The Art Cities in central Italy

Florence: only 2 hours from the farmhouse, easily reached by train (in Orvieto). As the birthplace of Italian Renaissance, there are an infinite amount of places to visit in Florence. We limit ourselves to listing only few of these: the Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, the Boboli Gardens, the Bargello Museum, The Academy Gallery, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, Santa Maria del Carmine, the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti and other historic museums of the city.
FOR MORE INFORMAZIONI: Via Cavour 1 rosso – 50129 Firenze, Tel. +39 055 2760382 – Fax +39 055 2760383, e-mail: infoturismo@provincia.fi.it
www.comune.firenze.itVia Degli Alfani, 54, 50121 Firenze (FI) - 055 210748

Siena: reachable following the old Cassia road passing through olive groves and vineyards (1 hour and 20 minutes by car). An ochre coloured gothic city leaning over a rocky relief. Things to see: piazza del Campo, the “Palio” (traditional horse race), Torre del Mangia, Battistero and Cathedral, Palazzo Chigi-Saracini, the Duomo. 

FOR MORE INFOS: Informazioni Turistiche Piazza del Campo, 56 tel. +39 0577 280551 fax +39 0577 281041
e-mail: infoaptsiena@terresiena.it orario: Lun - Dom: 9.00 - 19.00.
Sede amministrativa Via dei Termini, 6 53100 Siena tel. +39 0577 42209, fax +39 0577 281041 - e-mail: aptsiena@terresiena.it
www.comune.siena.itVia Di Citta', 126, Siena (SI) - 0577 22071

Perugia The city of Perugiastands at roughly 500 metres above sea level on a heavily sloping hill. The city is built over and between the risings of this hill and looks over the surrounding valley from a series of broad vantage points. The inhabitants of Perugia occupy the ancient city centre, which dates back to the Etruscans and Romans and is closed by ancient walls, as well as in a considerably more modern but still pleasant area of the city.
http://www.perugiaonline.com/mappgus.html
FOR MORE INFOS: Palazzo dei Priori Corso Vannucci n.19 Tel +39 075-5771 - Fax +39 075-5724276 - www.comune.perugia.it

Assisi, the Holy City for the Christians, is always the destination for those pilgrims who want to see the places where Saint Francis was born, was active, and where, near the Porziuncola, he died on October 4th, 1226.
In this little town, laid on the spurs of Mount Subasio, it is normal that everything does remind of Saint Francis, even the most unrelated things to him and His Sister Poverty. The Basilic of Saint Francis was inaugurated in 1253 by Pope Innocenzo IV.
FOR MORE INFOS: www.assisi.com

Viterbo is a very intact medieval town. In the 13th century, Viterbo already was a hopping metropolis. The tourist's image of Viterbo is the one borne out by the districts of San Pellegrino and Pianoscarano, by the many fountains, by the walls and the papal palace on the Colle del Duomo opposite the cathedral

FOR MORE INFOS: Tel.+39 0761 3481 – APT: +39 0761 291000 - IAT: +39 0761 304795 e-mail: infoviterbo@apt.viterbo.it
http://www.viterboonline.com/
www.provincia.vt.it/

Orvieto The city of Orvieto exists in symbiosis with the tuff cliff on which it stands, an extraordinary example of the integration of nature by the work of man.
An example of the fact that our ancestors were aware of this relationship between architecture and nature is the inscription on the famous well of San Patrizio.
FOR MORE INFOS: Tel. +39 0763 344115 - www.comune.orvieto.tr.it
http://www.argoweb.it/orvieto/orvieto.uk.html

Pienza The town stands on the top of a hill which overlooks the splendid Val d'Orcia. Enea Silvio Piccolomini was born here in 1405 and when he became pope Pius II in 1458 he decided to transform his modest village into the perfect town, an admirable example of the humanistic period, and entrusted the design to Bernardo Rossellino.
FOR MORE INFOS: www.comunedipienza.it

MONTEPULCIANO: This is the largest Comune in the Sienese Valdichiana.
The town is said to have been founded by the Etruscan king Porsenna and exhibits impressive architecture, mainly but not only Renaissance.
FOR MORE INFOS: www.montepulciano.com

CETONA: On the eastern slopes of the mountain bearing the same name, Cetona has retained its medieval structure, whit roads, alleys and stairways all leading to the fortress which dominates it. The local economy is mainly agricultural, but tourism as also been actively developed.
FOR MORE INFOS: www.comune.cetona.siena.it

MONTALCINO: as the birthplace of Brunello wine, whic someone once defined as the best and most renowned wine in Italy. From the height of its 564 m. the ancient town dominates the surrounding countryside, clinging to the slopes of a hill crowned by the imposing 14th-century fortress.
FOR MORE INFOS: www.comunemontalcino.it

CORTONA: One of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League-substantial fragments of its primitive cyclopean defences can still be seen, incorporated in the medieval walls. Apart from a few fine Renaissance palaces, the prevailing character of Cortona's architecture is medieval, conferring on the steep narrow streets a strong sense of atmosphere. The city is commandingly situated (altitude 600 metres) and there are magnificent panoramas to every point of the compass, embracing the whole of the Val di Chiana.
FOR MORE INFOS:www.comunedicortona.it