Arezzo

In the golden hills of eastern Tuscany, where the upper Arno valley meets the ridges that divide it from Umbria, the city of Arezzo has been accumulating beauty, culture, and mercantile wealth for close to three thousand years. This Etruscan foundation — older than Rome itself — gave the world Gaius Maecenas, the great patron of Virgil and Horace whose name became a byword for artistic sponsorship. Centuries later, Giorgio Vasari, the painter, architect, and author of the first art-history text, was born here. And Piero della Francesca chose the Basilica of San Francesco as the site for his Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle — one of the supreme masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, and alone worth the journey to this understated Tuscan city.

Arezzo's character is that of a confident, prosperous city that has never needed the tourist crowds of Florence or Siena to validate its existence. The Piazza Grande, one of Italy's most satisfying public spaces, slopes dramatically downward past Vasari's elegant loggia, the Romanesque apse of Santa Maria della Pieve, and a collection of medieval tower houses and Renaissance palaces that create an architectural ensemble spanning seven centuries. The monthly antiques fair that fills this piazza on the first weekend of each month is the largest in Italy, drawing dealers and collectors from across Europe. Cinema buffs will recognise the square as the setting for Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful, much of which was filmed in these streets.

Arezzo's culinary tradition is rooted in the Tuscan ethos of superb ingredients treated with reverence and restraint. The Chianina beef raised in the valley below the city is the source of the legendary bistecca alla fiorentina — a thick T-bone grilled over oak charcoal and served rare, seasoned only with salt, olive oil, and the smoky kiss of the flame. Ribollita, the bread-thickened vegetable soup, pici pasta with wild boar ragu, and crostini topped with chicken liver pate represent the Tuscan kitchen at its most elemental. The surrounding hills produce exceptional olive oils and wines — the Chianti dei Colli Aretini and the Cortona DOC reds reward exploration, offering the flavours of Tuscany without the premium prices of more famous appellations.

From Arezzo, the treasures of eastern Tuscany and neighbouring Umbria spread outward with unusual density. Cortona, made famous by Under the Tuscan Sun, perches on a hilltop twenty minutes to the south. Sansepolcro, birthplace of Piero della Francesca and home to his sublime Resurrection fresco, lies thirty minutes east. The medieval hilltop town of Anghiari, site of a famous battle painted by Leonardo da Vinci, offers artisan workshops and panoramic views. Across the Umbrian border, the cities of Perugia and Assisi — the latter a pilgrimage site centred on the Basilica of St. Francis — are within easy reach.

Arezzo is accessible by train from Florence in approximately ninety minutes and from Rome in two and a half hours. The city is also a stop on several river and canal itineraries that include Tuscan overland excursions. The best months to visit are April through June and September through October, when the weather is warm, the light is at its most golden, and the tourist numbers are manageable. The first Sunday of each month brings the antiques fair, and June and September see the Giostra del Saracino — a medieval jousting tournament held in the Piazza Grande that animates the entire city with pageantry, competition, and neighbourhood pride.