CORTONA |
This charming hillside town was our home for a week. Once settled in the hotel San Luca, we opened the shutters in our room to admire our view of the Santa Maria delle Grazie Cathedral and the valley below, the Val de Chiana. Cortona is filled with museums and churches that house works of art by many of Italy's masters. Our favorite museum is the Museo Diocesano where we saw the famous Annunciation by Beato Angelico. Parts of the city date back to the 8th and 7th centuries B.C.! We had plenty of time to explore the town by walking around winding streets paved with large stone slabs and hiking up the hills. Hiking to higher elevations provided spectacular views of the valleys below. We also walked to Frances Mayes' villa, Bramasole. Ms. Mayes wrote the popular books, Bella Tuscany: Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy. |
| This scene was our first view of Cortona as our bus began a steep climb up the winding road to the town. We were glad we weren't driving so we could just relax and enjoy the scenery! Cortona is surrounded by powerful walls smoothed down by centuries and winds. The large church in the foreground is the Santa Maria delle Grazie Cathedral, a Renaissance jewel. Cypress trees and olive groves dot the landscape. | |
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| This is the Piazza della Repubblica, the piazza just down the street from our hotel. The piazza is lined with shops and outdoor cafes. In a small town like this, the piazza is the place to "hang out." On a weekend night, it appeared to be quite a gathering place for people of all ages. We noted that it seemed more lively than downtown Winter Park! |  |
 | Another view of the Val di Chiana and in the background, heart shaped Lake Trasimeno, the largest lake in the Italian peninsula. We hiked up the hills to admire this view. This location is difficult to access because tour buses cannot climb the narrow steep streets. (photo courtesy of fellow Gator Pete Stormant) |
| Bramasole is located on the outskirts of town, another uphill walk from our hotel. We almost gave up finding it until we ran into an Italian couple who didn't speak English but pointed us in the right direction. The couple walked by as we were taking this picture. We think the lady was trying to tell us that the wall in front of Bramasole was an Etruscan wall. |  |
 | Our group of fellow Gators, friends and family of Gators, and a few others who just wanted to come to Cortona that week. Dick is in the back row and Karen is just below him. (photo courtesy of fellow Gator Pete Stormant) For more infomation about Cortona, click on the link below: |
