Tuscany · Arezzo
Cortona
An Etruscan lucumonia, with two kilometers of walls older than Rome.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 42 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 21,133
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
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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: a position that put it in sight of both the plain it governed and the water beyond it. The Etruscan name Curtun survives fixed in stone, and the city that carried it was built in tiers up the hillside, walls and fortress at the crown, church and convent lower down at the edges of the slope, houses and squares filling the ground between. The bishop granted Francis of Assisi a place for retreat in 1211, and what resulted was built into a narrow valley below the town rather than within its walls, a retreat kept apart from the civic center even as it stayed within reach.
Santa Margherita, the city's patron, is held on the ridge above the streets she once walked. The painters Luca Signorelli and Pietro da Cortona were born inside the walls that still define the town's shape. Frances Mayes published her memoir in 1996, and the town has not been quiet since. What emerges is a hill town whose Etruscan skeleton, medieval faith, and modern fame sit stacked on the same slope, each layer visible without erasing the one beneath it.
The Sunday letter
Cortona is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Cortona comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Cortona in our articles
The best hill towns that live slowly within 90 minutes of Perugia6 towns, Cortona among them.
The best towns with a serious restaurant that live slowly in Toscana6 towns, Cortona among them.
The best towns worth staying overnight that eat well within 90 minutes of Perugia6 towns, Cortona among them.
The best hill towns in the province of Arezzo7 towns, Cortona among them.
How to get there
From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 2h 17m by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2h 24m away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 42 minutes, Siena 1 hour or Florence 1h 25m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Florence, Rome or Bologna?
Coming by train into Perugia? Cortona is about 39 minutes away by road.
What to see
Mura etrusche
The walls still ring the city entire, the foundation under every later layer of building, Roman and medieval alike.
MAEC
Museum of the Etruscan Academy in Palazzo Casali, holding the bronze plaque 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
The basilica caps the ridge above the town, holding the body of the saint who lived and died here.
Eremo Le Celle
The convent sits three kilometers below the town, its cells built into both sides of a narrow valley, still inhabited by friars.
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.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Cortona fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
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.
The bistecca alla fiorentina, and why everyone who tries to improve it ruins it.
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.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Giostra dell'Archidado di Cortonahistorical re-enactment
usually held in June. Borghi Toscana - Eventi
Sagra del Piccionefood festival
usually held across July and August. SagreToscane.com
Sagra della Bisteccafood festival
usually held in August. eventiesagre.it
Festa della Madonna di Settembrepatron saint's feast
usually held in September. TrovaSagre
Living here
- Population 21,133
- Remotei
- 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
Common questions
- What is Cortona known for?
- Cortona is an Etruscan lucumonia at 494 meters, with two kilometers of walls older than Rome.
- Where is Cortona?
- Cortona is a comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to Cortona?
- Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 2h 17m by car.
- Can you get to Cortona without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Cortona?
- About 42 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Cortona?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Cortona?
- Yes. Giostra dell'Archidado di Cortona, Sagra del Piccione and Sagra della Bistecca, and 1 more we hold a source for. June is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Cortona?
- Fabriano, Bressanone and Assisi.
- How many people live in Cortona?
- 21,133 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 494 m
- Population: 21,133
- Surface area: 342.97 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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