the ruins of the tower and the circle of walls...

FOIANO DELLA CHIANA Of ancient origins as evidenced by the findings of Etruscan and Roman remains, Foiano is situated in the centre of the Val di Chiana. The historic centre, enclosed by two circles of walls, is marked by Renaissance art and architecture. Places to visit include the Church of the SS Trinità, which contains a work by Pomarancio, and the Church of Santa Maria della Fraternità, XV cent, which contains a glazed terracotta attributed to Luca and Andrea della Robbia. Beyond the first circle of walls is the Collegiata di San Martin, which contains a painting showing the Coronazione della Vergine con Santi , a late work by Luca Signorelli and a glazed terracotta, Madonna della Cintola, attributed to Andrea della Robbia. Some kilometres from the historic centre towards Pozzo della Chiana, stands the isolated Tempio di Santo Stefano della Vittoria, XVI cent,. commissioned by Cosimo I as a symbol of the victory over the Sienese in the Battle of Scannagallo...

LORO CIUFFENNA The town conserves intact parts of its medieval architecture such as the bridge and the old mill which are attractions of the small town. The rooms of the Town hall the Museo Venturino Venturi, with works by the painter born here. The museum contains a collection of bronze and wooden sculptures and ceramic pieces. A few khilometres from the historic centre is the lovely Pieve di San Pietro a Gròpina. Its capitals are rich in symbolic signs. A must is a visit to the small hamlet of Borro, which was until some years ago the home of the Duca Amadeo d'Aosta and now a part of a vast complex purchased by a well-known Tuscan family...

MARCIANO DELLA CHIANA The ancient origins of this village are evidenced by numerous finds in the surrounding countryside such as the male bust in stone belonging to a funerary statue of a soldier datable from the VI cent. B.C. and today exhibited in the Archeological Museum in Arezzo. During the medieval period Marciano was at the centre of important routes connecting the north and the south and in particular the Via Cassia and the Via Francigena. The historic centre is reached through a small gate above which there is a tower. Inside, the village is dominated by an imposing Rocca (fort) in Sienese form. The Church of SS Stefano e Andrea, restructured in the XVIII cent. contains a painting by Bartolomeo della Gatta, showing a Madonna con Bambino e Santi...

MONTERCHI The Medieval village rises up on site which was sacred for the ancient Romans dedicated to the cult of Hercules. Today the village is a must on the Art Route of Piero della Francesca. In the historic centre, in a small museum dedicated to the Vergin, is conserved Piero della Francesca's extraordinary painting, La Madonna del Parto...

MONTEVARCHI One of the major commercial centres of the valley. The historic centre still conserves a medieval urbanistic design gathered around the main square, Piazza Varchi, which is enclosed by the Palazzo Pretorio with it coats of arms on the façade, and the Collegiata di San Lorenzo dating from the XIII cent. but re -built some centuries later to a design by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. In the ex sacristry, seat of the Museum of Arte Sacra, the small temple attributed to Andrea della Robbia and la Consegna della Reliquia del Sacro Latte da parte del Conte Guerra represent one of the best examples of the perfection of the art of glazed terracotta on the part of the celebrated Florentine family...

PERGINE VALDARNO The village of Pergine is situated at the confluence of the valleys of the Chianti and Chiana. The remains of the castle are set within a naturalistic frame of great beauty. The gentle landscape amongst hills, covered in vinyards and olive groves, surrounds this village. A stop in the local farms offers the possibility of tasting the products of this countryside such as extra virgin olive oil and Pergine wine which have made the area famous...

PIEVE SANTO STEFANO Known as the Città del Diario, Pieve Santo Stefano is also the birthplace of the Senator Amintore Fanfani. Despite the numerous reconstructions, the historic centre still conserves interesting religious buildings such as the Santuario della Madonna dei Lumi with frescoes by Luigi Ademollo and the Tempietto di Colledestro. One of the major writers of the XX cent, Giovanni Papini, remained fascinated by these places and began, right here, his interior journey in front of a cross on the hills of Bulciano, a few kilometres from Pieve Santo Stefano...

