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Arezzo
In the heart of the Italian countryside of Tuscany is the city of Arezzo. This jewel of arts and learning in the Middle Ages, Arezzo has a glorious history going back to the Etruscans and Romans in the ancient world where it was a center for trade and commerce, particulary for the Arretine red-clay pottery.
As visitors stroll through the town, they recognize an otherworldy feel, as if being transported back in time to an era of knights and castles. In fact, during an annual medieval festival called the Joust of the Saracens (Giostra del Saracino), the whole town comes alive in medieval dress to celebrate and cheer on “knights” on horseback as they charge into a target representing the Saracen King.
A visit begins at the medieval square in the city, the Piazza Grande, with its red brick and limestone tiles. The piazza was where life centered in the past as a marketplace for the towns people and today, as the main venue where the spectacular Joust of the Sacarin festivities take place.
Nearby the Piazza Grande is the Palace of the Lay Fraternity (Fraternita dei Laici), a two-story palace from the 14th to 15th Centuries of gothic and quattrocentro architecture. Just off the piazza is the Episcopal Palace, a grand home to the bishops rebuilt by the city in the 13th Century, witn its breathtaking wall-to-wall frescoes by Benvenuti, Torri and Castelucci and its monument to the reigning Rennaisance family the Medici’s of Tuscany.
Its grand cathedrals in the gothic styles are a must-see— the Cathedral from the 12th Century, the Church of San Francesco from the 14th Century, the Romanesque Churc of Santa Maria della Pieve from the 12th Century.
After a long day of exploring the charming town, join locals in the piazza for the local cuisine with a glass of wine. The acquacotta and ribollita (bread soups with mushrooms and vegetables respectively) are Arezzo starters to fill up the hearty appetites, before trying the famed Chianina steaks, from the white oxen raised in the Val di Chiana, near Arezzo, drizzled with sea salt and olive oil.
