After about an hour drive south through the Tuscan countryside you will arrive in Arezzo. Before Rome was even in existence, Arezzo was already one of the strongest and richest of the Etruscan towns and it had a place in of preeminence in the Confederation of the 12 Great City-States of the Etruscan League that also included Mantua, Felsina, Ravenna, Cortona, Chiusi, Veio, Cere, Tarquinia, Vetulonia, and Populonia.Numerous and important archeological finds in the area show the splendor of the Etruscan art and the perfection of its crafts in a period in which other Italian civilizations were still fairly primitive. Modern Arezzo is not only a lovely city, it’s also one of the wealthiest cities in Tuscany.
The ancient crafts have come down through the centuries and today Arezzo still produces exquisite gold jewelry and high fashion clothing for the whole world. Arezzo is a charming town with several interesting squares and buildings.Notable is the cathedral, a large gothic construction begun at the end of the 13th century and finished in the 15th. The Duomo dominates the city with its size, looking out upon all the roofs of Arezzo and the surrounding hills. It’s façade remained incomplete until the 20th century when it was finally finished using a design by Dante Viviani.
The inside of the church is divided into three majestic naves. Of particular interest are the beautiful stained-glass made mostly by Guglielmo de Marcillat in the 16th century. In the left nave you can see the fresco by Piero della Francesca of “Maddalena” and the “Cenotafio of Guido Tarlati”. The suggestive “Piazza Grande” opens in the heart of the medieval city. » Read more…
