Last weekend I ventured out by myself for an "spontaneous" adventure. I hopped on a train to the city of Arezzo, about an hour from Florence. Arezzo was once an Etruscan city built on the Poggio del Sole "Hill of the Sun". I really enjoyed walking through Arezzo. The town has many steep streets and is know for their antique shops. The sloped Piazza Grande is a medieval square and important palaces surround it, as well as cafes and art shops. The upper part of the town contains a large park, the Medici Fortress and the Cathedral of Arezzo. There are so many churches in the city that I have a difficult time keeping track of them and which ones I actually visited. I took pictures of the Cathedral, San Domenico, and the Santa Maria della Pieve (with asquare bell tower).
The start of the movie "Life is Beautiful" took place in Arezzo before the characters are taken to a concentration camp. I remember watching the movie in highschooGiorgia Vasari also lived in Arezzo (the painter/architect) and designed the loggia in the Piazza Grande.
There was so much to see in Arezzo and I stumbled upon new sights at every turn. For some reason I enjoyed Arezzo more than the other hill towns I had visited. There was a lot of history because of the Etruscan foundation of the city. There are two Chimera statues/fountains that are copies or an original that is in Florence (I have yet to see it). The Chimera bronze was found in Arezzo but taken and placed in the Palazzo Vecchio (In Florence). From what I read online, The chimera is a greek monster with a lion's body, lion and goat heads and a snake's head for a tail.
The start of the movie "Life is Beautiful" took place in Arezzo before the characters are taken to a concentration camp. I remember watching the movie in highschooGiorgia Vasari also lived in Arezzo (the painter/architect) and designed the loggia in the Piazza Grande.
There was so much to see in Arezzo and I stumbled upon new sights at every turn. For some reason I enjoyed Arezzo more than the other hill towns I had visited. There was a lot of history because of the Etruscan foundation of the city. There are two Chimera statues/fountains that are copies or an original that is in Florence (I have yet to see it). The Chimera bronze was found in Arezzo but taken and placed in the Palazzo Vecchio (In Florence). From what I read online, The chimera is a greek monster with a lion's body, lion and goat heads and a snake's head for a tail.
