Tuscany · Arezzo
Cortona
An Etruscan lucumonia, with two kilometers of walls older than Rome.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Cortona is on our list
It holds Cittaslow and Città dell'Olio.
The nearest town with a letter is Passignano sul Trasimeno, No. 61, 26 min by car.
Subscribe and you get Cortona's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 42 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 20,834
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 2 h 17 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2 h 24 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 42 min, Siena 1 h 5 min or Florence 1 h 25 min.
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 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
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.
From the guides
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.
7 more places the guides name in Cortona
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.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Cortona meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 20,834 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Arezzo, a city of 96,479, is 32 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 20,834, down 7.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Arezzo, 32 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,100 to €2,600 per m² to buy, €6.40 to €8.60 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 18% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 56 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 1 h 25 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 289 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. There are 291 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 33% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Arezzo province ranks 44th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 37 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Siena, 56 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Arezzo, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.27, a meal in a pizzeria €12.27 and a man's haircut €24.12.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 10% in a high or medium one. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
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 third-longest known text 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.
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?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 56 min 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 min 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.
- Which other towns are like Cortona?
- Fabriano, Bressanone and Assisi.
- How many people live in Cortona?
- 20,834 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Cortona a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Cortona is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Arezzo, is 32 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 18% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 494 m
- Population: 20,834
- 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Cortona appears in
- The best hill towns that live slowly within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiahill townwithin 90 minslow living6 towns · smallest 1,418 residents · closest 45 min away
- The best olive oil towns that live slowly in TuscanyTuscanyolive oilslow living6 towns · smallest 2,898 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that live slowly in TuscanyTuscanyserious restaurantslow living6 towns · smallest 2,898 residents
- The best towns worth staying overnight that eat well within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiawithin 90 mineats wellworth staying overnight6 towns · smallest 1,421 residents · closest 35 min away
- The best hill towns in the province of ArezzoArezzo provincehill town7 towns · smallest 3,442 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train that have a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of PerugiaNear Perugiaby trainwithin 90 minserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 5,115 residents · closest 28 min away
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 61.
Passignano sul Trasimeno
Province: Perugia
A near-peninsula on the northern shore of Lake Trasimeno, on the road Hannibal closed when he ambushed the Romans in 217 BC.
26 min by car
- Written about. No. 43.
Montepulciano
Province: Siena
A Renaissance hill town at 605 meters on a limestone ridge, aging its Sangiovese-based red in vaulted cellars beneath the palazzi.
30 min by car
- Written about. No. 59.
Castiglione del Lago
Province: Perugia
Trasimeno's western promontory, once the lake's fourth island, fortified in 1247 and later frescoed for a marquis of Corgna.
31 min by car
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 23 km away
Umbria: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Umbria guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: Two banks, no sea. 21 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.