Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and fromEtruscan 𐌂𐌖𐌓𐌕𐌖𐌍 (curtun, 𐌍𐌖𐌕𐌓𐌖𐌂 in Etruscan).[3] According to linguistHelmut Rix, ethnic in Etruscan wascurthute (curѳute), attested as a gentile in an inscription fromChiusi, in theprovince of Siena.[4]
AnEtruscan presence is found archaeologically from the lateVillanovan while there is no such evidence of anUmbrian origin of the city.[5][6] Between the 8th and 7th centuries BC it became an important member of theEtruscan League or alucumonia.[7] Most likely, Cortona became a very powerful city thanks to its strategic position, which allowed a wide control of nearby territory.
In the 4th century BC the Etruscans built the imposing walls that surround the city for about 3 km,[8] the "melon" tombs scattered around the city and the monumental funerary altar (Tumulus II of the Sodo) adorned with sphinxes, a unique example in Italy. TheTabula Cortonensis was also found here, a bronze sheet with one of the longest inscriptions in the Etruscan language.
In 310 BC many Etruscan cities were subdued by Rome and Cortona made an alliance with Rome which however was not respected and led to a violent clash nearLake Trasimeno.
Cortona eventually became a Roman colony under the nameCorito. Cortona lost much of its influence under Roman rule. TheVia Cassia, the main Roman artery through central Etruria, led directly fromChiusi toArezzo, bypassing Cortona.
During theSecond Punic War Hannibal besieged and attacked Cortona. The famousbattle of Trasimeno took place not far away and the hamlet of Ossaia, not far from the battlefield, takes its name because the remains of the dead were amassed there, becoming anossuary.
Traces from the Roman period can also be found in the names of some local hamlets, in particular Metelliano, derived from the toponym of the patrician familyMetelli, and Centoia on an ancient checkpoint near the via Cassia, seat of aCentury, sub-unit of the Roman army.
In 450 AD the Goths occupied Cortona. In the final stages of theGothic War (535–554), Cortona was sacked and destroyed.
Cortona became aGhibellinian city state in the 13th century, with its own currency. From 1325 to 1409, the Ranieri-Casali family successfully ruled the town. After being conquered byLadislaus of Naples in 1409, Cortona was sold to the Medici in 1411. In 1737, the senior branch of the Medici line became extinct and Cortona came under the authority of the House of Lorraine. Following theItalian Wars of Independence, Tuscany—Cortona included—became part of theKingdom of Italy.
The foundation of Cortona remains mixed in myths dating to classic times. These were later reworked especially in the late Renaissance period underCosimo I de' Medici. The 17th-century Guide of Giacomo Lauro, reworked from writings ofAnnio da Viterbo, states that 108 years after theGreat Flood, Noah entered theValdichiana via theTiber and Paglia rivers. He preferred this place to anywhere else in Italy, because it was so fertile, and dwelt there for thirty years. One of Noah's descendants was Crano, his son who came to the hilltop and, liking the high position, the fine countryside and the calm air, built the city of Cortona on it in 273 years after the Great Flood.
Etruscan city wallBedroom mosaic floor, Roman Villa of Ossaia, Augustan eraMosaic from the apsidial room, area 3, Roman Villa of OssaiaEtruscan Tumulus II of sodoTheFra AngelicoAnnunciation
The prevailing character of Cortona's architecture is medieval with steep narrow streets situated on a hillside at an elevation of 600 metres (2,000 ft) that embraces a view of the whole of the Valdichiana. From the PiazzaGaribaldi (still referred to by the local population by its older name, Piazza Carbonaia) is a fine prospect ofLake Trasimeno, scene ofHannibal's ambush of the Roman army in 217 BC (Battle of Lake Trasimene).
Cortona Archaeological Park[9] hosts interesting remains from the Etruscan city state, including ancient walls, buildings and ceremonial tombs. boasts a number of interesting remains from its past as an Etruscan city state. The surrounding countryside is dotted with sections of ancient walls, buildings and ceremonial tombs. Parts of the Etruscan city wall can still be seen today as the basis of the present wall. The main street, via Nazionale, is the only street in the town with no gradient, and is still usually referred to by locals by its older name of Ruga Piana. Outside Cortona are the Roman villa at Ossaia[10] and the Roman roads in the hills nearby which can still be traveled today.
ThePalazzo Casali, also known asPalazzo Pretorio, houses theMuseo dell'Accademia Etrusca, displaying items from Etruscan, Roman, and Egyptian civilizations, as well as art and artefacts from the Medieval and Renaissance eras. The distinguished Etruscan Academy Museum had its foundation in 1727 with the collections and library of Onofrio Baldelli. Among its most famous ancient artefacts is the bronzelampadario or Etruscan hanging lamp, found at Fratta near Cortona in 1840 and then acquired by the Academy for the large sum of 1600 Florentine scudi. Its iconography includes (under the 16 burners) alternating figures ofSilenus playingpanpipes or double flutes, and of sirens orharpies. Within zones representing waves, dolphins and fiercer sea-creatures is agorgon-like face with protruding tongue. Between each burner is a modelled horned head ofAchelous. It is supposed that the lampadario derived from some important north Etruscan religious shrine of around the second half of the 4th century BC. A later (2nd century BC) inscription shows it was rededicated for votive purposes (tinscvil) by theMusni family at that time.[11] The Museum contains several other important Etruscan bronzes.
