Explorations of a lesser known, but still gorgeous, Tuscan city.
Arezzo is a Tuscan city about 80 km (50 mi) south of Florence. Settled back in the Etruscan period, Arezzo has a mix of ancient ruins and medieval buildings typical of Tuscany. Today, Arezzo is a bustling city, but its historic past is wonderfully preserved.
Jana Irving My first stop was on the other side of the historic center from where I was staying. I didn’t mind the walk.
Jana Irving Casa Vasari, the home of the painter, art historian and architect Giorgio Vasari, active during the Renaissance. He painted most of the ceilings in his home.
Jana Irving The Room of Virtue’s Triumph. While the rooms were elaborately decorated, they were rather small and hard to photograph.
Jana Irving Close up to one of the “panels” next to the statue.
Jana Irving The Gothic Basilica of San Domenico.
Jana Irving Very, very Tuscan Gothic.
Jana Irving Looks like the walls were once covered with frescoes.
Jana Irving The 13th century Torre Ricoveri-Gamurrini. It wouldn’t be a medieval Tuscan city without a tower or two.
Jana Irving Interestingly shaped building.
Jana Irving Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla. This church has definitely gone through some alterations over the years.
Jana Irving It’s a simple but beautiful church.
Jana Irving I love fake domes. You have to stand in a specific area for the painting to appear like a dome.
Jana Irving Very, very Tuscan.
Jana Irving Another tower house. Florence used to have dozens of these.
Jana Irving One of Arezzo’s grand churches, Santa Maria della Pieve. (To see the cool exterior which was under scaffolding when I was there.)
Jana Irving Interesting capital. The church is a combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles.
Jana Irving A lot going on with this capital.
Jana Irving One side of Arezzo’s main square, Piazza Grande.
Jana Irving The other side of Piazza Grande. Starting from the left is the rear apse of Santa Maria della Pieve, followed by the Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici, and finally, the Vasari Loggia, designed by Vasari himself.
Jana Irving Another tower, Torre dell’Orologio, and the Palazzo dei Priori on Piazza della Libertá.
Jana Irving Next door is the impressive Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro e Donato. It was built through several phases from 1277-1511. The facade dates to the 19th century. It replaced an unfinished facade.
Jana Irving Love this door.
Jana Irving The most stunning feature of this cathedral is its painted ceiling.
Jana Irving The windows are perfectly placed to illuminate the frescoes.
Jana Irving Lovely altar area of a chapel.
Jana Irving The super elaborate main altar dedicated to San Donato.
Jana Irving I love random frescoes like this.
Jana Irving Santa Maria delle Grazie. I walked a mile of the way, in one direction to spend 20 minutes at this church.
Jana Irving Gorgeous Renaissance portico.
Jana Irving It’s a little Gothic church.
Jana Irving Arezzo also has an Ancient Roman amphitheater from the 2nd century CE.
Jana Irving Part of it was incorporated into a Benedictine monastery, which is now the archaeological museum.
Jana Irving A remaining bit of the vomitorium (I love that word.), or passages used for rapid exit from the amphitheater.
If you are looking for a bit of Tuscany that is less crowded, Arezzo is the place to go. It has several museums, good restaurants, and easily walkable. I only shared here a few of the places I went, so there’s even more than this.
Check out my next update where I head to Prato, another Tuscan city just outside of Florence!
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Start at the beginning of this adventure.
