This is a walk from Martin Daykin's "Circular
Walks"
Cortona Walk
(allow 1 hour 45 minutes)
Walking time: 1 hour 20 minutes. Fairly easy, but
a steep descent.
Cortona is an ancient town dating back to Etruscan times.
Look in the lower parts of the town walls and you can still see the
huge blocks of stone that the Etruscan wall was built from. Apart from
the property and tourism boom that the town is currently undergoing,
its heyday was in the medieval period from around 1100 to 1400. During
this era, Cortona was an independent city-state and its grandest buildings
date back to this time. Later, it was a Florentine outpost on the border
with the city-state of Perugia and then the Papal States. A combination
of high taxation and under-investment left the centre in a medieval
time warp. There are two fine Renaissance churches outside the walls
but very little architecture from this period within the town.
 Palazzo
Communale and the Piazza della Repubblica
To Find The Start
Park in one of the car parks outside the town walls, these can be full
during the tourist season so it’s best to arrive early. The walk
begins in the Piazza della Repubblica in the centre of Cortona. The
most impressive building in the square (and the town) is the medieval
town hall, the Palazzo Communale, which dates back to the 1200’s.
Walk synopsis
(A) Leave the centre of Cortona and go through the park.
(B) Climb from near the tennis courts to Torreone, a hamlet at the top
of the town, then go along a track to the church of Santa Margherita.
(C) A quick detour from Santa Margherita up to the Medici Fortress then
down to the Piazza Signorelli through steep medieval streets.
(D) A view from the cathedral wall, then more narrow medieval streets
before returning to the start (A).
Start (A)
0:00
In the Piazza della Repubblica, stand with your back to the steps which
lead up to the Palazzo Communale, and walk along Via Nazionale; this
is the street at the right corner (east) of the Piazza. After 3 minutes,
you should be at the end of the street, ignore Via Santa Margherita
going up to the left. The flagstone-paved street finishes and joins
a tarmac road on a sharp bend.
0:03
Continue straight on, ignoring the road descending to the right near
a war memorial. A minute later, you pass the church of San Domenico
on your left. There is a badly damaged fresco by Fra Angelico behind
glass above the entrance door. Just after the church, turn left into
the public gardens. You pass another war memorial and then a fountain
on the right. A minute later, there is a play area on the left. |
0:05
Continue straight on, there are great views of the Val di Chiana and Lake
Trasimeno from here. Every tree that lines the road represents a person
from the area killed in World War I and II. As you can see, the loss of
life was considerable. 13 minutes from the play area, the gravel ends.
On your left there are some indoor tennis courts (B).
0:18
Follow the tarmac road around to the left, and continue straight on, climbing
steadily. The road is not busy but it is a sensible precaution to walk
on the left so that you face any oncoming traffic. 3 minutes after joining
the tarmac, the road is lined with cypresses. You pass several houses
on the way up, after 15 minutes you pass Bramasole, the house that featured
in the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”. It is covered in orange/yellow
stucco and has a madonnina set in the wall.
0:36
After another 8 minutes, you arrive at the junction at the top. There
is a bar on your left, it’s a good spot to refresh yourself after
the climb (closed Wednesdays). Turn left here and after a minute turn
left again onto the cypress-lined track (sign posted with red and white
markers by the Club Alpini Italia (CAI)). After 3 minutes, the track curves
sharply right and a tarmac road heads off to the left.
0:48
Continue along the track and after 8 minutes, you join a tarmac road (this
is further along the road that you were on when you first joined the track).
Turn left onto the road; go through the city walls, and a minute later,
you are in front of the church of Santa Margherita (C). Avoid using the
bar here; the owner has a tendency to charge tourists higher prices than
those shown on the list.
0:57
Take a quick detour up to the Medici Fortress (which was also the site
of the Etruscan fortress), this is often shut, but the view from up here
makes the short walk worthwhile. Facing the church, take the path going
up diagonally to your left. Just before you get to the fortress, take
a small path on your left, 3 minutes from Santa Margherita you should
be standing on a level piece of ground with a fantastic panoramic view.
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 1:00
Return the way you came (3 minutes) and cross the square, keeping the
facade of the church on your left. Go through the gap in the balustrade
and turn right down a cobbled path. 3 minutes later, the path emerges
onto a street at the top of Cortona. Turn left and then right (straight
on), there is a small church on your right. A minute later, you come
to a square with ilex trees (it is actually shaped like a triangle),
turn right and head down the incredibly steep Via Berretini.
1:07
A minute later, you pass the house of the painter and architect Pietro
da Cortona (Pietro Berretini 1596-1669) on your right. Immediately after,
you pass a large medieval water cistern on your left. Continue down
for another 2 minutes and you pass the church of San Francesco on the
left, the first Franciscan church to be built outside Assisi.
1:10
Immediately after, go straight over the crossroads and down the pedestrian
Via Santucci. 2 minutes later, you are at the bottom; continue straight
on and you are back in the Piazza della Repubblica (A). You may feel
that it’s time for refreshments in one of the bars, if not, continue
with the walk.
1:12
Pass to the right of the Palazzo Communale and a minute later you are
in Piazza Signorelli. Here, you will find the entrance to the Etruscan
Museum (Museo dell’ Accademia Etrusca). The museum houses the
Etruscan artefacts found in the area, a collection of paintings and
Egyptian mummies. It is well worth a look around, but if you are really
interested in the Etruscans, see if you can join a guided tour. You
can also arrange visits to the Etruscan tombs in the plain below Cortona,
where many of the pieces on display were found.
1:13
Exit the Piazza down Via Casale (follow signs to the Cattedrale), cross
Piazza G. Franciolini, into Piazza del Duomo. 2 minutes from Piazza
Signorelli you should be admiring the view from the wall on the edge
of Piazza del Duomo (D).
1:14
Turn around, on your left is the Duomo (Cathederal) and on your right,
the Museo Diocesano, which displays art works from Cortona’s churches.
(Shut Mondays and open 10.00-19.00 from April to October; 10.00-17.00
in other months). The Duomo is only for serious church enthusiasts,
but the small Museo Diocesano contains a wonderful altarpiece depicting
the annunciation by Fra Angelico. It also has a couple of paintings
by Luca Signorelli, the most famous painter from Cortona and a rather
gloomy canvas by Pietro da Cortona, whose house you walked past earlier.
1:14
Walk down Via Zefferini at the far right of Piazza del Duomo, take the
first right onto Via Cioli and turn left onto a narrow street with overhanging
houses, Via Ianelli. This is how much of Cortona would have looked;
the overhangs were removed from most houses to allow light into the
narrow streets. It is now 3 minutes from the wall on the edge of Piazza
del Duomo.
1:17
At the end of Via Ianelli, you can turn left up Via Roma, which will
take you back to the Piazza della Repubblica (A) in 3 minutes. Alternatively,
you can turn right onto Via Roma and then immediately left along the
town wall. Lose yourself in the maze of narrow streets running up from
the wall; as long as you keep going up, you will eventually arrive back
at the square.
1:20
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