The House

Artistical Cultural Places and Gastronomy

Villa Poggio Cuculo is about 10 km from the centre of Arezzo: the city, founded in pre-Etruscan times, offers countless artistic places of great interest. In fact in Arezzo you can admire it:

- the Church of San Domenico of 1275 where the wooden crucifix of Cimabue of 1268 is exposed;

- the Basilica of St. Francis of the 14th century. where there is the fresco "The Legend of the True Cross"; by Piero della Francesca in 1452;

- the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve of the 12th century. with inside the polyptych by Pietro Lorenzetti, his first work, dated 1320;

- the Church of the Santissima Annunziata of the 16th century. with visible in the facade works Spinello and inside Giorgio Vasari, Pietro da Cortona;

- the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie from the mid-15th century. with Renaissance portico by Benedetto da Maiano and high altar by Andrea della Robbia;

- the Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla with the high altar by Giorgio Vasari;
- the Medici Fortress of the 16th century. ;

- the Casa Vasari, historical residence of the painter since 1540 with countless valuable frescoed rooms;

- the Palazzo della Fraternità dei Laici with the Logge Vasari, both works by the brilliant painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which overlook Piazza Grande where the famous historical re-enactment of the Saracen Joust takes place in June and September;

- the Roman Amphitheatre of the 1st/2nd century. ;
The city of Arezzo is also full of restaurants and trattorias where you can taste/taste the typical dishes of the Arezzo and Tuscan tradition such as ribollita, tortelli, black croutons, pici, Florentine steak, game and game seasoned with the exceptional extra virgin olive oil and accompanying everything with good wine selectable among the many that are produced in Tuscany.
30 km to the south is easily reachable the ancient town of Cortona whose origins date back to 900 a. C. (“Mother of Troy and grandmother of Rome"), in the beautiful Val di Chiana, where you can admire the Etruscan tombs of Melone del Sodo and the Etruscan Museum.
Going northwards you will find the splendid Casentino valley, rich in Romanesque churches and imposing castles surrounded by oak and chestnut woods.
To visit in this valley are the villages of Stia, Pratovecchio and Bibbiena, in search of silent monasteries and convents such as the hermitage of Camaldoli, nestled in secular forests of fir trees and the Sanctuary of La Verna which was the home of St. Francis in the last years of his life. It will also be obligatory to visit Poppi, a marvellous village rightly included among the most beautiful in Italy, with its loggias and its imposing and perfectly preserved medieval castle of the Counts Guidi.
Also to the north is Caprese Michelangelo, home to Michelangelo Buonarroti's Birthplace Museum and the Michelangiolesca Library where, in 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti was born, Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet, protagonist of the Renaissance and already in life recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time.