The Old Town

This guided tour of the old town of Cortona starts from piazza del Mercato, outside the Etruscan city walls, in front of the ancient city gate named Porta Bifora, to then reach through picturesque narrow streets the heart of the town: Piazza della Repubblica. Here we will admire the old Town Hall and other beautiful Renaissance palaces that look onto the square, among which we find the impressive Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo.

This guided tour of Cortona continues with Piazza Signorelli where we find the imposing Palazzo Casali, the old dwelling of the noble Casali family, and the elegant theatre Teatro Signorelli, dating back to the 19th century. We will then visit the Church of San Francesco, dating back to the 13th century and designed by Fra Elia, which is the second most important church of the Franciscan order after the church of Assisi. During our tour in the old town, we will also visit the Cathedral of Cortona, which was rebuilt in the 15th century on the remains of an old parish church named Pieve di Santa Maria. We will end our tour by coming back towards Piazza del Mercato along vicolo Jannelli and its typical medieval houses made of stone and bricks and characterised by timber frames.

Difficulty:

Easy, mostly level.

What you are going to see:

Porta Bifora, Piazza della Repubblica, the Town Hall from outside, Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, Piazza Signorelli, Palazzo Casali from outside, Teatro Signorelli, the Church of San Francesco, the Cathedral of Cortona, vicolo Jannelli and its traditional medieval houses.