Poggio Pellicciaia

Originally an Umbrian city, it was conquered and enlarged by the Etruscans , who called it Curtun . Cortona divenne una colonia romana con il nome di Corito. Cortona eventually became a Roman colony under the name Corito . Durante il invasioni barbariche del 553, Cortona fu saccheggiata e distrutta dai Goti. During the barbarian invasions of the 553, Cortona was sacked and destroyed by the Goths. Cortona divenne una Ghibellinian città stato nel 13 ° secolo, con una propria moneta. Cortona became a Ghibellinian city state in the 13th century, with its own currency. Dal 1325-1409 la famiglia Ranieri-Casali con successo governato la città. From 1325 to 1409 the Ranieri-Casali family successfully ruled the town. Dopo essere stata conquistata da Ladislao di Napoli nel 1409, Cortona fu venduto ai Medici nel 1411. After being conquered by Ladislaus of Naples in 1409, Cortona was sold to the Medici in 1411. Nel 1737, il ramo alto della dinastia dei Medici si estinse e Cortona passò sotto l'amministrazione della Casa di Lorena. In 1737, the senior branch of the Medici line went extinct and Cortona came under the authority of the House of Lorraine. Dopo la guerre di Indipendenza italiane , Toscana - Cortona inclusa - a far parte del Regno d'Italia . Following the Italian Wars of Independence , Tuscany - Cortona included - became part of the Kingdom of Italy .

Arezzo lies on a hill close to the Apennine 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. 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 of San Francesco host 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.

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 Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Going up the hill you see the Borg, the medieval core surrounded by imposing XVI cent. Walls. In the heart of the historic centre stands the Palazzo Taglieschi, seat of the Municipal Museum which houses fine works of art (a polychrome wood Madonna by Jacopo della Quercia, some Della Robbia terracotte, a XVI cent. portable organ still working). In spring the lanes of the village are animated by crowds of visitors coming to the traditional Arts and Crafts Fair.

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. A particular appointment in the summer is the theatrical event Teatro Popolare Il Giogo , which is held every year in Montagnano, during July.

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 way, is represented the precariousness of human life. The imagination and the inspiration of its characters are shown in spring on the occasion of the Maggiolata Lucignanese where the sounds and colours relive a tradition rich in history and music.

Siena is one of Italy' s most beautiful cities, situated in the centre of Tuscany between the Chianti area and the Maremma, rich in history, art and popular traditions, it is the city of the Palio. Siena still preserves intact its medieval aspect: it is built on three hills; full of steep, winding alley-ways, enclosed within the circle of its massive walls (some seven kilometres in lenght) which seem to safeguard its culture and the treasures of its art and history. Of Etruscan origin, it was a Roman colony; its importance grew in the Middle Ages, first as the seat of Longobard, and then of Counts under the Carolingian domination. After a long period of Episcopal domination the town reached a peak of power after becoming a municipality, undertaking a policy of expansion towards the bordering territories. Confrontation with Florence was inevitable and the struggle lasted, with various vicissitudes, until when after a long siege, Siena was conquered by the Florentines, losing its autonomy and becoming part of the Duchy, sharing its fortunes until unification with Italy.

Native land of the Brunello that has been defined one of the best and more famous Italian wine, Montalcino from the high of its 567 meters, dominates all the surrounding countryside. Just outside the city, near Castelnuovo dell'Abate , you find the Romanesque abbey of Sant' Antimo. This intimate and impressive temple was founded by Carlo Magno in 781 and it preserves an almost enchanted atmosphere.

Perugia, the great "Guelf strong-hold" rises up in the region's heart, with its 5 storical quarters closed-in by its Etruscan town walls. These enormous bastions formed by cyclopic square masses, were constructed 22 centuries ago and are still visible for long stretches. When the city of Rome was little more that an encampment of huts, one could already enter the etruscan Perugia using one of 7 portals, among which one was particularly mighty, the Porta Pulchra or of Augustus, dating back to Etruscan times.

Assisi, for the wealth of its monuments, can be considered one of the richer artistic Italian destination. The historical vicissitudes that the city has known have left most precious testimonies: in the shape of Churches, Palaces and Castles. In the main public square of the city it is found, perfectly preserved, a Roman Temple ( Tempio di Minerva), but, definitely, the jewel of the city, fulcrum of the world-wide religiosity, is the Basilica of Saint Francisco.

Chianti is a historic-geographical region, symbol of the culture of Tuscan farm workers, who understand the hills that rise between the mountains of Chianti in the west and the river Arno. Ombrone and Arbia are to the east; and so the territory that embraces the southern part of the province of Florence and the northern part of that of Siena. Hilly areas with a rocky terrain of which it seems miraculous that a thin fertile strata may be so luxuriant, with woods, vines, olives and vegetables. A geographic region that has a history because of the conflict between Siena and Arezzo and between Florence and Siena, land of saints and fighters, of great artists, of farm workers and lords, land of hills, of knolls, with farms and villas, castles and parish churches, abbeys and cropped towers, stone hamlets and austere palaces, a land that has, for about five centuries, given life to a wine of which is the most famous of Italy.

Pienza is a small jewel of the Renaissance in the heart of Tuscany in the province of Siena, it owes its name and its reputation to Enea Silvio Piccolomini become famous as Pio the II. Known in the high Middle Ages with the name of Corsignano it was a Siena-stronghold. All its beautiful architecture was committed just from Pope Pio II between 1459 and 1462 to one of the most famous architect: Bernardo Rossellino, he transformed the village of Corsignano in one splendid Renaissance small town, an exceptional example of architecture and urban planning of the fifteenth century.