Etruscan chamber-tombs nearby include theTanella di Pitagora[12] (halfway up the hill fromCamucia): the fine masonry of the tomb stands exposed, but was formerly covered by an earth mound. Two at the foot of the hillside at Il Sodo, and a complex in Camucia itself. Il Sodo I, the 'Grotta Sergardi' commonly known as 'Il Melone', contains a passage, opening into parallel passages leading to square inner chambers, within a mound about 200 m (660 ft) in circumference. Although the chambers are paved with slabs of masonry the walls are constructed of pieces of rock roughly-formed into bricks.[13] This tomb can be visited. Il Sodo II contained a large stone-stepped altar platform with carved sphinxes devouring warriors.[14]
The town's chief artistic treasures are two panels byFra Angelico in theDiocesan Museum, anAnnunciation and aMadonna and Child with Saints. A third surviving work by the same artist is the fresco above the entrance to thechurch ofSan Domenico, likewise painted during his stay at Cortona in 1436. The Diocesan Museum houses also a group of work byGiuseppe Maria Crespi, known as Lo Spagnuolo, calledEcstasy of Saint Margaret. The Academy Museum includes the very well known paintingMaternità of 1916 by the Cortonese artistGino Severini. There are also examples of the works ofPietro da Cortona.
The villaBramasole, built in 1504, was used as the location for the 2003 filmUnder the Tuscan Sun.[15]
The Imperial villa was inhabited from the 1st century BC until the 6th century AD. The large, luxurious, elongated terraced villa was owned first by the consular familyVibii Pansae, followed byGaius Caesar andLucius Caesar, grandsons and heirs to the throne of emperorAugustus.
The archaeological park of Cortona has 11 sites, among which is the second tumulus of the Sodo, an imposing 6th century BC tomb with a monumental staircase decorated by large sculptural groups.
Etruscan walls. The walls encircle the town on the original foundations shown by their massive stones. The Porta Bifora is double-arched and the sole remaining Etruscan Gate. The Romans repaired damaged walls and built new gates on the two main roads of the city: the Porta Sant'Agostino, Porta Colonia, Porta Santa Maria and Porta San Domenico.
Tomb of Mezzavia
Tumulus I of the Sodo
Tumulus II of the Sodo
Tanella Angori
Tanella di Pitagora
Tumulus of Camucia
Roman road of Torreone
Roman road of Mount Maestrino
Roman road of Teverina Bassa
Baths of Bacchus cistern
Wall section at Palazzo Cerulli-Diligenti
Wall section at Palazzo Casali
Barrel vault near via Guelfa
The view from Piazza Garibaldi.Lake Trasimeno can be seen in the distance.
The Palazzo ComunaleThe Church of Santa Maria Nuova, 1554, a central square-plan Renaissance church
Santa Maria Nuova, built byGiorgio Vasari in 1554, is a domed church with a centralized Greek cross layout. Inside are four large columns which supports the lantern of the cupola. At the sides the four arms of the cross branch out covered with barrel-vaults, while four small cupolas arise in the spaces of the angles. The interior contains paintings depicting aNativity byAlessandro Allori,SanCarlo Borromeo administers communion to those afflicted by Plague byBaccio Ciarpi, and anAnnunciation byEmpoli. The church is in poor condition, and the interior is not open for visitors.
Santa Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio was built in 1484–1515 byFrancesco di Giorgio Martini to shelter a putatively miraculous icon of theBlessed Virgin Mary, the "Madonna del Calcinaio".[16] This image was originally painted on the timbers of a lime-vat, acalcinaio, hence the name. A centralized Renaissance design was applied to the design of the nave: the eastern part of the building was generally developed into a centralized form, which would then be crowned with a large cupola, foreshadowing the cathedral at Florence. The restored interior has unusually high arches.
Cortona may be accessed by rail: the closest station isCamucia-Cortona, 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) away. In additionTerontola-Cortona station lies in the district of Terontola. Both stations lie on theFlorence–Rome railway, while Terontola-Cortona station is also at the junction with theline to Foligno, viaPerugia. There are direct trains fromFlorence, Rome, and Foligno (via Perugia).
In 2000, Cortona established Cortona DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), which has 29 members that produce and control 14 different types of wines.
Cortona was featured as one of the destinations in a travel episode ofConan, in whichConan O'Brien and Jordan Schlansky (one of the show's associate producers) visitItaly.[20] Schlansky, being a recurring visitor of Cortona, is awarded a parking space by the city's mayor and introduces O' Brien to his favourite restaurant, where he, with questionable success, explains the food, wine, and the surrounding area, to his travel companion.
Cortona was also featured inBuffy the Vampire Slayer season 1, episode 8: "I, Robot... You, Jane", where a circle of priests trap the demon Moloch into a book using a magic ritual.
^Rix, Helmut (1965).Das etruskische Cognomen: Untersuchungen zu System, Morphologie und Verwendung der Personennamen auf den jüngeren Inschriften Nordetruriens (in German). p. 234.
^Angelo Trotta, Cortona: i rinvenimenti di via Vagnotti, in Gens antiquissima Italiae. Antichità dell'Umbria a Leningrado, Perugia 1990, pp. 103-108
^Aldo Neppi Modona, Cortona etrusca e romana nella storia e nell'arte, Firenze 1977
^The Imperial “Villa” at Ossaia (Arezzo, Italy): Preliminary Data on the Territory of Roman Cortona, Helena Fracchia et al. Echos du monde classique: Classical views, University of Toronto Press, Volume XL, n.s. 15, Number 1, 1996, pp. 157-200
^P. Bruschetti et al.,Il Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona, Catalogo (2nd Ediz., Calosci, Cortona 1996). See also George Dennis, as above, 387-89.
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