Among olive groves and vineyards of the hills, Cortona, overlooking the splendid panorama of the Val di Chiana and Lake Trasimeno. City of Etruscan origin, was one of twelve Lucumone.
Proof of membership of Cortona the Etruscan civilization are the mighty walls, the monumental tombs and a rich collection of objects stored in the new Museum of the Etruscan town of Cortona (MAEC).
later became a Roman colony until 450 AD, the period of the barbarian invasions, when it was destroyed by the Goths. To find a prosperous period of the city should expect the thirteenth century when it was a sip Cortona Municipality of the Ghibellines.
In 1325 the family obtained the lordship Casali, Cortona, then followed the fate of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, first under the Medici, then, from 1737 in the Lorraine and finally, with the plebiscite of 1860, he joined the new Kingdom 's Italy.
Palazzo Casali, the Palazzo Comunale, Palazzo Passerini, churches and famous names that Cortona won the confirmation of its history are medieval and Renaissance traditions.
In the highest part of the city stands the powerful Medici Fortezza del Girifalco, grand military monument, built on the ruins of a fortress built by the Guelph-Arezzo in 1258. Below it the sanctuary of Santa Margherita, the patroness of the city.
