Arezzo Province

We stayed at an agriturismo outside Arezzo a few years ago. Arezzo itself is well worth a visit. Also Sansepolcro was nice. And one of the best meals we ever had in Italy was in the tiny hilltop town of Anghiari at Da Alighiero. Truly amazing food, and pretty reasonable prices considering the quality. Photo of Anghiari here. Remember you can use flickr.com as a resource to see if a place looks interesting.

I absolutely loved the Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle by Peiro della Francesca in Arezzo (in the San Francesco church). There was also a wonderful Cimabue cross in a different church (can't remember the name). We ate some delicious and affordable food in Arezzo and the town felt refreshingly untouristed.

H.S. is thinking of San Domenico with the Cimabue cross. Arezzo is where my family is originally from. I spent a few weeks here last summer, and am living here until December. If you have any specific questions on the city, please feel free to ask! I know more about the city than the region, but can try to help with anything else too. As far as the city goes: there is a lot of great art here like some of the other posters have mentioned. Petrarca's library has a lot of artifacts, there is the Loggia di Vasari if you are interested in him. The Medici Fortress is closed right now for renovation, but may be open when you are here. It is a nice Tuscan city that has far less tourists than Cortona, Siena, etc. I'm partial to it for my own reasons of course, but I think it is a nice area to stay in to get a feel of what Tuscany is truly like, if you are interested. What time of year are you thinking about renting the villa? If you are near Arezzo in June or September you may get to attend the giostra, the joust! It is fabulous and so much fun, a big part of the city.

Arezzo is a great place to stay. several years ago I stayed there for 3 or 4 days and really enjoyed the town. The upper main piazza is very medieval and really neat. One feature I liked was the absence of loads of tourists. Buon viaggio,

Thank you all! We're booking the villa now and are excited to explore a new area of beautiful Italia! If I have more specific questions I'll be sure to post them! Mille Grazie!