Cortona & Eastern Tuscany

"Under the Tuscan Sun" town with major Etruscan origins. MAEC museum has extraordinary artifacts. The views over Valdichiana are the stuff of postcards.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Find the Object That Stumped Scholars for 2,000 Years History · Price: moderate

   Room 1 holds THE chandelier — a 60cm wide, 57.72kg bronze lamp with Medusa's head at center, surrounded by fighting animals, waves, and eight ithyphallic Sileni flanking 16 bull-horned oil burner nozzles. Found in 1840, researchers finally figured out in 2024 after 184 years that it's a CULT OBJECT for Dionysus worship. Find it at MAEC Museum (Piazza Luca Signorelli 9, €12 entry, Apr-Oct 10am-7pm). Next, see the Tabula Cortonensis: a bronze tablet that increased known Etruscan vocabulary by 10% in a single 1992 discovery — it's not a prayer but a real estate contract about land near Lake Trasimeno.

   Backup: If the museum is closed (Monday Nov–Mar), the exterior of Piazza Signorelli and the medieval Palazzo Casali that houses the museum are free to explore from outside.

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2. 2 Walk the Walls That Were Ancient When Rome Was Young Adventure · Free

   The stone walls you're touching were built by Etruscans around 380 BC — 130 years BEFORE Rome conquered the area. The massive square stones fit without mortar; you can feel the joins with your fingers. Start at Porta Montanina (the best-preserved Etruscan gate) on the northern edge and walk roughly clockwise to Piazza Garibaldi. This belvedere made Frances Mayes write 'Under the Tuscan Sun' — the entire Valdichiana valley spreads below where Chianina cattle have grazed for 2,400 years. Come 30 minutes before sunset for the view that converted a San Francisco poet into a Tuscan landowner.

   Backup: If weather closes in, the view from the Basilica Santa Margherita above town (30-minute steep climb, free) is even higher and more dramatic — Lake Trasimeno fills the horizon.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine That Forced Italy to Rewrite Its DOC Rules Wine · Price: moderate

   In 1967, professor Attilio Scienza spent 30 years studying why the Cortona hills felt climatically identical to the Northern Rhône — his conclusion: plant Syrah. In 1992, Tenimenti D'Alessandro produced Il Bosco, the first pure Syrah from these Etruscan hills, so good that Italy gave Cortona its own DOC in 1999. Today, 80% of Cortona DOC production is Syrah. Book the Classic Tasting at Tenimenti D'Alessandro (tenimentidalessandro.it, €20, 4 wines including the Bosco) or visit Enoteca Meucci (Loc. Riccio 71) which stocks Amerighi, D'Alessandro, and Dionisio at the same bar with five-course menus (€65).

   Backup: Enoteca Molesini on Piazza della Repubblica hosts free Thursday wine tastings from 3:30pm — guest producers from across Italy present their wines with no admission charge.

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4. 4 Order the Pasta That Grows Its Garlic Right Below Your Feet History · Price: low

   Pici all'Aglione is Cortona's signature dish — fat, hand-rolled pasta (no egg, no machine) served with aglione sauce made from giant, sweet garlic grown exclusively in the Valdichiana below. Aglione bulbs can weigh 300g each and have been bred here since Roman times to be mild and digestible. At La Bucaccia da Romano (Via Ghibellina 17, Michelin Bib Gourmand), also order quadrotti ravioli filled with Chianina beef — the cattle literally named for this valley have grazed the Valdichiana for 2,400 years. Reservations essential at labucaccia.it.

   Backup: Osteria del Santo offers stracci with Chianina ragù and Parmesan fondue — equally authentic, slightly lighter.

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5. 5 Discover St. Francis's First Monastery, Still Occupied Adventure · Free · Optional

   In 1211, Francis of Assisi found the solitude he needed in a gorge at the foot of Monte Sant'Egidio and built Eremo Le Celle — his FIRST monastery. He returned here in 1226, the year he died, after receiving the stigmata. His actual cell is still there: spartan, small, with a bed, chair, and wooden plank desk. The Capuchin monks who took over in 1537 still live here in cells cut directly into rock inside a wooded canyon with a stream running through. Drive or walk 3km north of Cortona (GPS: 43.2949, 11.9826) for this uncommercial, layer-3 Cortona experience that 90% of visitors never find.

   Backup: If the hermitage is closed for a monastic retreat period, the Etruscan Melone tombs at Sodo (2km south on SS71) are a completely different register of Cortona's depth — burial mounds from 580 BC with a 10-step ceremonial staircase still intact, included with the MAEC ticket.

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Insider tips

• MAEC Etruscan museum is excellent

• Bramasole (book's villa) is visible from town

• Cortona DOC wines are improving rapidly

• Sunset from Piazza Garibaldi is famous