In San Martino you can relax in the swimming pool drinking an excellent glass of Cortona Syrah, but you can also have an unforgettable experience visiting the most important places of artistic, historical, cultural, gastronomic interest in Tuscany and Umbria. Here are some suggestive itineraries.
The history rich Etruscan town fascinates for its churches and monumental palaces and for its picturesque alleys full of craft shops and trattorias. From the panoramic terraces in Piazza Garibaldi and besides the Church Santa Margherita you can enjoy itsstunning location on a 500 meters high hill. The gaze wanders up down the Valdichianato the Trasimeno lake admiring the shapes of the mounts Cetona and Amiata.
To art lovers Cortona offers a unique heritage of precious treasures, such as the collection of MAEC, Museodell’AccademiaEtrusca and the masterpieces of Luca Signorelli in the Diocesan Museum.
The ancient palaces in the historic center narrate the history of the city as well as the Town Hall, the Church Santa Margherita, the Franciscan Hermitage Le Celle and the Fortress Girifalco.
A stay in Tuscany must absolutely include a visit to Florence, a unique city in the world, where artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Raffaello lived, worked and left their incomparable artworks during the Renaissance.
You can easily visit Florence walking from Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria. Here you can admire the imposing Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall of the city and the copy of Michelangelo’s David. Following the arcades of the Uffizi Gallerie to the Arno River you will reach the iconic Ponte Vecchio with its goldsmith and jewellery shops and then go up for an aperitif to Piazzale Michelangelo.
To enjoy the authentic Tuscan life you can’t miss a stop at the covered San Lorenzo market near the Central Station. The ground floor is a market with butchers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable vendors and small artisan stalls. On the first floor you can savour the delicious Florentine Steak served on a wooden board and other delicacies.
Easily reached by car or by train (about 15 minutes from the station Camucia-Cortona), Arezzo is an enchanting medieval city with important churches, museums and many historical buildings from different eras such as the Roman anphitheatre, the Medici Fortress and the medieval towers. The simple Gothic building of the Church of San Francesco preserves inside the famous frescos by Piero della Francesca telling the legend of the True Cross, a Renaissance masterpiece of priceless value.
On the third Saturday in June and on the first Sunday in September you can admire in Piazza Grande the Joust of the Saracen (Moor), a medieval tournament where 8 knights compete and aim at the Saracen and its shield with a wooden lance.
The Antique Fair takes place every first Sunday of the month and the previous Saturday and is an unmissable event for antiquity, vintage and modern art lovers.
The city lies on a hill just in front of San Martino agliUlivi and in the evening gives us a stunning light show. The center of the town is the Piazza Grande surrounded by the Cathedral, by elegant Renaissance buildings and by the characteristic Town Hall, a miniature version of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Right here the American tv series “The Medicis – Master of Florence“ and „Moonlight“ from the series Twilight have been shot.
In the steep streets of the historical centre you can find typical craft shops and several wine shops and wineries where tasting and buying Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of the oldest wines in Italy, made primarily from Sangiovese grapes grown in the area.
An event not to be missed in July is the annual edition of Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte (concerts, musical and theatrical works by young artists).
The Trasimeno Lake can be reached in few minutes by car or by train getting off at the station Castiglione del Lago. It is the right place for activities in nature: mountain biking, hiking and boat tours to discover the two islands Maggiore and Polvese. Fans of fishing can take part in fishing trips with the local fishermen cooperative.
The Lake is dotted with small villages stunning with their medieval historic centres and their green lake promenades: Castiglione del Lago, Magione, Panicale, Passignano. By ferry you can easily get to the islands Maggiore und Polvese, full of wildlife and natural habitats.
On Wednesday you can visit the colourful weekly market in Castiglione del Lago where you can buy typical food, clothes, shoes, bags, fabrics and homeware.
Visiting Siena means travelling through time. The ancient historical center is the same as it would have appeared back in 1300. In the late Middle Ages the most important buildings that you can admire today were erected: the Piazza del Campo’s unmistakable seashell shape, that twice a year becomes the hippodrome for the Palio delle Contrade, the Palazzo Comunale and its Torre del Mangia and the magnificient Cathedral.
Near Siena there are some of the most famous places in Tuscany. The skyline of San Gimignano is known all over the world thanks to its still intact and visitable towers. They have earned it the name of „medieval Manhattan“. In Asciano you can meet the typical blue and grey „lunar“ landscape of the Crete senesi. In this area the precious white truffle grows.
Buonconvento is a small town which developed in the thirteenth century along the Via Francigena, the ancient route that led pilgrims from Canterbury to Rome.
The fascinating landscape of the Val d’Orcia is since 2004 part of UNESCO World Heritage side list and is stunning because of its unspoiled and wonderful nature with rolling hills, isolated cypress trees, lonely farmhouses and golden valleys of cornfields.
The most famous cities are Pienza und Montalcino. Pienza is known as the “ideal” city of the Renaissance. It was created by Pope Pius II in just three years starting from 1459. He ordered to build imposing palaces, the Cathedral, the Town Hall. Walking through its ancient streets you can come across craft workshops and art galleries.
Montalcino is dominated by its impressive fortress built in 1361. In the medieval alleys there are shops of arts and crafts, coffee shops, restaurants and wine bars. It is famous in the world thanks to its prestigious wine Brunello which you can taste in several wine cellars. All wineries organise guided tours in the vineyards and in their cellars.
The region Umbria boasts a great tradition of hospitality and high-quality gastronomic products. The capital city is Perugia which has an university among the oldest in the world, founded in 1308. The Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Fontana Maggiore represent the unchanged medieval historic center. An unmissable stop is the visit of the House of Chocolate, the famous confectionery factory Perugina.
Not far away is Assisi, a typical medieval Umbria town that was the birthplace of St. Francis. He began here his journey to change the Church of Rome. Everything attests his existence: small and great churches, miraculous places, crypts which attract thousands of devotees. For art lovers, inside the churches, there are masterpieces by important artists of the 14th Century such as Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini. To complete the itinerary of St. Francis you can go to Gubbio and visit the cave where he lived and the churches dedicated to him.
With only a 30 minute drive from Cortona, you can spend a day in the Thermal Park of San Giovanni in Rapolano. The thermal area is immersed in a over 20 hectares park in the splendid landscape of the Crete Senesi. The park hosts four thermal pools, one indoor and three outdoor. The thermal spring water emerges naturally from the ground and has naturally differentiated temperatures ranging from 30° to 36°, it is rich in mineral elements and therapeutic properties which help to improve the skin, the respiratory and muscular systems.
The average depth of the pools is one meter. There are also Jacuzzis, solarium spaces and submerged seating. The Spa offers beauty treatments with medicinal plants and thermal mud. In the park, you can find indoor relax lounges, a restaurant, a bistrot, a gym, a cocktail bar and a café.
Given the water temperature, the visit is recommended in the mid-season and in winter.