PRATOVECCHIO The architecture of the town is a reflection of its history. A history of faith evidenced by the presence in the village, of two monasteries of the Camaldolesi and Domenican Nuns and of power which has its symbol in the majestic Castello di Rumena, fortress of the Conti Guidi family and cited by Dante in the XXX canto of the Inferno . Not far from the village stands the imposing Pieve di San Pietro a Romena, one of the most important works of Romanesque architecture in Casentino. Paolo di Dono, called Paolo Uccello, master of perspective, was born in the town...

SANSEPOLCRO The belltowers of the Church of San Francesco and of the Badia, the present-day Cathedral, are easily recognized as among the recurring architectural elements in many of Piero della Francesca's works. The town of Sansepolcro, which developed around the large Benedictine Abbey, has conserved its medieval urbanistic structure and has, over the centuries, been enriched by important Renaissance and Baroque buildings. The Museo Civico houses such works by the painter as La Resurrezione , complex and symbolic, the polyptych of la Misericordia , San Giuliano and San Ludovico are evidence of the genius of the master of the early Renaissance. In the Cathedral, the Volto Santo , a wooden crucifix from the Carolingian period, is of great interest. Next to the Cathedral is the Palazzo delle Laudi, in manneristic style, and today, the Town Hall. Other architectural and artistic treasures are to be seen throughout the historic centre such as the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Church of San Francesco. A visit to the church of San Lorenzo which contains a painting of the Deposizione by Rosso Fiorentino is a must...

STIA Situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Arno and the Staggia, the historic centre is gathered round the main square, Piazza Tanucci, lined with portici. Along the street of the same name is the Pieve Romanica di Santa Maria Assunta, with its XVIII cent. façade. In the Chapel of the Baptistery is a beautiful Annunciazione by Bicci di Lorenzo. Traces of its distant medieval past remain in the Palagio Fiorentino, once home of the Conti Guidi family. The Palazzo houses an extremely interesting collection of contemporary art. A short distance from the town centre is the majestic tower of the Castel Porciano, which dominates the entire valley of the first tract of the Arno, and the Santuario di Santa Maria delle Grazie, completely surrounded by woods...

TERRANUOVA BRACCIOLINI The last of the terra murata , built by Florence, still conserves the old wall and the towers from its foundation. Originally called Castel Santa Maria, it owes its change of name to the great Humanist of the XV cent., Poggio Bracciolini, who was born here in 1380. Frescoes from the XIV and XV cent. are conserved in the Chiesa di San Biagio ai Mori. Terranuova was also the birth place of Frà Diamante, di Feo, collaborator of Filippo Lippi, who was born around 1430. Of great interest is the view of the Balze which rise up to a point above the small village of Persignano…

 

 

Information from: APT Arezzo - Agenzia per il Turismo

 

 

BADIA TEDALDA The village lies on the border between Tuscany and the Marche, along the pilgrim road which monks, pilgrims and abbots took for centuries. The gentle landscape seems to frame the resort from where walks or horse rides can start...

BUCINE This little town was strategically important in the Middle Ages as a castle guarding the Val d'Ambra. At a short distance stands the Romanesque Pieve di Galatrona with a font attributed to Luca della Robbia. A fine work of art is the Badia di San Pietro at Ruoti, one of the most important Camaldolese abbeys in the province of Arezzo...

CAPRESE MICHELANGELO The name of this old village honours the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, its greatest citizen. Amid chestnut groves the village preserves its perimetral plan. The Casa del Podestà, where the artist was born, houses now the Museo Michelangiolesco which displays life-size copies of Michelangelo's masterpieces and interesting works by the best contemporary sculptors...

CASTELFRANCO DI SOPRA Castelfranco di Sopra, an old walled village at the foot of the Pratomagno, lies along the old road Setteponti. It was one of the Florentine terre nuove (new lands). At a short distance rises the Badia di San Salvatore at Soffena, XI cent, which houses beautiful frescoes, carefully restored, painted by Bicci di Lorenzo and Giovanni di Ser Giovanni called Lo Scheggia, Masaccio's brother...

CASTIGLION FIBOCCHI The village of Castiglion Fibocchi lies on the side of the Pratomagno, on the right side of the Arno, along the road Setteponti. It was a feudal village of the Conti Guidi in the XI cent, then, like most of the Aretine territory, it was ruled by the Florentines. Noteworthy is the nearby Chiesa di San Pietro a Pezzano which contains a fresco of an Annunciazione attributed to the Aretine Gothic painter Andrea di Nerio (XIV cent)...

