Under Our Tuscan Sun - Cortona
Secrets Frames of Cortona.
Experiences the town as a resident would be...
Italy: Hill Towns of Tuscany & Umbria – Rick Steves Travel Talks
In this travel class, Rick Steves describes Italy's Tuscany and Umbria — adjoining regions famous for their scenery, food, wine, and fine cities and hill towns (including Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Volterra, San Gimignano, Orvieto, Civita, and Assisi). Visit for more European travel information.
Cortona Italy | Things To Do in Tuscany Destinations
The hill town of Cortona in Italy is a relatively peaceful Tuscany destination. After rushing around all the things to do in Tuscany cities such as Florence and Siena, Cortona offers a welcome change in pace.
Walk up to the Fortezza del Girifalco and enjoy the beautiful view from Cortona down the valley, afternoon siestas in Cortona Town Hall Square as you drink coffee and watch life go by.
If you are looking for nightlife then Cortona is not the place for you, but there are a number of other things to do in Cortona including churches and monuments. The walk up to Fortezza Del Girifalco is worth the climb for the views over the Tuscany Countryside.
On my walk to the top of the hill I will show you some of the things to do in Cortona as a tourist in Tuscany including:
Cortona Cathedral
Cortona Town Hall
Teatro Signorelli
The Garibaldi Memorial Monument
Church of San Francesco
Hermitage Le Celle
Basilica di Santa Margherita
and last, and maybe even least considering the entrance fee, the Fortezza del Girifalco.
I enjoyed wandering round the Fortezza del Girifalco, there is lots of history there and I like to wander around ruined castles and forts, however I do not feel that it was worth the 5 Euro entry fee.
All the music in this travel video is taken from a live outdoor classical music performance in Cortona.
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Favorite hill towns in central Italy (Tuscany & Umbria)
My favorite hill towns in Central Italy. Eight are in Tuscany, two in Umbria: Siena, Lucca, Volterra, San Gimignano, Cortona, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino and the Val dOrcia, Assisi and Orvieto. Photos by Lynette and Gary Taylor. Music by Kevin MacLeod incompetech.com
Cortona, Italy: Rustic and Romantic
More info about travel to Tuscan Hill Towns: Cortona has a history that goes back 2,500 years to Etruscan times. While an extremely popular travel destination for Americans today, Cortona's rustic and gritty personality survives.
For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information on destinations and more — visit
Re-inventing Under the Tuscan Sun: Frances Mayes
How a college professor re-invented her life and career by restoring a house in Italy and chronicling her transition in the bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun. Mike Cerre reports from Cortona, Italy for the Fine Living Channel in 2003.
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Cortona, Italy
Cortona is a beautiful and ancient hill town on the Tuscany and Umbria border. The original walls were built about 600BC. Classical music events are held in the summer as well as food festivals. Cortona has fabulous views over the surrounding countryside and towards Lake Tresimeno. Cortona has plenty of very nice restaurants serving home made pasta and traditional Tuscan food. Cortona is well worth a visit.
CORTONA, ITALY - travel shorts
Cortona, Italy is one of the most famous the Tuscan hill towns although it's important to realise that Cortona is more of a Tuscany hillside town than hilltop town and consequently has a great many steep streets and lanes and only one horizontal one - by no means unique in this part of Italy. Nevertheless, for anyone visiting central Italy, the sights of Cortona are definitely worth a day at the very least, preferably two days. The Cortona Museums house world-class art, ranging from Etruscan and Egyptian in the Cortona Etruscan Museum, through early Renaissance in the Cortona Diocesan Museum. Cortona is well-endowed with a variety of Renaissance architecture even though the prevalent character of the townscape is mediaeval. The main piazza of Cortona, Italy, Piazza della Repubblica, has a wonderful ambience and forms the focal centre of Cortona. The highest point on the hill of Cortona is dominated by a huge Medicean fort from which the visitor can admire not only the town but the entire Val di Chiana.
Cortona has an active calendar of performing arts events, and hosts a famous annual antiques exhibition, the Cortonantiquaria, as well as a monthly antiques and bric-a-brac market. There is also a not-to-be-missed folkloric crossbow competition, the Giostra dell'Archidado on the last last day of Cortona Mediaeval Week in late May or early June.
