Arezzo city

July 25, 2018

- In the Arezzo center (within 2 km) Historic villages (reachable by car)

Arezzo certainly has a lot to offer to those visiting: the historical and artistic heritage is little known, but so rich and beautiful as to surprise and amaze all visitors; The food is genuine and in the restaurants you can taste all the tasty dishes of the Aretine culinary tradition; At any time of year, in all the small or large towns of our Province, you will always find a fair, a market, a carousel or a tournament that will make you experience the most “Tuscan” experience!

The city is extraordinarily ancient, older than Alexandria of Egypt and it is demonstrated by the discovery of stone tools and the so-called Paleolithic Man of the Elm while the Etruscan Arretium has traces already from the IX century . B.C. Arezzo was one of the most important Etruscan cities in Tuscany and later a strategically important Roman city. It was the center of flourishing economic activities, and rich in valuable monuments among which we remember the Amphitheater with its conspicuous remains.

Renowned were its foundries and the artistic factories of red-painted vases (called corals vases) whose technique spread throughout the Roman world. In the Middle Ages Arezzo was a free commune where the interests of the Ghibelline part often prevailed, in antagonism with nearby Florence.

After the route of Campaldino (1289), his fortune was compromised and, despite a certain recovery under the Tarlati, he ended up succumbing and became a Florentine dominion (1384). As such, it became part of the Medici Grand Duchy with the rest of Tuscany. Few other territories in Italy can offer such a vast environmental and cultural naturalistic heritage in such a small area.

The frescoes by Piero della Francesca in the Duomo alone are worth a visit to the city. But even the heart of the medieval village tells the great seasons of art and architecture of Arezzo.

Next to the medieval towers, stand the imposing Loggiato Vasariano , the Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici, a synthesis of Gothic and Renaissance architecture and the apse of the Parish Church of Santa Maria. In the Basilica of San Domenico is preserved the painted cross of Cimabue , a youthful work by the artist. Many other churches and palaces testify with their beauty and their stylistic originality the civilization of Arezzo and its importance in the various historical periods.

Information and useful advice Piazza Grande , the penultimate Saturday in June and the first Sunday in September, becomes the scenario of the Giostra del Saracino , a medieval knightly tournament. The same square and a large part of the historic center host, on the first Sunday of the month and the previous Saturday, the Antique Fair .

Bargaining the price is a very fine art for the Aretine “bancherellai”, you have to adapt. Do not miss the Chianina cows, huge beasts with a typical white /black coat, in the countryside around the city. Arezzo always maintained an important and prestigious role in Tuscany thanks to its position along the Via Cassia.

Many famous people who were born in Arezzo, among all Giorgio Vasari , Piero della Francesca , Guido Monaco , Francesco Redi and Petrarca . Although part of the medieval city was destroyed during the Second World War, the center of Arezzo preserves splendid monuments, churches, palaces and museums. The Basilica of San Francesco is perhaps the most famous church in the city.

Inside it preserves the cycle of frescoes by Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca, a Renaissance masterpiece of inestimable value. And then the Medici Fortress, the Roman Amphitheater and the Church of San Francesco with the wooden Crucifix of Cimabue.