Shopping, Parking & Getting Around

Much like the tourism hotspots of San Gimignano and Pienza, tourist tat exists but is still leaves plenty of space for authentic crafts, from art to jewellery, crafts and Tuscan foodstuffs.

Run by the arty Cosignani family, this is a highly tempting gallery, especially for Tuscan art.
Acquire wonderfully moody paintings by Antonio Sbrana, a Tuscan Post-Impressionist artist from the Tuscan tradition of Macchiaioli. The gallery also deals with contemporary, emerging and minimalist Italian artists, along with international artists.

Address: Via Nazionale 4, Cortona
Web: www.gallerianazionale.com

The Delbrenna jewellery-making business has been going since the early 20th century, based on ancient goldsmith techniques. Come for special handcrafted gifts, from rings to pendants and necklaces, or even bejewelled shoes. You can do a tour of their workshop, olive mill and wine cellars.

Address: Piazza della Repubblica 12, Cortona
Web: https://delbrenna.it/

Giancarlo Rossi is a third-generation cabinet-maker and carpenter who makes one-off objects from fruit bowls to sculptures of horses and faces, all demonstrating great craftsmanship. The family has been in the wood-carving business since the 1920s.

Address: Via Guelfa 28, Cortona

Parking outside the city walls is generally sufficient, except for high summer. Cortona, like most Tuscan towns, operates a strict ZTL system, a Limited Traffic Zone within the city walls. This means that the Centro Storico (historic centre) is essentially closed to traffic, particularly for non-residents. Cars will need to be left outside in the car parks beyond the city walls. The free car park of Parcheggio dello Spirito Santo is a convenient parking spot, especially as an escalator (scala mobile) connects the car park with the historic centre.

Advice on ZTLs: You may see other cars crossing the ZTL boundary (Limited Traffic Zone) and assume you can proceed. Not so. The drivers crossing into the ZTL zone will probably be locals and have residents’ permits. Visitors do not so are liable to fines. Zones are monitored by cameras, so tickets are issued immediately and automatically, as soon as (and each time) the car crosses the ZTL boundary.

See Cortona city website for a downloadable map of parking sites in town:

Web: http://www.comunedicortona.it/il-comune/polizia-municipale/ztl-presentazione1/ztl/

Hilltop Cortona may feel in the middle of nowhere and that is part of its charm. In reality, by car is the simplest, with the town on the north-south SS71 route to Arezzo.

Cortona is not the easiest place to reach by rail. The most convenient station is Camucia, 6km southwest of town, and from there a bus service connects with Cortona’s Piazza del Mercato (and from there, buses also run to Arezzo and Castiglion Fiorentino (www.etruriamobilita.it). Camucia train station has no ticket office, only a ticket machine. If this is off-putting, then head to Terentola train station instead, which is 7km south of Cortona, with services to Arezzo every hour (taking 25 minutes) and Florence hourly (taking 1 hour and 45 minutes).