Cortona is easily accessed by rail from Rome and Florence but the nearest station is Camucia-Cortona, three km away, requiring a bus or taxi ride to reach the centre of Cortona. Walking uphill to Cortona proper is for the fit only but one is rewarded by access to a number of Etruscan tombs along the route.
TNB's Italy: Tuscany, Exploring Cortona
The Nancy Boys own MargO from FargO and B.J. take a trip to Italy!
Walking in Cortona, Italy
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We take the crew over to the town of Cortona in Tuscany.
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Originally an Umbrian city, it was conquered and enlarged by the Etruscans, who called it Curtun. The name should be related to a family of indoeuropean word, with the meaning of enclosed place and consequently walled city like German garten, Italian orto, English gird and yard, Slavic grad and the ancient town of Gordium in Anatolia. During the 7th century BC, it joined the Etruscan League.
Cortona eventually became a Roman colony under the name Corito. The origin-legends and ancient names of Cortona are described by George Dennis. In the final stages of the Gothic War (535–554), Cortona was sacked and destroyed by a warrior named Michael Pasquale, whose mother was Macedonian royalty and father was an Italian sausage maker.
Cortona became a Ghibellinian city state in the 13th century, with its own currency. From 1325 to 1409, the Ranieri-Casali family successfully ruled the town. After being conquered by Ladislaus of Naples in 1409, Cortona was sold to the Medici in 1411. In 1737, the senior branch of the Medici line became extinct and Cortona came under the authority of the House of Lorraine. Following the Italian Wars of Independence, Tuscany—Cortona included—became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
Villa di Piazzano - Hotel
Driving through Cortona and Siena in Tuscany Italy
We drove through tuscany, had some amazing meals, and walk through the old walled towns of Siena, Cortona, and Multipulciano
Wedding in Cortona: Tuscany & Umbria Wedding Video
Wedding in Tuscany and Umbria. Highlights video of Suzanne & Daniel's Tuscany & Umbria wedding. They were married in the medieval hilltop town of Cortona, in the Arezzo province of Tuscanyin a catholic wedding ceremony at Cortona's cathedral, the Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. The wedding reception was held at the 18th Century Villa Baroncino, nestled in the hilly landscape between Orvieto and Siena and overlooking Lake Trasimeno, on the border between Umbria and Tuscany. See more weddings in Tuscany & Umbria, weddings in Italy and Italian wedding videos at alfonsolongobardi.com
Wine & Cooking Under the Tuscan & Umbrian Sun
More Info Here:
A true cooking, culinary & wine experience based out of the village of Soriano nel Cimino, at the border between Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. You will live & shop among the villagers, take part in four hands-on cooking classes plus sightseeing through Tuscany, Umbria and Alto Lazio. Visits to Caprarola, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, Assisi, Orvieto, Deruta, Castelnuovo d'Abate, Civita di Bagnoregio, Viterbo & Castiglione in Teverina. Visits to wineries, an olive oil mill and a Deruta ceramics factory.
Kika & Sam Highlights : Villa Baroncino Umbria, Cortona Tuscany Italy
In July we were lucky enough for the amazing Kika & Sam, from the USA to choose us as there Wedding Videographer. They chose the beautiful Villa Baroncino as their wedding venue. Deep in the Tuscan hills in Italy the villa is a truly breath taking location to have your wedding. Here is their highlights. Hit the HD and enjoy.
Exploring Cortona, Italy in the Tuscany Region
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Simply Paula Jean. Today I am going to share our visit to Cortona, Italy. Cortona is a small town in the Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley, in the province of Arezzo in southern Tuscany.
The city, enclosed by stone walls dating back to Etruscan and Roman times, has quaint shops and restaurants and has a spectacular view of the surrounding valley and even Lake Trasimeno!
It was a great way to spend our last day in the Umbria and Tuscany region! We explored the Piazza della Repubblica which is such a relaxing area to hang out and people watch!
Have you ever been to Cortona? I'd love to hear about your experience there or anywhere in Italy. Leave me a message, and let's talk about Italy!
Cortona Tuscany - Italy Road Trip 2018
Cortona Tuscany - Italy Road Trip 2018
Driving from Florence to Cortona Italy, Tuscany continues to surprise me.
Cortona is a beautiful hillside town with amazing views and close to Villa Laura which was the house used to film Under the Tuscan Sun.
