Arezzo is a charming hill town situated in an area inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the discovery of the so-called “Olmo Man” (a skull dating back to 50,000 years ago). Arezzo was a major Etruscan city: great works of art date back to this period, such as the Chimera, preserved in Florence, whose image features so much the city to have become its symbol. Arezzo was later conquered by the Romans: the city’s cultural life was particularly strong at the beginning of the imperial times thanks to Maecenas, born in Arezzo, whose name is remained forever linked to the promotion of culture and art. Also the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre can be dated to this period. In Middle Ages Arezzo became a free city and was involved in the wars that continually broke out among the cities of Tuscany, until it became part of the territory of Florence in 1384. Arezzo can boast of many works of art, such as the wonderful frescoes of the “Legend of the True Cross” that the great painter Piero della Francesca painted in the Basilica of San Francesco. Other remarkable monuments are the Cathedral (Gothic style, begun in the thirteenth century), the Pieve di Santa Maria (XII century), the San Domenico Church (XII century), the Francesco Petrarca House and the Giorgio Vasari House, which houses a small medieval art museum. An event deeply rooted in the traditions of Arezzo is the Giostra del Saracino, a jousting tournament in fourteenth-century colourful costumes, that is strongly felt by the citizens and that is held annually in June and September.

Siena has preserved its medieval city centre enclosed by mighty walls. This city is situated in a splendid territory and is surrounded by hills covered with vineyards and olive groves, farmhouses, villages, churches and castles scattered in the beautiful Chianti countryside. Of Etruscan origin, Siena became a Roman colony at the time of Emperor Augustus. In the Middle Ages, being the centre of important trade routes that led to Rome, it became increasingly important, reaching its economic and cultural peak and enriching of its most beautiful works of art in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. The end of the independence of the free city of Siena dates back to 1555, when the city was subjugated by Florence. The Cathedral (begun in the twelfth century) and the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, where it is possible to admire the Palazzo Pubblico (the most grandiose Tuscan Gothic building, built between 1297 and 1342) and the Torre del Mangia, are among the principal monuments of the city. In Siena also worked painters such as Duccio di Buoninsegna, Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti and Simone Martini, many of whose most significant works are preserved in the prestigious museums that the city can boast. Siena also has a deep cultural tradition, as evidenced by its prestigious University and by the international institutions located in here. Siena has also evocative traditions (like the Palio delle Contrade, held July 2 and August 16 of each year), deeply rooted in the city’s past, that are now famous around the world and that have become a distinctive feature of its identity.

Montepulciano, city of Etruscan origin, is called the “Pearl of the Fifteenth Century” because it preserves the works by famous Renaissance artists such as Vignola, Sangallo and Peruzzi. Its history is particularly rich in events, especially since the Middle Ages: in fact, at the beginning of the fourteenth century the vitality of Montepulciano, promoted by its enterprising bourgeoisie, made it the subject of the expansionist ambitions of both Florence and Siena. In 1390 Montepulciano finally decided to ally itself firmly with Florence, which was extremely interested in having a strategic stronghold to the south of the territory of the rival Siena. Starting from this moment and until the middle of the sixteenth century, Montepulciano knew its golden age, characterized by political stability, cultural prestige and artistic flowering. This town is also famous for being the birthplace of the poet, humanist and dramatist Poliziano (1454-1494), who had the honour of being called to the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Montepulciano, in addition to being so rich in history and wonderful works of art, is also surrounded by a very suggestive landscape, characterized by extensive vineyards that make the town famous for its wines. Viticulture in Montepulciano dates back to Etruscan times, and the production of excellent wines, which was constant throughout the Middle Ages, has continued successfully to this day: the famous Vino Nobile of Montepulciano DOCG is protected by a consortium that brings together all the cellars since 1980.

Bagno Vignoni, a hamlet surrounded by olive groves and renowned vineyards, is a spa town known since ancient times (recent excavations have unearthed the remains of Roman baths). At the heart of the village there is the “Square of the Springs”, a sixteenth-century rectangular tank, which collects the waters of a spring that flows from a subterranean volcanic aquifer at a temperature of 52 degrees centigrade (they are now channeled also into a therapeutic spa). In the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance the best-known personalities frequented this place, such as Lorenzo the Magnificent and many other artists who had elected the village as their holiday resort. From Bagno Vignoni it is easily possible to reach and visit the nearby towns of Pienza and Montalcino and the Park of Monte Amiata.

Orvieto is situated on a steep tuff cliff. It is an ancient Etruscan city, that was once near a famous shrine, the Fanum Voltumnae, visited annually by the inhabitants of Etruria, who came there to celebrate religious rituals, games and events. Invaded and destroyed by the Romans in 264 B.C., its population was forced to leave the city and took refuge in Volsinii Novi (today Bolsena). The city was reborn in the Middle Ages with the name of Urbs Vetus (hence the current name Orvieto). The physical limit of the cliff has never allowed a normal expansion of the city, to the point that it was forced, during its history, to superimpose the various stages of its growth according to a stratification not always easily understandable. There is also an “underground Orvieto” cut into the tufa rock, marked by trenches, tunnels and wells (most of them date back to Etruscan times.) These cavities develop in intricate paths, that connect each other the deep cellars built on several floors, typical of the city, dug in every period for the processing and storage, at constant temperature, of the famous wine of Orvieto. Among the most valuable works of art in the city there is the Duomo, a masterpiece of Italian Gothic architecture, whose impressive facade is decorated with a large number of sculptures and bas-reliefs designed by the Sienese Lorenzo Maitani. Of great beauty it is also the San Patrizio Well, an engineering masterpiece built in the sixteenth century to supply the city with water in case of siege or calamity: inside, it develops in two spiral ramps completely independent from each other, along which water could be carried outside into the town using donkeys. Maybe because of the sacredness and the sense of magic linked with deep cavities, the modern visitors are used to throwing pennies into the well as a good omen to be able to return again.

Spoleto is one of the most popular tourist destinations for its rich history, for the variety of its cultural heritage and for the importance of its artistic events. The oldest part of the town has kept intact its medieval structure. The Arch of Drusus and Germanicus (a Roman arch leading into the Forum, which was situated in the to-day’s Market Square), the Roman theater, the Basilica of San Salvatore (an interesting early Christian monument, whose origins date back to the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.), the Roman Bridge or “Ponte Sanguinario” (which means “Bloody Bridge”) and the amphitheater (II century A.D.) date back to the most ancient origins of Spoleto. A major monument of the city is the Cathedral: built in Romanesque style in the twelfth century, it preserves, among the many other works of art, an extraordinary cycle of frescoes by Filippo Lippi. Near Spoleto, there are two places of great naturalistic interest: the “sacred forest” of Monteluco, characterized by a dense tree vegetation, and “Villa Redenta”, which stands on the ruins of an ancient Roman villa, with its beautiful park of secular trees, among which the nobility of Spoleto walked between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Spoleto is also famous because it hosts every year (between June and July) a very important event, the “Festival dei Due Mondi”: in fact very talented artists (from the opera to the symphonic and chamber music, from visual arts to literary ones, from dance to theater) perform here in Spoleto on this occasion, attracting the attention of a steadily increasing international audience. Spoleto has ancient gastronomic traditions and offers a variety of tasty, but at the same time genuine, dishes. Wine, oil and food stuffs in Spoleto are very appreciated and of a very high quality: in fact this city is part of two Italian National Associations, that of the “Cities of Wine” and that of the “Cities of Oil”.