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IN THE BEST HILLTOP TOWN IN TUSCANY
"One of the Most Beautiful Towns and Villages in Tuscany" - Oliver's Travels
Top Ten Places to go in Tuscany - About Travel
Recommended Hilltop Towns - Rick Steves
#2 Italian Hilltop Towns You Must See to Believe - Travel Tales of Life
#2 Hilltop Town in Tuscany - Around Tuscany
A Perfect Tuscan retreat
https://youtu.be/zxRydvIcBQ0
In 1998, a group of friends and acquantances joined together to acquire a small apartment in the quaint Etruscan village of Cortona. Everyone enjoyed going to Cortona so much that we decided to trade that apartment on via Benedetti for a larger location on Vicolo Iannelli - the oldest street in Cortona. In 2016, some of our group has opted to buy a villa in the prestigious Poggio section of Cortona.
Due to Cortona's central location, it is the perfect base for either day trip anywhere in Tuscany or Umbria or longer excursion travel.
Villa Cristoforo
Villa Cristoforo is a very old three story, quaint, stone house that stands by itself unlike most of the other homes in Cortona which tend to be connected. The home is on a corner in Poggio, a beautiful part of the old town with a gorgeous backyard garden surrounded by a Roman era stone wall that looks out over what can only be described as one of the most romantic views of the Val di Chiana. The backyard garden is also connected by stone steps to a very large upper garden which includes fruit trees and an ancient Roman well as well as several flagstone seating areas and a pergola covered dining area overlooking the valley. Villa Cristoforo sits at an elevation of 1863 feet, which is over 200 feet above the Piazza della Repubblica which sits at 1650 feet.
Even though it is similar to what you might find in a country villa, it is located within the town walls and a few steps from everything. The three story interior is 255 square meters (2745 sq ft). Villa Cristoforo has three bedrooms and three baths, a large kitchen/dining room, a wine room and a lovely den with a fireplace. The gardens are approx. 300 square meters – very rare in Cortona. The house is fully furnished with antiques and can be used only by family and friends. Totally renovated in 2006. The interior was totally redecorated in 2017 and the upper garden recovered from years of neglect to create a wonderful peaceful place to relax.
We believe the property was originally built in the 1400s or 1500s.
The house and garden are adjacent to the oldest church in Cortona, Chiesa Cristoforo, and displayed on a map drawn by Pietro di Cortona (Berrettini) in 1649.
There are six owners of this unique property.
Approximately 2 hours north of Rome off Autostrada Roma-Firenze. A1. Take Valdichiana exit on Autostrada A1 (green signs). Take SuperStrada 326 (blue signs) in direction of Perugia. This is the Siena-Perugia super highway.
GPS setting is for “Cortona (AR), via Orto di Cera, 10). This is the house next door as via San Cristoforo only has one house with that address and sometimes does not come up on GPS.
Exit SS 326 at Castiglione del Lago (about 4 exits, 19 km) and take SS 71 toward Arezzo and Cortona. Turn right thru Ossaia (immediately after Ricco). Turn left at T head, then right toward Cortona. .
If you miss the Ossaia turn, here are several routes to Cortona that work – all from Camucia. The next good one is at the first Cortona roundabout, take first exit.
Once up on the hill at Cortona (at the ancient wall), take the left route around the city wall (really straight) toward Citta di Castello.
Drive around Cortona and up to Torreone. Turn right into Torreone. Take right fork at Cafe Torreone, then a second right fork (immediately) and go through the Etruscan Gate on via Porta Montanina and keep left then right. The house on the right is a short distance on the corner of via San Cristoforo and via Orto di Cera, just past the small church and some parking spaces.
Parking is free and unlimited around the house. There is a space right in front of the Iron Gated Patio enclosing the front door.
There are four basic routes to walk to the center of Cortona from Villa Cristoforo, the elevation gain/drop is approx. 200 feet:
1. The most direct route is up/down via Berrettini. Begin on the right side of Piazza Pescaia. This route is approximately 380 yards or 1145 feet with a 17.4% slope. One way is about 8 minutes.
2. A longer route is 765 yards or 2295 feet that has only a 4.3% slope and takes approx. 11 minutes. You begin below the house on Via San Cristoforo to Via del Salvatore to Via delle Fontanelle to Porta Colonia. Turn down Via Dardano to Via Benedetti to the Piazza.
3. Another route that takes you to the end of Via Nationale begins taking the left side of Piazza Pescaia to Via Santucci (left) to Via San Nicola (right) to Via San Marco (right, keep left) to Via Monetti (left) onto Via Guiseppe Maffei to Viccol del Fontanile (right) to Via S. Margarita (right) to Via Nationale. This route takes 7 minutes and has a 15.2% slope. It is 437 yards or 1312 feet.
4. Another scenic route that takes you to the end of Via Nationale begins by walking back thru the Estruscan Gate to Torreone. Walk around the Café Torreone to the right (left fork if driving into Torreone). You are now on the old Roman road that goes past Bramsole and the Tennis Club into the Public Gardens to Piazza Garibaldi and into Via Nationale. This route takes about 1 hour and it mostly level. Good exercise.
Our Cortona Resources
Manager:
Alessandra Federici
Alessandra's Cooking Classes and chef services are very popular on Trip Advisor and Zoom
Check out www.tuscanyunfiltered.com
viacortona@yahoo.com
Managing Partners:
Dan and Greer Garner
garnerdr64@gmail.com
Housekeeper:
Annalisa
Speaks no English. Cleans Villa Cristoforo on Wednesdays from 9am to 3pm.
Owners and Managers:
The Owners are all American citizens
Cristoforo LLC (a Colorado LLC) manages the maintenance
Banks:
Banca CR Di Firenze
Piazza Signorelli 7
52044 Cortona (AR), Italia
Tel: 0575 6303378
Fax: 0575-603268
Alpine Bank
Telluride, CO 81435
Insurance Agent:
Giancarlo Quintieri
Useful Cortona Web Sites:
http://www.tuscanyunfiltered.com Alessandra's Cooking Classes and Catering
http://www.cortonagiftshop.com Ivan's wonderful gallery and shop off via Nationale
www.molesini-market.com/wineshop/enoteca Marco Molesini's Wine Shop
www.tuscantreasures.net Information about Cortona and other towns