Piazza Garibaldi Belvedere
Step through Cortona's main gate and the town immediately rewards you with Piazza Garibaldi, a wide terrace that frames the entire Val di Chiana in one uninterrupted sweep. This is the view that made Frances Mayes fall in love with Cortona in 'Under the Tuscan Sun' — and it still stops first-time visitors dead in their tracks.
The View Itself
On a clear morning the panorama runs from the silver glint of Lake Trasimeno in Umbria on the left, across the patchwork of sunflower fields, vineyards and cypress-lined farm tracks, to Monte Cetona and the hills above Montepulciano on the right. The valley is so flat and wide that it feels almost like looking at a painted backdrop.
The piazza is at its best in the blue hour just before sunrise, when mist pools in the valley floor and the hilltop towns glow like embers, and again at sunset when the whole scene turns terracotta and gold. A stone bench runs the length of the terrace — bring a bottle of local Cortona DOC white wine and settle in.
Practical Details
Piazza Garibaldi sits just inside the Porta Sant'Agostino, the main entrance for visitors arriving by car or bus from the lower town of Camucia. The parking areas outside the gate mean many visitors catch this view before they've even walked 50 metres into town.
A small kiosk at the piazza edge sells cold drinks and panini from spring through autumn. The bronze statue of Garibaldi at the centre of the square dates from 1890 and makes a useful landmark for meeting points.
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