Click on the pictures on this page to see a larger version

Cortona has changed little since the Renaissance. The streets, steep and narrow, are paved with flagstones. The squares are small and irregular.

Mediaeval ramparts have replaced the Etruscan walls.

Set on a hillside planted with olive trees, it has views across the countryside, with the Lake Trasimeno a few kilometres away.

Besides seeing the main monuments - you should take the time to stroll in town, to take in the atmosphere of this place, described so well by Frances Mayes in her bestselling book Under the Tuscan Sun at home in Italy.

Do you have some time and want to see the place well? Read the book and try to find the places she describes and where is her villa Bramasole (as long as you don't bother her - even bestselling writers deserve their privacy).

View from the medieval walls

Cortona by car

Forget it. Driving in Cortona is a bad idea - the streets are so steep and narrow that only the tiny Italian cars can move - with difficulty. Parking is practically impossible in town. Some hotels have a parking, but it's very expensive (and difficult to get in and out of the tiny parking, unless you have a tiny Fiat 500). However, abundant parking is available outside the city walls.

St. Francis' Hermitage, a few km from Cortona. Wonderful setting, peaceful - perfect place for meditation and reflection.

The Fortezza
The 16 th century fortress built by the architect Laparelli for the Medici family.
Laparelli built La Valletta, Malta's fortress city.