Central Tuscany: The Best of Cortona — 2015

by Scott Tiezzi Grabinger

New and Expanded Guide to Cortona
This new, expanded 2015 guidebook on Cortona invites you to spend a couple of days in Cortona to experience the rhythms of daily life. Founded by Noah—if you believe the legends, it sits high on a hill that overlooks much of central Tuscany from the Valdichiana to Lake Trasimeno in Umbria.

In this book you find information to:
• learn about the art and sites of Cortona,
• get an idea of mobility accessibility,
• use GPS coordinates for navigating,
• decide if a site is something that interests you,
• cook from my Italian family’s authentic recipes.

Visit some of the best sites in Cortona:
• Watch the people from the Piazza Repubblica.
• Visit the Piazza Signorelli and the Teatro Signorelli.
• Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca e della Città. Look at the Cortona area from the early Etruscans to the ancient Romans to the nineteenth century.
• Museo Diocesano. The best small museum in Tuscany with paintings of Luca Signorelli and other Renaissance and modern (after 17th c.) works of art.
• Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta next to the Museo Diocesano.
• Chiesa di San Domenico and its magnificent altarpiece.
• Chiesa di San Francesco with relics of St. Francis.
• Tiny Chiesa di San Niccolò and the back-to-back Signorelli paintings.
• Santuario di Santa Margherita. Venerate the incorrupt body of Santa Margherita near the top of the Cortona hill.
• The Melone Sodo II Etruscan Excavations at the bottom of the hill.
• Overlook Tuscany to Umbria and Lago Trasimeno from the fortezza just above the Santuario di Santa Margherita.

Reader Comments from a past edition:

” Basic guide to a Tuscan City. I intend to take it with me when I go there. Very handy guide.”
“He takes you through lesser-known villages and churches in the same detail that the big commercial guides provide for the usual must-sees, so that you come to understand what a cultural wealth is to be found in even the most out-of-the-way places.”

104 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Adventures of Travel in Tuscany

I love travel. More to the point, I live to travel.

My first extended trip was the summer of 1966 (where I went to summer school in Bogotá, Colombia. I lived with a good family and they left me alone to explore (as long as I went to school every day). That thrill of discovery and independence at the age of 16 was ingrained forever.

Now, a retired university professor, I live for the adrenaline rush of discovery and for the pleasure to impart what I learn to others in my guidebooks and my book of adventures and misadventures in Tuscany.

Family Experience

My specialty is south central Tuscany. I've been traveling around Tuscany and Italy since 1992. In Tuscany I have a multitude of cousins who help me write books with a unique perspective that other writers miss and that only family and extended visits can provide. Thanks to them I've attended food festivals and antique fairs; I've found tiny hill towns that few visit, and learned to speak Italian (which opens hundreds of doors).

What makes my books unique?>

I realized that no one needs another guide about the major sites of Tuscany, so my focus is on the lesser known gems — places missed by a first time visitor and that a repeat visitor wants to see — sites that other guidebooks cover in 30 words or less. I assume that the return visitor to Tuscany wants to take a closer look at the art, food, festivals, and culture. I also add "extras" to the books: background, history, recipes from my Italian family, and stories about the culture and people.

Go. Travel.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I wrote the book, so take this with a grain of salt.

Thanks to Frances Mayes' book, Under the Tuscan Sun Cortona is one of the most popular towns in Tuscany, and for good reason. It has one of the best Etruscan museums in Tuscany, the MAEC and the best small museum (well, as far as my limited experience goes), the Museo Diocesano.

Cortona is small and it can be visited in a long day or two short days. It has excellent restaurants, and as I found out afternoon after climbing the Cortona hill twice and starving, even on the main tourist street.

The book is small because I've kept it to the main churches and museums, ones that are reliably open.

In my next version I'll make work more on sorting out the maze of the MAEC. There will be some minor changes in the 2016 version.

Thanks for considering.

[Leeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in the giveaways. Information wise, I'm very impressed. There's lots and lots of information. When I go to Italy I will for sure take it with me as I think it is a great reference and guidebook. I was hoping for pictures in color. The cover has these beautiful pictures but the pictures on the insides are all in black and white. However, he includes maps of each location and gives websites and information you need to know before you go. I like that he includes recipes as well. Overall a good book!