"... mother of Troy and grandmother of Rome" (Virgil - Aeneid III and IV)

Dante Alighieri was known to appreciate the so-called “copertino cortonese”, a blanked made of finely woven wool (I sonnet - Tenzone between Dante and Forese Donati)

"... no field or clod of earth is kept better than here, and everything is clean ..."( Wolfang Goethe on the surrounding countryside)

"... the mingling roofs of the houses and the town’s arrogant towers seem closer to Heaven than to the nearby railway station..." (Henry James, 1873)

"... I have found a wonderful Tuscan wine from Cortona..." (Giosuè Carducci, 1886)

Gabriele D'Annunzio celebrated Cortona among Italy’s silent cities.


"... From Cortona there is a magnificent view; one’s gaze loses itself in the distance..." (François Mitterand, 1987)

"... a marvellous city where everything speaks of God – the nature, the mountains, the woods..." (John Paul II, 1993)

"... No map planner would describe it thus, but it is fascinating" (Frances Mayes - "Under the Tuscan Sun", 1997)