Cortona day one

Today we caught a shuttle bus to the top of the lovely town of Cortona and the Cortona Fort (Fortezza Medicea di Girifalco) it dates back to the 13th century. Up here in the old fortress was a display of art work by Val Di Chianna that was open to the public. The view from the top of the fortress was incredible. We walked back down and visited the Church of St. Francis. This is a magnificent church that has been totally renovated to it’s original inside and out. You are not allowed to take photos inside. Inside is a small retangular container the holds a golden cross that contains a fragment of the cross the Christ was crucified on and dates back to the 10th century. The photo outside shows concrete blocks on the roof holding down the tiles.
This is a true Tuscany town just as we had thought it would have been. It’s lovely and quaint and so typical Italian. Check out the photos.
We bought a pizza and had our ham/salami with a beer (yes I know it should have been wine but it was hot) on the balcony at our B&B over looking the main St. Now we really felt like we were in Tuscany. The town put on a cross bow competition and they all marched in period costume beating drums up the skinny streets… Wonderful moments..