What is Cortona known for?

One of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League, with two kilometers of fourth-century BC walls still standing. Second-century BC bronze plaque in the MAEC, the longest known inscription in the Etruscan language. Frances Mayes's 1996 memoir of buying a villa outside town that turned Cortona into one of the most visited hill towns in Tuscany.

When is the best time to visit Cortona?

Apr–Oct. April through June brings green hills, cool evenings and the longest hours in the Diocesano without a queue. September and October are the dry, gold months, light coming in low across Lake Trasimeno and the olive harvest running until November. July and August are the difficult months. The bus tours start at nine, the centro storico fills, and Piazza della Repubblica stays warm past midnight. The Cortona On The Move photography festival in July and August fills the palazzi and the empty churches with exhibitions. November through March is quiet. Many restaurants close on Mondays and Tuesdays and some hotels close entirely. The Sagra della Bistecca in mid-August feeds five thousand under the trees of the Parterre.

Cortona is a comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany region of Italy, about 49 kilometers from Perugia.

How do I get to Cortona?

From Perugia, Cortona is roughly 49 km by road.

Cortona, Arezzo

Known for

ETRUSCAN LUCUMONIA
One of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League, with two kilometers of fourth-century BC walls still standing.
TABULA CORTONENSIS
Second-century BC bronze plaque in the MAEC, the longest known inscription in the Etruscan language.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
Frances Mayes's 1996 memoir of buying a villa outside town that turned Cortona into one of the most visited hill towns in Tuscany.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

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Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Margherita da Cortona, 22 February

Why come

Cortona stands on the southern flank of the Val di Chiana, looking across to Lake Trasimeno. The Etruscan name Curtun is fixed on the Tabula Cortonensis, a second-century BC bronze plaque now in the MAEC, the longest known inscription in the language. In the fourth century BC, Cortona was one of the twelve lucumoniae of the Etruscan League.

Two kilometers of Etruscan walls still ring the city, the foundation under everything Roman and medieval that came after. In 1211, Francis of Assisi asked the bishop for a place to retreat in prayer; Le Celle, three kilometers below the town, was the result and remains a working Franciscan convent. Santa Margherita, the city's patron, lived and died here in 1297 and her basilica caps the ridge.

The painters Luca Signorelli and Pietro da Cortona were born inside the walls. Frances Mayes published Under the Tuscan Sun in 1996. The town has not been quiet since.

What to see

Mura etrusche
Two kilometers of fourth-century BC walls still ringing the city, the foundation of every later layer of building.
MAEC
Museum of the Etruscan Academy in Palazzo Casali, holding the Tabula Cortonensis and the lampadario di Cortona.
Museo Diocesano
Collection in the former Chiesa del Gesù with Beato Angelico's Annunciation of 1430 and works by Luca Signorelli.
Basilica di Santa Margherita
Fourteenth-century basilica above the town, holding the body of Cortona's patron saint who died here in 1297.
Eremo Le Celle
Franciscan convent founded in 1211 at the request of Francis of Assisi, still inhabited by friars in cells on both sides of a narrow valley.
Fortezza del Girifalco
Medicean fortress at the top of the hill, built on Etruscan foundations, used for exhibitions and views over the Val di Chiana.
Piazza della Repubblica
Civic square at the city's center, dominated by the Palazzo Comunale and its open stone stairs.

We’ve tried

What we got up to

Restaurants, walks, swims — the things we actually did in and around Cortona, each with the piece we wrote about it.

Erbe, the bitter boiled greens that make a kilo of rare beef sit like a virtue.
Erbe | The Greens on the Side
The bistecca alla fiorentina, and why everyone who tries to improve it ruins it.
The Fiorentina Steak | Leave it alone

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

Osteria del TeatroRistorante
A Slow Food snail for Osteria del Teatro, along with a Gambero Rosso listing and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Il FalconiereRistorante
Il Falconiere has one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100).
Al ToccoRistorante
Al Tocco carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
Enoteca MeucciRistorante
Enoteca Meucci carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
La BucacciaRistorante
La Bucaccia holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Locanda del MolinoRistorante
Locanda del Molino carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Taverna Pane e VinoWine Bar
Taverna Pane e Vino holds two Gambero Rosso bottles.
Monastero di CortonaHotel
One Michelin Key, at Monastero di Cortona.
Relais Il FalconiereHotel
Relais Il Falconiere carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Relais La Corte Dei PapiHotel
Relais La Corte Dei Papi holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.

Living here

Population 21,133
Off the beaten pathi
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 2 h 17 min drive
Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 25 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 494 m
Population: 21,133
Surface area: 342.97 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Perugia

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.