General Guide to Cortona

photo of Cortona
Copyright © 2007 Luigi Rossi

 

FOOD SHOPPING

Note: If your arrival in the area is delayed and you think you'll reach Cortona after closing hours (8pm) you can get basic provisions at the AUTOGRILL restaurant and shops located along the A1 Autostrada.

Local opening hours: 08.30 to 13.00 / 16.00 to 20.00 Monday to Saturday
(most food shops close Wednesday afternoons and all day Sunday. During July and August some stores in Cortona are open on Sunday mornings from 09.00 to 12.00. Cortona and its satellite town Camucia are well provided with general stores, butchers, greengrocers, discount stores and supermarkets.

The main supermarket - COOP -  is located on the northern outskirts of Camucia, heading along the SS 71 highway to Arezzo. During July and August the COOP is open every day of the week except Sunday afternoons. To get there, drive to the traffic lights in the centre of Camucia and follow the signs to Arezzo. Drive out of town and on past the two big fuel stations (AGIP and ESSO) then you will see the large complex below the road, on the lefthand side, 200 yards further on. It has an enormous carpark. Remember to have a coin (1 Euro) ready to release your shopping trolley. Inside the store, make a beeline for the cheese and salame counter to get your call ticket. There is usually a long, numerical queue and you can do most of your other shopping while you await your turn, but  keep an eye on the digital display above the counter !

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BANKS

Opening hours:  08.30 to 13.30 / 14.30 to 15.30 every day except Saturday, Sunday and public holidays  (August bank holiday is on the 15th.)
24-hour automatic cash despensers are located outside most banks in Italy. The local ones take VISA, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DINERS, MAESTRO and CIRRUS cards. All banks will change Travellers cheques and Eurocheques, but don't forget to take your passport along with you !
 
Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Via Nazionale 42, Cortona.
 
Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze
Piazza Signorelli, Cortona.
 
Banca Popolare di Cortona
Via Guelfa 4, Cortona.
 
Banca Etruria
Via Santa Margherita 5, Cortona.

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INTERNET POINT

Circolo Operaio, in Piazza Signorelli (doorway to right of the Theatre entrance, second floor up)
Afternoons only. Opening hours from: 2 pm to midnight.

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BOOKS and ART MATERIALS

Libreria Nocentini, Via Nazionale, 32 (closed Monday mornings)
Sells quality art and photography books, Italian cookery books, travel guides, maps and a comprehensive supply of art materials and general stationary.

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CAR & SCOOTER HIRE 

Autonoleggio Il Girasole
Located on the SS 71 road that runs through Terontola (5 kms south of Camucia heading towards Lake Trasimeno), on the lefthand side just before the turnoff to the main line railway station. Will deliver vehicle to your door for an extra charge. They also do airport pickup and dropoff. For current rates and vehicle classes contact them directly at: www.autonoleggioilgirasole.it or email them on info@autonoleggioilgirasole.it

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FUEL STATIONS

Opening hours: 07.30 to 12.30 / 15.30 to 19.30  Monday to Saturday (closed Sundays).
Outside these hours you can fill up at the automatic cash pumps located in the AGIP and ESSO stations in Camucia, on the way to Arezzo, just before the COOP supermarket  or at  AGIP , Piazza del Mercato, Cortona ( at the bottom of Via Guelfa)
The dispensers take 10 or 20 €uro notes. Diesel fuel, leaded and un-leaded benzina is available according to the pump numbers. Insert your banknote (make sure you only use clean, unworn notes without creases or tears) and push the relevant button. Fill up and off you go.

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RAILWAY TRAVEL

(mainline to Florence, Milan, Rome and Naples)
Camucia station (no ticket sales service). Not all trains stop here
Terontola station (8 kms south of Camucia) All major trains stop here

You can buy rail tickets online from the Italian State Train Service (Trenitalia) or from the tourist office in Via Nazionale, 42 Cortona. The area is well served with regular trains that take you directly to Arezzo, Florence, Bologna and Milan in one direction, or Orvieto, Rome, Naples and Amalfi in the other. National express trains stop frequently at the railway station in Camucia at the bottom of the Cortonese hill, or even more frequently from Terontola station (further south). Both stations are connected by hourly buses to the centre of Cortona (the bus terminal is in Piazza Garibaldi). Bus tickets can be bought at all tobacconists, newspaper stalls, and most coffee bars, but not on the buses themselves. So remember to buy your tickets in advance and always punch the ticket after getting onto the bus (there's an automatic time puncher on every bus). Perugia can be reached by train from Terontola station quite quickly, via a branch line, and Siena via another branch line from Arezzo station. However, it will take you half a day to reach Siena in this way ! Better by car - it only takes 1 hour. 

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PUBLIC HOLIDAYS ( SOME SHOPS CLOSE DOWN !)

Italy has several public holidays during the course of the year when everything is closed, except restaurants, coffee bars, fuel stations on the autostradas and 24-hour cash dispensers (for fuel or for bank notes). Plan your day trips and shopping expeditions with these dates in mind:

  • January 1st and 6th, Easter Sunday and Monday
  • April 25th (Liberation Day)
  • May 1st (Labour Day)
  • June 2nd, August 15th (Ferragosto)
  • November 1st (All Saints)
  • December 8th, 25th and 26th.

