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July 2005
Florence & Cortona (Tuscany)
Jeremy Koh2005-11-05 12:15:44
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delight.
From Arezzo's bus terminal, we took a bus which took us right to Cortona's Piazzale Garibaldi which has amazing views of the surroundings where you can see valleys and rolling hills of Tuscany and Umbria and even Lake Trasimeno in Umbria province in the distance. From here, we headed up Via Nazionale which is Cortona's only flat surface. Says a lot doesn't it. When you're in Cortona, you better have good walking shoes, or a car because you'll have to do a lot of walking up steep slopes. Anyway, Via Nazionale is dotted with antique and wood-crafting stores and you can also pick up your map from the tourist information office here. This street is also where you'll see lots of tourists. Apparently after the book Under the Tuscan Sun which was set in Cortona was published, this town has attracted much more tourists, deservingly, I think.
As we walked along Via Nazionale, we eventually ended up in front of the Palazzo Comunale in Piazza della Republica. After grabbing a quick lunch (pizza again), we decided to head up towards the Medici Fortress which is right at the top of Cortona. Along the way, we passed by quaint looking houses with beautiful gardens. Soon we found ourselves in the Cortona Hospital. As we needed to use the toilet, we decided to approach some staff who were standing outside the hospital. To our dismay, this one female staff said that we could not use the toilets in the hospital. Okay, fair enough. And then she threatened to call the police if we do not leave. How rude! Too bad I don't speak enough Italian. But I must add that most of the Italians we came across are very friendly and helpful and nothing like this lady.
And so we walked towards Via Santa Margherita. Little did we know it at that time, but this street which leads to the church of Santa Margherita is decorated with mosaics by Gino Severini representing the "Stations of the Cross".
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See photographs from:
Italy Gallery