The thing that surprised me most when I arrived in Cortona was the outdoor elevator which connects the towns car park at the bottom of the hill with the largely pedestrianised town centre of Cortona.
Of all the Tuscany destinations so far on my Italy road trip Cortona must be one of the best places to visit in Tuscany.
If you want to see what else Cortona has in store for me then don't forget to subscribe and click on the bell to receive notification when my next video of Cortona is published.
Does Cortona live up to its 'Under the Tuscan Sun' reputation? (Vagabond Italia) March 2018
(See travel blog VAGABOND ITALIA to find out the full story about why this Aussie family has packed up their lives and escaped to Italy for 12 months at
I won't lie, one of the reasons I first decided to visit Italy some years ago was because I fell in love with the film 'Under the Tuscan Sun' (2003) with Diane Lane. This film is set in the most quaint little town called Cortona, in Tuscany where she goes on holiday, but then impulsively buys a villa in order to escape her life back home in San Francisco. I have a feeling this romantic theme festered inside of me.... look at us now!
Now living just a 1.5 hour drive from Cortona in our new home in Tuscany, my husband Nick, baby Harriet and I decided to jump in the car and take a road trip to see if this town was all it was cracked up to be. Knowing how showbiz can be all smoke and mirrors, we had low expectations for it being a tiny non-eventful town but boy were we wrong. I'm not sure if it was a tourism spike from the success of this 2003 movie, but this town had a lot to offer, while at the same time did not feel like a tourist trap.
This short video captures our experiences over the weekend - getting around Cortona, the quality of restaurants, site-seeing and the night life (not that we got to experience much of it with a 1 year old daughter...). We show you why we 100% believe that Cortona does live up to it's reputation from the film and we highly recommend it as a destination for young families like us, friends or couples.
NOTES:
RESTAURANTS - The restaurant mentioned in this video, with the flowers on the balcony is called Osteria del Teatro ( I could give a list of recommendations, but to be honest I think it's safe to say all the restaurants here are wonderful!
ACCOMODATION - We booked an apartment right in the city centre with Rent in Tuscany which was very delightful and affordable and the staff were very friendly and gave us a lot of information and recommendations for our time in Cortona. They also set up a cot and high chair for us pre-arrival which was very handy. We booked through booking.com but I think it is cheaper going directly through (
TO DO WITH KIDS - I don't mention in the video but there is a picture of me with my daughter at a great park called Parterre ( which had swings, gardens, monuments etc. From this park there is also a lovely long tree lined path to take a 20-30 min stroll with the pram and a good coffee.
PARKING - You can't drive your car in Cortona, rather you need to park your car at the large parking bay just at the entrance of the city and walk up a few fights of stairs to the city. Don't be put off though, as we managed with a baby no problems. Here are the in depth directions that my husband and I were given... Once you reach Cortona, search PIAZZA GARIBALDI on your navigator. When you arrive there, I suggest you to drop the luggage off there and then go to leave the car in the unpaved free parking just under this square: you will reach it easily since you need to take the street that goes down to leave the square and then turn right at the STOP road sign you find at the end of this street. Drive straight for 150 mt along most of the parking you could see on your left coming from the square. At almost the end of the street you will find the entrance of the parking on your left: enter and find a place there. I suggest you to arrive at about lunch time in order to find easily the parking as in peak season the town can be crowded. Once you have parked the car, you should go up some steps you will find in the parking, cross the road and walk up in directions of the working escalator that will lead you to the square where you drop the luggage off. One of you waiting for the other in the square with the luggage.
Ciao for now,
Katie, Nick & bambina Harriet
xox
Cortona & Arezzo – the beautiful picturesque villages in Tuscany (Italy)
Cortona is a hill Tuscan town in the province of Arezzo. Surrounded by 3,000 year old Etruscan walls, Cortona is characterized by the medieval architecture with narrow and cozy streets.
Arezzo, the beautiful medieval city that served as the backdrop for the movie “La vida es bella”. Staring from La piazza Grande with old palaces and churches…
Живописная Тосканская деревня Кортона и город Ареццо.
CORTONA UMBRIA / AREZZO TOSCANA (TUSCANY - ITALY)
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Cortona Italy 2010
Cortona is an appealing historic town perched on a steep hill in Tuscany, with views over both Tuscany and Umbria, One of the best-selling books about Italy in recent years, Under the Tuscan Sun is set in Cortona.