"The Town that Frances Mayes Built " a Cortona Travel Page by mariocibelli

I have always loves Cortona. It is a magical Tuscan hilltown, located 110 Km southeast of Florence very close to the border with Umbria and Lago Trasimeno. Of all the 'hilltowns' I have visited I find it to be the warmest, both in terms of the physical place (buildings, colours and atmosphere), but also the people. I don't feel that this is just because I have spent a lot of time here and also have many friends either.

One thing about Cortona, it has one level street, Via Nazionale (the main thouroughfare) which is a pedestrian street ( as are the majority) where the daily and nightly passegiata occurs. All the other streets are either up or down, some of the older ones are essentially stair-like with very short steps.

The funniest thing is the 15th century hospital at which if you come by car you park on a 90 degree angle, note the stones under the rear wheels of the cars to prevent slippage. Another point I should bring out, NOBODY DRIVES A TRUCK OR SUV - being vertically challenged sits well with them.

Yes, Cortona is where the book(s) and now film version of Under the Tuscan Sun was set. I don't know anyone who has ever met her (the author) who still has her home there, but most people feel a bit ambivalent about the whole thing. It has effected tourism to Cortona, however I don't like thetricke down effects.

I have very mixed feeling about the book and the film version is terrible. Can you believe they erected a fake fountain 'to make the town more Italian and quaint' with a statue of Neptune - who happened to have an anormous member, well the local monsignor and several local citizens saw to it that Neptune got circumsized.

La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) was also partially filmed here - the scenes at the opera (that is the local cinema, Teatro Signorelli).