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The villa is a building of historical importance and was built during the early 1700's. During the refurbishment it was held important to preserve the historical environment whilst simultaneously guaranteeing all modern comforts.

The hotel is small and exclusive - there are a total of 15 double rooms, Classic, Deluxe and Junior suites equipped with a Jacuzzi, and all rooms have hydro- massage showers. The rooms are all unique, and they all have magnificent views of the hills, garden and nearby town of Cortona.

All rooms have mini-bar, air conditioning and television. Particular care has been taken in the furnishings of the rooms, especially built by local artisans to maintain the classical and original appearance of the manor house.
The common areas consist of two large halls, a reading room, an old restored billiard table and a bar, a dining room, and a magnificent park with an Italian formal garden. A pool (19 by 8 metres) is at the disposal of guests. The property also includes a small practice golf course, walking, mountain biking and horse-riding routes.


Translated by Jo Pennington Leigh

The Relais nestles beneath the impressive hillside on which Cortona was built. It is near Arezzo in Tuscany in the centre of the ‘triangolo d’oro’ of some of the most important artistic sites in central Italy; Arezzo, Perugia, Siena, as well as Assisi and Florence are just a short journey away.

The Relais can be reached easily from the major Italian cities and airports: the two local stations, Camucia and Terontola, are on the main Milan - Florence – Rome railway line. By car, you take the A1 motorway, exiting at Valdichiana in the direction of Perugia. After just a few kilometers, follow the signs to Cortona. The Relais dates back to 1600 and still carries the name of the local family which owned the villa. Vittorio, Luciano and Umberto bought the building, in its abandoned state, a few years ago with the intention of restoring it to its former glory and tranforming it as a ‘relais’ with every modern comfort whilst faithfully keeping its original design.

The external architecture remains as it was with its irregularly placed windows, brick arches and doorways in worked ‘pietra serena’. Inside the villa, the characteristics of a bygone age have also been retained; walls in lime plaster, brick ceilings supported on chestnut beams, terracotta floors, doors and fittings, all restored using original materials, are complemented by colours, patterns and decorations of the period. The result of all this care is a delightful intimate hotel with echoes of the mediaeval country rhythms of life essential for a peaceful, relaxed stay.

The fifteen bedrooms created by the restoration, in the main house and in the dower house, are all different in terms of size, shape and decoration, each one elegantly furnished with antique pieces and carefully chosen fabrics which add to the beauty and atmosphere of the villa. All the bedrooms have colour satellite television, mini-bar and safe, which have been sensitively inserted into wall niches, as well as an interconnecting telephone service.

The large bathrooms have either a bath or shower with hydromassage and hairdryers. All these details have been carefully studied to give a high standard of hospitality and to ensure that the Relais once found will not be forgotten, a place which you will recommend to your closest friends as a favour. The public rooms have been restored following the same philosophy, offering a well stocked bar and a comfortable, welcoming lounge with period furnishings and warmed by the large original fireplaces. The quietly elegant dining room of the Relais offers a menu based on rediscoverd traditional ingredients and flavours, with interesting creative touches, which are accompanied by a quality list of wines and spirits.

Meals are served on the terrace in the shade of the centuries old trees during the warm months. The twelve acres of park, with its enormous old trees and established plants, provide a perfect backdrop to the hotel and offer an encouragement to those who like to wander gently through a beautiful setting. Here you will find the swimming pool with its panoramic view of Cortona and the three hole golf course, practice and putting greens. Very near the Relais there is a riding school where rides through the woods up to Monte S. Egidio or across the valley to Lago Trasimeno can be arranged for our guests.

Our staff, whilst taking care of each of our visitors as if they were a personal guest, can also help with suggestions for interesting local itineraries, whether naturalistic or artistic, in such a way as to help you experience the history, traditions, the man-made and natural beauty that is such an essential element of Cortona. Cortona is the city that Virgil believed founded by the mythical Dardano. It was probably fortified by the Umbrans to then be taken over by the Etruscans and made into an important Locumonia between the VIIIth and VIIth centuries B.C.
Little is known of the city after its recognition under the Romans during the Civil Wars until its lively history in the Comune period and thereafter under the signorial leadership of Ranieri Casali. The city was sold to the Florentines by the king of Naples in 1411 and, thereafter, followed the fortunes of the Granducato of Tuscany.

The massive weatherbeaten walls of Cortona, built on a spur of Monte S. Egidio, are broken only where the ancient gates open to the roads leading up from the valley below. From these walls the visitor to Cortona has before him one of the most beautiful, extensive panoramas in Italy: below him lies the immense fertile Val di Chiana closed in the far distance by the Sienese hills, above which rise the mountains of Amiata and Cetona, and a little nearer the glittering surface of Lago Trasimeno. Just a few metres from the Relais are some of the many Etruscan tombs discovered in the area, amongst which the most famous are the Tanella di Pitagora, the Melone di Camucia and the Melone di Sodo.

The Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca in Palazzo Casali in Cortona houses a rich collection of local archeological finds, the most famous being the Etruscan candelabra of the V century B.C. Above the restored Sanctuary of Santa Margherita the Medici fortress dominates the heights of Cortona. From here, the ancient paved roads of the city run steeply down towards the centre, passing mediaeval and Renaissance palazzi of great architectural value, and the many splendid churches; S. Agostino and S. Francesco from the Romanesque and Gothic periods, the exquisite Renaissance designs of S. Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio and S. Maria Nuova and the peacefully silent S. Niccolò.

Cortona was the home of Luca Signorelli and Pietro Betrettini, better known as Pietro da Cortona, and the birthplace of Gino Severini. The city has an outstanding collection of fine art, the most famous being Fra Angelico’s Annunciation in the Museo Diocesano. The Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca and the many churches within the city offer other fine works. Of immense academic interest is the collection of parchments, manuscripts, incunabula and printed volumes in the Biblioteca Comunale and the Accademia Etrusca.

In recent years, Cortona has been the home of the American university of Georgia, providing a further stimulus to the intellectual life of the city and has also become better know to the American public through the books of Francis Mayes, which, narrated with Cortona as their backdrop, remained at the top of the bestsellers in America for several months.

Via Curtatone e Montanara 14, 50053 Empoli, Florence, Italy