Arezzo in bad weather

Arezzo is a little visited medium-size town in southern Tuscany at about 600 meters above sea level.  Coming from two weeks in the provincial countryside, Arezzo seems like the metropolis.  It is served by TrenItalia as well as as a regional train network.  The one morning we were at the train/bus station, there are hundreds of students coming and going to school, quite a bustling scene.  The big box office hit and award winning "Life is Beautiful" was filmed here, yet Arezzo remains relatively untouched by tourism.  We would normally have been seduced by Arezzo, except we experienced three days of bad weather, cold, rainy or windy; pick your combination.

The transit from San Quirico to Arezzo was not as smooth as we had planned as we needed 4 legs to travel about 50 kms 'as the crow flies" ie 30 miles, but we did get to ride the train from the little known Montepulciano Station to the even lesser known Sinalunga and then a commuter train to Arezzo. Whew!






Once in Arezzo we got settled in our cozy apartment and went out to get food supplies (in the rain) and see the town (in the rain).




Duomo.


Santa Maria della Pieve has interesting layout with a many columned facade and a raised altar. Here's a painting of the interior from the City Museum and below it my photo of a similar view.






No 2 columns on the facade are the same.


Rivers running down the streets.


The advantage of renting an apartment with a kitchen is: have oven, have pizza ala Sun-Ling. And that's her doing the honors with the traditional pizza cutter.


And even though it's cold and threatening to rain, we take an evening stroll passeggiata through Piazza Grande and down the Corso and then back to the Piazza.












Sun-Ling took this very, very cool panorama.


We decided not to pay 6 Euros each to visit the Basilica di San Francesco. Here's the view from the ticket booth. ;-)


Deposition from the Cross at the Church of SS. Annunziata.


We found the Renaissance paintings in the city Museum to our liking.




This is section of a very large painting by Giorgio Vasari, a new favorite Renaissance painter.


Another Vasari.


The City Museum collection of Tuscan Majorca Pottery is said to be the best.


Impressive City Gate where the Etruscan Chimera was found.




Street scene.


More beautiful terracotta in Chiesa di Santa Maria in Gradi.


The sun is almost out and we return to the Duomo.


This terracotta scene is an art highlight of the Duomo...


...along with the ceiling...


...and the stained glass windows.


The Duomo from the rear.


And even farther away.


City Hall.


Arezzo of course was a Roman City. These are the remnants of the anfiteatro.


The very beautiful altar of the Santuario di Santa Maria delle Grazie, located in a porticoed church in the south of town.






Some Modernist apartments.


Back to the Parish Church one last time.










Happy Hour snack at our apartment: burrata cheese over tomato and arugula.


And more pizza!