CAVRIGLIA At the foot of the ridge which separates the Valdarno from the mountains of the Chianti area, Cavriglia and its historic centre lie compact around the Pieve of San Giovanni.The little muesum adjoining the church contains paintings, glazed terracotta sculptures and sacred jewellery. In the first half of the XX century it was an important area for brown coal mining.There is a recently opened museum which shows how important brown coal was as a means of sustenance for the locals...

CHIUSI DELLA VERNA Its territory lies between the valleys of the Arno and the Tiber, strategically between the Casentino and the Valtiberina. On a stunning outcrop of rock, amid silver beech trees rises the Santuario of San Francesco alla Verna, one of the most famous Franciscan places of worship.The little church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the first building on the sacred mount, contains Della Robbia terracotta. In the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta are the masterpieces by Andrea della Robbia, l'Annunciazione and l'Incarnazione . The Franciscan route follows other fundamental steps: the Sasso Spicco (the rock) where the Saint used to pray; the Corridoio and the Cappella delle Stimmate built where San Francesco was given the stigmata, the last seal by Christ, in 1224. The International Organ Music Festival, with its evocative sound, is hosted in the Basilica of the Sanctuary...

CORTONA On a 600 m high hill it dominates the whole Valdichiana as far as the crests of Monte Amiata. Its medieval buildings and lanes give the town an evocative atmosphere. The Basilica di Santa Margherita and the Franciscan Santuario delle Celle invite the visitor to follow an itinerary of art and faith starting from the upper side of Cortona. On the contrary,walking down via Nazionale, once Ruga Piana, the only flat street in town, you reach Piazza della Repubblica where are the Palazzo Comunale and Palazzo Casali, once mansion of the noble family now seat of the Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca ( collection of Etruscan and Roman finds). At the north side of the town, opposite the Renaissance Cathedral, is the Museo Diocesano which contains works by great local artists like Luca Signorelli and an Annunciazione by Fra Angelico, one of his most beautiful works. Outside of town, at the foot of the hill, are the Meloni I and II del Sodo, Etruscan tumulus tombs of the VI cent BC. Towards Foiano della Chiana there is the Abbey of Santa Maria a Farneta which, with its crypt, is one of the oldest Aretine Romanesque examples...

LATERINA The town owes its name to the presence of numerous brickworks which characterized it during the Etruscan and Roman periods. During the Medieval period it was an important castle. The old village is gathered around the square onto which the church dei Santi Ippoliti e Cassiano faces...

LUCIGNANO This is one of the most interesting centres in Tuscany because of its original castle on an elliptical plan, closed in by a wall with towers. The old village centre presents, perfectly conserved, the Palazzo Comunale dating from the XIII cent.. Inside is a small museum containing paintings from the Siena and Aretine Schools as well as valuable pieces of gold works from the late Gothic period such as the famous Tree relic of Lucignano. Of great note are other religious buildings and the church of San Francesco decorated with frescoes by the Sienese painters Bartolo di Fredi and Taddeo di Bartolo. Of great interest is the one above the first altar of the right aisle known as the Trionfo della Morte in which, in a very effective wa, is represented the precariousness of human life...

MONTEMIGNAIO One of the smallest comuni in the province of Arezzo, it still conserves its old centre called Castel Leone, and some evidence of the surrounding wall and two towers. The town is completely surrounded by chestnut woods which have always been the major economic resource of its inhabitants. The capitals of the Romanesque Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta recall, in the stylized phytomorphic decoration, signs of its local history linked to the traditions and forest work, typical of the inhabitants of these areas...

MONTE SAN SAVINO This is the birthplace of the great Renaissance sculptor Andrea Contucci called Il Sansovino and of Pope Julius III. The historic centre spreads out from the Cassero, the old fortress dating back to the XIV cent., and continues along Corso Sangallo, lined by the Renaissance Logge dei Mercanti attributed to Sansovino, to the Palazzo di Monte, today the seat of the Council, from Palazzo Pretorio with its tower, and on to the Pieve and the Church of Sant'Agostino which houses a beautiful Assunzione by Giorgio Vasari. A short distance from the historic centre is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Vertighe which was already documented in the XI cent...

