Cortona, located in the central Italian region of Tuscany, in the Province of Arezzo, is set high on a hillside covered in olive groves and offers picturesque views across the Tuscan countryside. Used by the BBC as the settling for The Borgias, Cortona is a well-preserved walled town with fine churches, museums and works of art.

See:

•  Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca (Etruscan Academy Museum) – Visit the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca, located inside the 13th century Palazzo Casali, and see items displayed from Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian civilizations, as well as art and artefacts from the Medieval and Renaissance eras.
• Museo Diocesano - One of the finest sights in Cortona is the Annunciation by Fra Angelico, in the Museo Diocesano. Other treasures in this small museum include works by Cortona born Luca Signorelli and by Pietro Lorenzetti.

Experience:

• Churches - There are two typical Renaissance churches located in Cortona, demonstrating two different principles of construction. Visit Santa Maria Nuova, of 1554, a church of square ground-plan and Madonna del Calcinaio built in 1484-1515 in connection with an alleged miracle-performing image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Another church worth visiting is the beautiful 15th century Chiesa di San Niccolo, a small Romanesque church containing a painting by Signorelli.

Secrets of the City:

• Under the Tuscan Sun – Cortona is a new tourist attraction due to being the set for one of the best-selling books about Italy in recent years, Under the Tuscan Sun.