Montepulciano & Cortona

Montepulciano & Cortona from Florence: a day of marvelous Medieval places and Tuscan countryside. Great for wine lovers, too.

 

A NOTE ABOUT DRIVING TIMES
4 hours total. Florence-Montepulciano, 90 min; Montepulciano-Cortona, 35 min; Cortona-Florence, 1 hr 40 min.

SUMMARY: MONTEPULCIANO & CORTONA from Florence

On this private day trip from Florence you’ll drive through some of the most beautiful landscapes in Tuscany. Both towns welcome the visitor with a storybook Medieval ambience, and in Montepulciano you will be in a world-class wine-growing region. The best thing is you have a driver, so you can taste wine to your heart’s content!
 

DETAILS

Cortona
When Cortona comes to mind, our first association is probably “Under the Tuscan Sun”, but the story of Cortona goes back waaaay before that.

Surely the Etruscans — the sophisticated society that preceded Rome — were here many centuries before Christ, establishing themselves on top of a hill in a magical location, as was their custom.

Legend tells that Noah landed here after The Great Flood, settling in the fertile valley and bearing a son who would found Cortona. One of his descendants, Dardanus, would go to Anatolia (modern Turkey) and found Dardania, which would become the ill-fated city of Troy. After the fall of Troy its survivors sailed to Italy with Aeneas, of the line of Dardanus, settling on the Tyhrrenian coast, where Romulus would later found the city of Rome. So if on your visit to Cortona you hear “Cortona, mother of Troy and grandmother of Rome” now you know why!

If lore isn’t your thing, no worries, there are tons of very tangible things to see in Cortona, which is above all else a splendid Medieval village.

The main square, Piazza della Repubblica, with its handsome 13th Century town hall, is a good place to start. Keep strolling and you’ll come to Teatro (theatre) Signorelli, the Etruscan museum (take note, ancient history geeks!), a maze of narrow streets, and lots of nice shops. If you are interested in buying ceramics, or just want to sit at an outdoor café with some good food and wine, you’re in a great place.

Go on a little walk and in about 15 minutes you’ll reach the sanctuary of Santa Margherita, the beautiful Neo-Gothic church where the patron saint of Cortona is enshrined.

MONTEPULCIANO & CORTONA from Florence
DURATION: 8 hrs

OTHER COSTS & NOTES

The cost of wine tastings is not included.