ORTIGNANO RAGGIOLO The two towns were united after centuries of conflicing domination in 1873. The territory is completely surrounded by chestnut forests. The agricultural and pastoral traditions of these two small villages are documented and can be found in the recently established Chestnut Museum (Museo della Castagna). Interesting to visit is the Pieve dei Santi Matteo e Margherita...

PIAN DI SCO’ In this very small village there are still the traces of a military past which testify to its having been an Aretine outpost in the upper Valdarno area. The historic centre is built around its Romanesque pieve with simple façade and enriched within with decorated capitals and a fresco by Paolo Schiavo depicting a Madonna col Bambino A few kilometres from the village, in Poggio alla Regina, there are still the remains of an imposing castle built by the Guidi Counts to guard the valley...

POPPI The history of Poppi is linked to the family of the Guidi Counts and their castle.Going back to medieval times means starting with their manner house which was built in the XIII cent.. Vasari attributed its design to Lapo, Arnolfo di Cambio's maestro .In the courtyard, there is a complex system of stair-ways and a rich collection of coats of arms. The art works are to be seen inside the chapel with a cycle of frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi, one of Giotto's most important followers. Leaving the castle without having visited the library is as if half the itinerary were incomplete. The collection of books, donated by the Rilli-Orsini Counts to the Comune of Poppi, is an immense library treasure. Set in the centuries' old pine forest is Camaldoli, one of the most important spiritual places in Tuscany. The Hermitage, founded by San Romualdo in about 1012, with its twenty cells and places for solitude and contemplation, has undergone numerous transformations. Rich in Baroque decorations it houses, in the chapel of Sant'Antonio Abate, an altarpiece in glazed terracotta by Andrea della Robbia. In front of the church is the cell of San Romualdo, the only one open to visitors. Some kilometres further down the valley is the architectural complex formed by the monastery, the Foresteria ( guest rooms) and the Church of Santi Donato e Ilariano. The interior, in Baroque form, houses works by the young Giorgio Vasari...

SAN GIOVANNI VALDARNO The Town of San Giovanni Valdarno is one of the major centres of the Valdarno valley which developed along the main communication route between Arezzo and Florence. Here, on the 21st December 1401, Masaccio, the great innovator of Renaissance painting, was born. It is possible to visit the house where he was born in Corso Italia, when exhibitions are being held. The heart of the historic centre is Piazza Masaccio with the Palazzo Pretorio designed, according to Vasari, by Arnolfo di Cambio. The Piazza is surrounded by handsome buildings such as the XV cent. Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie and the museum which conserves a rich collection of paintings and a lovely Annunciazione by Beato Angelico; the XIV cent. Church of San Lorenzo whose walls are adorned with XV cent. frescoes by the painter Giovanni di Ser Giovanni called Lo Scheggia , younger brother of Masaccio. In Piazza Cavour stands the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista dating from the first half of the XIV cent...

SESTINO The historic centre is gathered around its Pieve dedicated to San Pancrazio. Of great interest, is a painted cross from the Riminese school of the XIV cent. and the crypt. The history of the town can be traced by visiting the Antiquarium Nazionale where important Roman finds are housed. There is a wonderful view of the typical Apenninne landscape from a visit to Sasso di Simone ( 1210 m) Because of its strategic position, Cosimo I of the Medici chose it as the place for planning a fortified town...

SUBBIANO The history of this comune is closely linked with that of the Arno on whose left bank the town developed. There are still today, remains of numerous water mills built along the banks of the river. From the south can be seen the tower of the castle which looks out over the river. In September there is the Grape Festival which is not just a popular festival but also an occasion for tasting typical local products and to discover the history and popular traditions of the town...

TALLA The territory of the town extends into the inner part of the Pratomagno. The oldest village is the most characteristic, medieval in origin, called the Castellaccia, with a small church and houses standing along side one another A short distance from the village, along a path through chestnut and fir woods, are the impressive ruins of one of the oldest Benedictine abbies built along the pilgrims' route, the Badia di Santa Trinità in Alpe. The peaceful small villages like Pontenano, Faltona offer numerous opportunities for excursions, especially during the summer...