Why the hillside town of Cortona should be on your Tuscan holiday itinerary

Cortona is one of Tuscany’s most famous hillside towns and with good reason. Being nestled on the steep slopes of a hill that protrudes from the Val di Chiana, this picturesque town boasts a maze of streets that go in one direction only – upwards!

Cortona’s origins date to the Etruscan period. The town is surrounded by defensive walls built when Cortona was one of the ‘Etruscan Dodecapoli’ – a league of 12 cities during the Etruscan era.

One of the biggest highlights of this characterful Tuscan town is its museums. For example, the Cortona Etruscan Museum houses art that is regarded as amongst the best Etruscan and Egyptian art in the world, while the Cortona Diocesan Museum, has some incredible works from the early Renaissance.

Being the home to some of the world’s most important and influential works of art, it stands to reason that Cortona has a lively arts and culture scene. All year round some kind of art and craft event takes place, including a famous annual antiques exhibition, a folkloric crossbow competition, which takes place on the last day of Cortona’s Medieval Week, and a monthly bric-a-brac market.

Through the network of steeply rising streets, lined with wonderful Renaissance architecture, lies Cortona’s main square, which provides a characterful focal point in the town.

On the town’s highest point sits a huge Medicean fort, which boasts incredible views of the town below and across the beautifully verdant Val di Chiana – Valley of the River Chiana.

The unrivalled Tuscan landscape is scattered with compelling hillside and hilltop towns, each with their own stories to tell that date back centuries. If you are looking for some cultural, historical and artistic gratification, then you will certainly find it in the unique town of Cortona.