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STREET MARKETS

The local street markets offer a large range of products displayed on stalls at very competitive prices, where you can often find bargains, especially in products such as shoes, clothing and household goods. Food, except for vegetables, is not on the whole cheaper than in most general stores, but you do find high quality, locally raised vegetables, sheep cheeses ("pecorino") and sea food. One classic feature of these street markets are the "porchetta" stalls, which sell delicious roast pork cut fresh from a whole roast pig (cooked the night before in traditional brick ovens), complete with juicy crackling and flavoured with local fennel seed, all wrapped in a fresh bread roll.
Cortona - every Saturday. There is also a fresh fruit and vegetable market under the loggia at PANE E VINO in Piazza Signorelli Cortona -
every morning (except Thurdays and Sundays).
Camucia - every Thursday.
Arezzo -  holds a large antiques furniture fair in the beautiful square of "Piazza Grande" (see photo on home page) in the historic centre of town (no cars allowed)
Taking place over the first full weekend of every month (all day Saturday and Sunday)

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MEDICAL INFO

NEAREST HOSPITAL ("OSPEDALE")

The brand new hospital complex is located in the small village of Fratta. Drive out of Camucia heading north to Arezzo on the SS 71. Continue for about 3 kms until you reach the large crossroads at the village of Sodo, just after the gasoline station on your right. Turn left (signposted to the A1 autostrada) and continue for another 3 kms until you reach the village of Fratta. Drive through the village and you will find the hospital entrance on your right 100 yards after the last houses.   
 
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
Ambulance: Tel. 118
For minor injuries or disorders go to the hospital first aid department in Fratta and ask for "Pronto Soccorso".
 
ENGLISH SPEAKING DOCTOR (a British general practitioner)
Dr. Simon Curtis has a private surgery at Via Nazionale 76 in Cortona.
 
PHARMACIES
Farmacia Centrale: (English spoken) Via Nazionale.
Farmacia Comunale:  Via Sandrelli 4, Camucia (downhill from Cortona)

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PLACES worth VISITING in CORTONA

  • Etruscan and Egyptian artefacts at the museum (Museo Etrusco) in Palazzo Casali
  • Luca Signorelli, Fra Angelico and Lorenzetti art treasures at the Museo Diocesano (opposite the Cortona cathedral in Piazza del Duomo)
  • Church of San Niccolò at the top of the town, housing Luca Signorelli's marvellous "annunciation" of the Holy Virgin
  • "Le Celle", a charming and unspoilt Franciscan monastery (behind Cortona) founded by Saint Frances himself in 1211
  • Via Crucis, a steep, but beautiful footpath featuring Gino Severini's 12 stations of the Holy Cross in futuristic mosaics, culminating at "Santa Margherita"
  • "Santa Margherita" the convent and sanctuary of Saint Margaret of Cortona (where her 800-year old body lies intact in a glass case behind the altar)
  • Il "Parterre" a kilometer-long promenade (for pedestrians only) with spectacular views of the Chiana valley below
  • "Girifalco" a Medici Fortress, above the Sanctuary of Saint Margaret of Cortona (open from 10 am to 6pm)
  • Santa Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio (on the hillside below Cortona) designed by Giorgio di Martino
  • the Etruscan necropolis and temple foundations recently unearthed at Sodo (in the valley immediately below Cortona)

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SPORTS FACILITIES

SWIMMING POOLS
Camucia has an open-air swimming pool complex called "SEVEN POINTS" with all-day entrance tickets at reasonable prices. It is located about 2 kilometers outside Camucia on the main road to Arezzo. The turning is on the left just after the fuel station.

It is a large complex suitable for adults and children of all ages. It has a 30 meter long swimming pool, a safe paddling pool for infants, an extensive sun lawn equipped with loungers, deck chairs and umbrellas, a coffee and drinks bar, a proper restaurant/pizzeria, a separate, hedged off area with children's play park, trampoline and volley ball field, changing rooms and showers.
Cortona, as of June 2006, also has its own public swimming pool which is located at the end of the Parterre, a 1 kilometer long car-free avenue that starts from the Napoleonic gardens near Piazza Garibaldi. It is considerably smaller than SEVEN POINTS, but nevertheless is well equipped with umbrellas and pool loungers, a refreshments bar and a restaurant.
 
TENNIS
The SEVEN POINTS complex (see above) also has a well-equipped tennis club with several hard courts open to the public at hourly rates.
 
HORSEBACK RIDING
There are several horseback riding stables in the area. For details, rates and bookings contact the Tourist Office in Cortona (see below).

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TOURIST INFORMATION

Agenzia Promozione Turistica : Via Nazionale, 42 - Cortona.
A local state tourist office with English speaking staff who can answer all your questions about local services, concerts, festivities and general entertainment in the area, issue rail tickets and suggest suitable hotels locally and nationwide. Free maps of Cortona and the Province of Arezzo also available here.