Tuscany

81 – (ITA STAGE 33) – Castiglion Fiorentino – Cortona

Place of Departure CASTIGION FIORENTINO
Place of Arrival CORTONA
Length – KM
12,7
Nation of the route Italy
Region Toscana
Uphill Gap
380 m
Downhill Gap
210 m
CAI (Diff. Escurs.) E
Praticability Foot

 

Stage 33 – Castiglion Fiorentino – Cortona – A short stage without particular difficulties but suggestive for the environment crossed, with its stupendous colours, the villas, the history of two Tuscan cities that have little to envy to other more famous ones, for which we have plenty of time to carefully visit Castiglion Fiorentino first and then Cortona.

Leaving the Logge Vasariane, you pass in front of the church of S. Michele, an octagonal temple built on the basis of a design by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and completed in the early seventeenth century. You leave Castiglion Fiorentino, cross two small streams and find yourself in Bigurro, an area of ​​floral greenhouses. We arrive in the square in Montecchio, at the foot of the beautiful castle, former residence of the English knight of fortune John Hawkwood (Giovanni Acuto). Now the track becomes bumpy; go up to Contrada S. Silvestro, then go down to Villa Schiatti. After Contrade Fonte del Mazza, pass the crossroads for Il Borgo. Immediately after there is the indication for “Etruscan tomb” in the locality of San Pietro a Cegliolo. Avoid the SS 71, pass the locality of Tavernelle and the indication for locality Cegliolo. You cross another stream, walk along a ditch. (from this point cyclists take the Strada del Sodo for 2 km). The locality of Sodo is at the gates of Cortona. We visit the Etruscan excavations, immediately beyond the SS 71 in the locality of Il Molino. It is worth it for their spectacularity and historical-religious value. Then, having passed yet another stream, we head towards the SS 71 which we cross. After a while you find yourself in front of what, in addition to a tomb, was certainly an altar for Etruscan religious rites: the main and most spectacular artefact of the Sodo Archaeological Park. To enter Cortona you go back, cross the stream again, then the SS 71. You start climbing the hill where Cortona stands: an ancient path, once a road with still parts in stone. After a while you find yourself in front of Porta Santa Maria and enter Cortona

33 – Points of Interest

Cortona – Ancient Etruscan city and main cultural and tourist center of the Val di Chiana Aretina, on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, it is located on a hill about 600 meters above sea level. As it was for the Etruscans, Cortona is still located in a strategic position that allows, with short trips, to reach important artistic and cultural centers. In ancient times it was connected to Rome by water and this advantage determined its fortunes. In fact, between the 8th and the 7th century B.C., Cortona became an important Etruscan “lucumonia”. It was the Etruscans who built the imposing walls that surround the city for about three kilometres in the 4th century B.C. as well as the noble tumulus tombs, called “meloni”. One of these tombs, that of Sodo, has a monumental funerary altar adorned with sphinxes, a unique example in Italy. Monuments and places of interest: Etruscan walls, Melone I and II del Sodo, Tumulo di Camucia, Villa di Ossaia, Strada Romana del Torrione, Cathedral of Cortona, Church of San Francesco, Convent of the Celle on MAEC (Museum of the Etruscan Academy and the City of Cortona).

please, see the Official Guide of the Via Romea Germanica (www.guidaromea.eu)

 

Bold type for structures we already used
Red type for structures we have an arrangement (with Credential*)
(*) Prices might change for special situations: please book early and ask for confirmation

How to arrive

From airport (BOLOGNA, FIRENZE, PISA) to Arezzo FS Railway Station; from PERUGIA to Perugia  FS Railway Station TRAIN – (www.trenitalia.com) Arezzo FS Railway Station – Castiglion Fiorentino FS Railway Station; Perugia FS Railway Station – Castiglion Fiorentino FS Railway Station BUS/LOCAL TRAIN – bus route (www.etruriamobilita.it/index.php?SEZ=16) Arezzo FS Railway Station – Rigutino -Castiglion Fiorentino FS Railway Station

Where to eat

  Typical Dishes = Buonissimo Typical Dishes = Dissapore Typical Dishes = Initalia Typical Dishes = Gambero Rosso
Conad Via Senese Aretina,79 – 52043 CASTIGLION FIORENTINO      
Crai Rigutino Nord,74 – 52040 RIGUTINO      
Albergo Ristorante Portole Località Portole,39 52044 CORTONA AR 0575-691008 / 335-7871519 info@portole.it www.portole.it
Arrangement

Where to sleep

Albergo Ristorante Portole Località Portole,39 52044 CORTONA AR 0575-691008 / 335-7871519 info@portole.it www.portole.it
Arrangement
La Sosta del Pellegrino – Parrocchia Strada Provinciale Val Di Pierle – Metelliano – 52044 CORTONA-AR 0575-080020 / 335-8044466 sabatini.piero@alice.it Arrangement
Casa di accoglienza Santa Margherita S.Margherita, 2 52044 CORTONA-AR 349-1811181 / 334-9185689 info@conventocortona.it; stefano.giorge@yahoo.it www.santamargheritadacortona.com
Hotel Sabrina Via Roma 37 – 52044 CORTONA-AR 0575-630397 info@hotelsabrinacortona.it www.hotelsabrinacortona.it
Ostello S. Marco (at the moment it is closed) Via Maffei, 57 – 52044 CORTONA 0575 601392 ostellocortona@libero.it www.cortonahostel.com/ostello.htm
Foresteria del Monastero della SS.Trinità (monache cistercensi) via San Niccolò, 2 – 52044 CORTONA-AR 0575-603345 luciana.monastero@gmail.com  
Congregazione Sorelle dei Poveri di S.Caterina da Siena via Santa Margherita,47 – 52044 CORTONA-AR 0575-630343 s.caterinacortona@yahoo.it  
Convento Le Celle – Foretesteria (in autogestione) Strada dei Cappuccini,1   52044 CORTONA-AR 0575-603362    
 I Colori Del Sodo Loc. Sodo,20 – 52044 CORTONA-AR 334-6001347 daniela.grondona@me.com  

Bike Service

Fortini Gian Luca Località Case Sparse-Ossaia,32/d – 52044 CORTONA AR  0575-630530    

Horseway-Service

Pilgrim Service

Ufficio del Turismo di Cortona Piazza Signorelli 52044 CORTONA AR 0575-637221 contact@cortonaweb.net www.cortonaweb.net
Incoming Tour Operator
TUSCANMAGIC
Via Guelda 24/26 52044 CORTONA AR 0575-1645310 / 348 7653653 tuscanmagic@hotmail.it www.tuscanmagic.net

Photos from the Track

Cortona