Pieve di Santa Maria and Piazza Grande
In the upper part of Corso rises Pieve di Santa Maria, one of the most beautiful Romanesque structures in Tuscany. Arcaded façade, elaborate and yet raw, belongs to the style associated with Pisa rather than western Tuscany, and besides, without knowing why, it overlooks a rather narrow street instead of the city market. Dating from the second decade of the thirteenth century. Romanesque carvings of months on the portal are of excellent quality; Fourteenth-century campaign, called by the locals "tower of a hundred holes", became the emblem of the city. The oldest part of the irregular interior is the erected sanctuary with the altar polyptych Madonna and the sacred Floor of Lorenzetti, painted in 1320 r.
Steeply inclined Piazza Granda, on the other side of the church, is surrounded by a group of diverse buildings. On the west side, the apse of Santa Maria and the multi-level façade of the Palazzetto della Fraternita dei Laci adjoin the square, with gothic ground floor and fifteenth-century upper floors, while the northern end is Vasari's loggia, occupied by stores, in which sometimes there are still original stone counters. Socially, however, the square is less interesting.; it comes to life only on the occasion of Fiera Antiąuaria and — more hustle and bustle — Giostra del Saraceno, costume knight tournament on the first Sunday of September.
In and around Duomo
At the highest point of the city grows a large and unsophisticated Duomo, whose harmonious appearance belies its history. Construction began at the end of the thirteenth century., and completed practically at the beginning of the XVI, but the campaign comes from the last century, and the façade from the current.
Stained glass windows, made in 1520 r., are the work of Guillaume de Marcillat; transmit so little light, that this artist's other works in the interior — paintings in the first three recesses of the central nave — are virtually invisible. To the left nave, separated from the main one by a huge rainbow, Cappella della Madonna del Conforto with terracotta of the della Robbia family is added. Just behind the organ is the tombstone of Bishop Guido Tarlati, comune heads during the short period of independence in the fourteenth century.; monument, lined with marble bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the bishop's military career, was probably designed by Giotto. A tiny fresco crammed behind the right side of the tombstone is Magdalena Piera della Francesca, his only job in Arezzo not counting the church of San Francesco.
City Park, Passegio del Prato, extends from the eastern end of the duomo; Fortezza Medicea, at the far end of the park, it's a good place to have a picnic and enjoy the views of the city downstairs. The fortress of Cosima I was demolished in the eighteenth century. and only embankments remained.
San Domenico and the Northern District
Near, but in the opposite direction, from the duomo is the church of San Domenico. It was built mainly at the end of the thirteenth century. (next to it stands the Gothic campaign), its interior is more impressive – on the main altar there is an evocative Cimabuego Crucifix (1260), painted by the artist at the age of about twenty, and patches of frescoes from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. on the walls they create the effect of a huge photo album.
Arrows point the way to the nearby Casa di Giorgio Vasari (wt.-sb. 9.00-14.00, nd. 9.00-13.00; Free entrance), hand-designed by this famous biographer, architect and painter. Later generations could not understand the products of Vasari's imagination.; the walls of his house are covered with frescoes, which make it the most amazing residential interior in all of Tuscany.
Below, in the fifteenth-century Palazzo Bruni-Ciocchi at via San Lorentino, houses the Museo Statale d'Arte Medioevale e Moderna (wt.-sb. 9.00-14.00, nd. 9.00-13.00; 2000 L); collections of paintings by local artists and majolica products from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century., scattered over three floors of the palace, require from the visitor a solid professional preparation.
Practical details
Biuro EPT (pn.-pt. 9.00-12.00 i 16.00-18.00, sb. 9.00-12.00) is in Piazza Risorgimento 116, right of via Guido Monaco; outside the city plan and the latest information about accommodation were issued, so even after office hours you can learn the most important things.
It is difficult to find rooms on the first weekend of each month (because of Fiera) and in late August and early September, when Concorso Polifonico guido d'Arezzo quickly follow each other (international choir competition) and Giostra del Saraceno. The best of the one-star hotels is Milano, near EPT in via Madonna del Prato 83 (*0575/26836), with twos from 30000 L. If it will be full, go to Michelangelo, viale Michelangelo 26 (*0575/20673), where prices are similar — it's on a busy road right next to the station, but all rooms are clean and comfortable, and many are also isolated from street noise. An alternative is a youth hostel, named —how else — Ostello Piero della Francesca, near the upper end of Piazza Granda at via Borg'Unto 6 (*0575/354546; Open 6.00-23.30 Summer, 6.00-22.30 winter).
From the restaurants choose La Scaletta, near the main post office in Piazza del Popolo 11 (wt. closed.), where a satiated fixed set costs from 11 000 L. Da Guido, at via Madonna del Prato 85 (nd. closed.), is a trattoria with unsophisticated local dishes; although the portions are smaller than in La Scaletta, the atmosphere fully compensates for this. High quality Tuscan cuisine (after about 35000 L per person) you can taste in La Buca di San Francesco (nd. and Mon. closed.), right next to the church of San Francesco.
Corso Italia is the place, where people gather in the evening, but up the street the crowd is thinning. Around it there are most of the bars, and the busiest places include the bar-pizzeria La Tavernetta (pn. closed.), at the intersection with via Roma. Another place where you can eat great pizza, to II Ruspante, via Roma 34; prices are not low, but pizzas are baked in an authentic wood oven.