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There are lots of places to visit and things to do in Arezzo itself. On the first Sunday of the month, blocks and blocks of Arezzo become one huge antique shopping mall. You may not want to buy anything (don’t expect to find a renaissance masterpiece for 2 Euros – the vendors are all professionals who know what they’re selling), but it’s a fun thing to see the selection and everyone milling around in the crowded streets.
During your stay in 2008, the antique fair will take place on July 5 and 6.
On June 21, 2007, the annual Giostra del Saracino will take place. The Giostra is a traditional medieval joust where horsemen ride across the Piazza Grande and aim to strike the shield of a rotating wooden “Saracen.” If they don’t move fast enough, the knights will get struck in the back by the flail held by the rotating figure of the “Saracen.” The knight getting the best hits wins the “Lancia d’oro” (Golden Lance) and honor for himself and the “quartiere” of Arezzo to which he belongs. This is the day when the old city center of Arezzo and its inhabitants are decked in their finest medieval garb. Main events start at 6:45 p.m. and places in the Piazza Grande are available for 5 to 45 Euros. For ticket reservations, send an email to giostradelsaracino@comune.arezzo.it.
Other tourist attractions in Arezzo include the frescoes of Piero della Francesca in the church of San Francesco, the Museo di Casa Vasari, home of the famous painter, architect and author Giorgio Vasari, and the house of the poet Petrarch (visits by request only).
For more information about the city once you are in Arezzo, you can visit:
- Tourism Agency of Arezzo- Piazza Risorgimento, 116 Tel: 0575.23952/3 Fax: 0575.28042, Email
- Information offices - Piazza della Repubblica, 28 Tel: 0575.377678 Fax: 0575.20839, Email
- Centro Accoglienza e Informazioni Turistiche - Via Ricasoli Tel: 0575.377829
- Or visit the Tourism agency of Arezzo website at Tourism agency of Arezzo – it’s a great place to practice your language skills since it is in Italian only!
Trains, a new experience for those used to traveling by car on the freeway, offer a cheap and easy way to visit the area surrounding Arezzo. Taking the train from Arezzo is a fast way of getting places, since it is on the main line running to Rome from the north.
Where trains don’t go, you can get by bus, and even if trains go there, it may be FASTER to get there by bus. A good example is going from Arezzo to Siena. By train, you will have to go to Florence first, wait for the train and then ride a slow local to Siena. This will probably take you around 3 hours. By bus, on the other hand, you can get on in Arezzo and get off in Siena with no changes of vehicle, and it’ll only take about half the time as by train.
SITA buses are the equivalent of U.S Greyhound buses and travel on intercity routes with longer distances. In Arezzo, Sita buses depart from a terminal just outside the main entrance to the train station.
Half-day tours of Tuscany departing from Florence either in the morning or the afternoon are available through the SITA Website. Tours include Florence, Fiesole, Pisa, the Chianti region, San Gimignano, Lucca (Puccini’s birthplace) as well as wine and cheese sampling tours (the sampling tours require a minimum of 10-15 participants).
For regular city bus travel in and around Florence (including Fiesole), see the ATAF website. Timetables for the summer of 2008 will be available in January 2008. Please check the website blog for updates.
Many worthwhile places in Italy are most readily accessible by car unless you are planning to visit a larger city center like Florence. Stay away from Italian city centers if you are driving unless those cities are small and in more remote areas. Many larger cities have entirely banned traffic from historical city centers. If, on the other hand, you want to see a small medieval town, a historic church out in the countryside or go through the picturesque Chianti region a car is a great way to sightsee.
If you need a car for a weekend trip, you can rent one in Arezzo from Avis right next to the train station at:
Avis Arezzo Car Hire
Piazza Della Repubblica 1 A
Arezzo
52100, Italy
(+39) 0575 354232 omit the 39 if you are calling within Italy.
Website
Visit official Italian tourism website, ENIT. This website will provide you with up-to-date information about current concerts, exhibitions, festivals and events, as well as useful information for sightseeing throughout Italy. There are enough wonderful places in Italy to last you a lifetime, and most will be covered in any good guide book of Italy. But here are a few places not too far from Arezzo:
Assissi
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Bologna |
Cortona |
Cevita Bagnoregio |
Florence |
Orvieto |
Perugia |
Pisa |
Pistoia |
San Gimignano |
Siena |
Volterra |
There are, of course, many places to go in Italy, but any of the above locations are within day trip distance of Arezzo by train or bus.
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