Buongiorno! Today, our group took a day trip to the picturesque city of Cortona. After breakfast, we took a brief bus ride to meet our tour guide at the ancient Etruscan necropolis outside the city. Along the way, we caught gorgeous views of the Tuscany countryside. At the necropolis, we learned about Etruscan burial practices, including the fact that the tombs are placed to the west of the city, where the sun sets. We even got to go inside a tomb that looked like something out of Indiana Jones. After saying bye to the free-range chickens chilling by the tombs, we ventured up the hill to downtown Cortona.
Our tour began in the Basilica of Saint Margaret, the founder of the first public hospital of Cortona. Inside, we saw a fresco that recognized Italian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. Our tour guide taught us that images of Saints can be identified by certain references to their origin. Saint Margaret, for example, is pictured with the dog who alerted her to her husband’s death. In the basilica, the church has displayed Saint Margaret’s skeleton in a glass tomb and identifies the preservation of her body without outside help as a sign of her “miraculousness.” We toured several more churches dedicated to Saint Francis and Saint Margaret and even got to see a painting being restored.
After a delicious lunch outside, we went to the MAEC Museum, which stands for Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca e della Città di Cortona and means the Museum of the Etruscan and the City of Cortona. The museum was full of interesting (and very old) artifacts and art. One of our favorite exhibits included fossils and bones from mammoths, hippopotamuses, and other enormous ancient animals. These findings may corroborate the story of Hannibal bringing his army and elephants from Spain and defeating the Romans at the nearby Lake Trasimeno. Some other cool things were beautiful ancient Etruscan gold and silver jewelry from over 2500 years ago and mummified bodies and sarcophagi from ancient Egypt! One of the crowns of their collection is an Etruscan chandelier cast in a single piece of bronze with designs representing the four “elements:” water, air, fire, and earth.
After the long walk through the museum, we relaxed with some trademark gelato. Coffee and coconut were some popular flavors. The ride back to Castiglion Fiorentino had some people dozing, even though it was a quick 20 minutes. Most of the group headed up to the pool for an intense game of monkey(s) in the middle while other people napped. A tasty dinner of pasta, chicken, chocolate mousse was followed by an evening of hanging out and playing soccer with some new Italian friends. Ciao!
