Arezzo - Viva Italia!

Italy has the right to call itself the cultural capital of Europe with its long history in the arts, its robust wines and great food. From Milan through Rome, Florence and then down to Naples, the country oozes charm and sophistication from every street corner. It gave the world one of the greatest empires, influenced architecture for over 2,000 years and pulled Europe out of a cultural quagmire with the Renaissance – the night life here is pretty ordinary, especially when compared to Global cities like New York, London, Berlin, Amsterdam or even Paris, for that matter. Agreed that in Milan, one could head for the Navigli district where the bars are full of students, or if you're after something more classy, there is the area round Via Brera, and Rome has some pretty trendy cafes and bars are between Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona and Via della Pace and The Testaccio district is the place for clubs and Florence has lots of international students and they tend to head for Oltrarno south of the river. It still makes no sense to me personally staying the overnight in these cities. I’m not the livin’-out-of-suitcase kinda tourist. I prefer to settle down in one hotel and then explore around….

Arezzo is a small city in Tuscany, very close to Florence which is about half an hour away by train. There’s not much in Arezzo – the ‘not much’ of course is relative to most Italian cities. Arezzo lies on a hillside, surrounded by a wide valley where four natural basins meet. Arezzo is – as the crow flies - 86 Km from the Adriatic Sea and 109 Km from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The longest river - Arno - bends in the north-west of the town and, immediately after that, it joins up with the main stream of the Chiana into the artificial basin of the Penna. The movie buffs might be aware that Arezzo is the city where the triple Academy Award winner movie by Roberto Benigni, - Life is Beautiful – was shot.

During the summer, the town - due to its altitude (296 metres above sea-level) – has a very moderate climate. Only during the coldest months you can see the snow falling on the surrounding mountain ranges of the Pratomagno and the Catenaia Alps.

Its geographical location – almost midway between Rome and Milan, is what makes Arezzo as an ideal base for an Italian holiday (Unless, ofcourse you prefer the if its Monday, it must be Milan kinda package tours)! Rome and Milan are only 1 ½ to 2 hours away by train, Florence is just a little more than half hour as is Pisa. Venice is about an hour away. Basically all you need to do is get here and do the main cities as day trips.



VILLA CLINIA AND THE CIGNANO’S FARM



A few years ago, my friend in Florence – Stefano booked me at the Villa Cilnia, an agritourism hotel, just outside of Arezzo. Fabulous experience. The hotel is set within the vineyard and the smell of fresh rosemary perfumes the air from the
plants that edge the long driveway and grounds around the buildings.
There is even a beautiful swimming pool on the premises. They also offer fishing, table-tennis and mountain-biking.


Luigi and Orietta run the place with graciousness and attention to
detail. Orietta is a phenomenal baker and jam maker and the results of
her talent grace the breakfast buffet. Each day's offerings are better
than the day before. (Orietta speaks no English, but then you need to only use hands and eyes to speak in Italy anywez.) Luigi, speaks excellent English, but he is more occupied with the winery than the day-to-day functioning of the hotel. The Villa Cilnia has 10 comfortable rooms all en-suite, with Tuscan-style furnishing, and provided with all the facilities of a luxury hotel.

The Cignano's Farm is on the hillside of Bagnoro, just a few minutes far from Arezzo and it is set around the homonymous Villa, built in the XIVth century. The fact that the villa is surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, and a deep wood is just a reason enough to spen d a week there. Each of the vineyards' name is evocative: Del Quercione, La Domata, dei Gelsomini, dei Lauri, La Tonda. They are all specialized and facing south, 250/300 metres high, on an area of 12 hectares of calcareous and drained soils, with marls and clay. Grapes Sangiovese, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Merlot are the excellent products of these vineyards, harvested by hand between the end of September and the beginning of October. They have four refined qualities of red wines and a full-bodied white wine

The olive trees belongs to the Frantoio, Leccino and Moraiolo varieties and produce an excellent extra-virgin olive oil. A beautiful lake is the home to many to the migratory birds and is open for fishing.

The chianti produced by them is recommended by leading wine journals and you could even get a bottle or two of a vintage of any of the years that you might want to celebrate. I’ve got a whole cask of my birth year which I plan to serve on my 50th!!

The room rate here is about Euro 105 per night including breakfast