Cortona in Italy 2015 Guidebook?

Brian, Cortona was in the 2014 Italy book but 2014 is no longer available for purchase. It looks like the 2015 will be out later this month, maybe any day now. Cortona is listed under "Hill Towns".

Thanks for your reply.
I have the Italy 2015 book now and Cortona is not in it. My question is why did they take it out?

You may get some differing opinions, and the topic of inclusion/exclusion is debated on occasion, but the simple answer is pages available. While Cortona is a perfectly nice town, there are many perfectly nice towns in Italy, and many of that size or importance are lower on the list of "must see's" than the big hitters or traditional "must see's" of Assissi, Orvieto, or the CT. I think Cortona had it's day, especially after "Under the Tuscan Sun", but time moves on. The good news is though, Cortona did not cease to exist. It is still there and just as wonderful. (Maybe more if the crowds have diminished) Much of the information in the 2012 book is likely still valid, the internet will allow updating (see a hotel or restaurant...look it up) so all is not lost. Do some exploring and I am sure your trip will be just as wonderful.

Thanks for your reply.
The choices of towns are limited if you want to ride the main rail line that's why Cortona was of interest to me because it's on that route. I'll just use the 2012 Guidebook.

Rick only covers a smattering of the many hilltowns easily reachable by train. Perugia, Spello, Spoleto, Todi are just a few more of the places that you can get to by train (and then usually a bus up, although Perugia has a gondola), and you can readily find others. Other guidebooks, to be frank, cover Tuscany and Umbria in more depth than RS, although when Rick covers a town I think he does it as good or better than the other books.

When a hotel or restaurant disappears from the guidebook that is reason for concern; I've seen places taken out after complaints were posted and wouldn't be surprised if there is a connection. But an entire town? I wouldn't worry about it, nor would I assume a town isn't worth a visit because RS hasn't written it up.

You may want to look at Lonely Planet guidebook as well. Lacks the RS personal style but includes more places.

Thanks, I'll check those towns out

As far as the page limit goes, the 2015 book has 1271 pages. The 2011 book had only 1013. A quick comparison seems to show the following differences:

New in 2015 (v. 2011):
- More Sights in the Dolomites

Gone in 2015:
- Urbino
- Cortona

(And BTW, Vicenza is still in his book.) (^_^)

brian,

I'm not surprised that Cortona has been removed from the Guidebook. While it's a beautiful small town and of course famous because of Under The Tuscan Sun and also the Andre Rieu Tuscany concert that was filmed there several years ago, it doesn't have a lot of sights.

Cortona is typical of many small Tuscan hill towns and doesn't really have a lot of the type of attractions that would interest the audience that RS caters to with his guidebooks. It's more suited for a long day trip or perhaps just one night (IMHO). Even without the guidebook, it should be easy to find hotels and restaurants there using Trip Advisor or other online sources.

Perugia is nearby is so much more interesting and so overlooked. It is also not a "small hill town".