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This comfortable Relais & Chateaux property lies just below the lovely old town of Cortona, overlooking the Valdichiana.
An evergreen favourite with an international clientele, the style is very much up-market Tuscan country estate with exposed brick, ceiling beams and terracotta floors, plus beautiful gardens scented with rosemary and lavender.
Dinner at the Michelin-starred Il Falconiere restaurant – set on a beautiful terrace in summer – is a treat; co-owner and chef Silvia Baracchi is big on local produce and her menus showcase specialities such as Chianina beef and local game, fruit and veg from the kitchen garden and the estate’s own olive oil and biodynamic wines.
This is a classic, high-end hotel – lovers of contemporary style may wish to look elsewhere.
It’s a great base from which to explore the Valdichiana and its towns, Arezzo to the north, Lago Trasimeno to the south (and across the border into Umbria) and Umbrian heavyweights Assisi and Perugia.
Approached along country lanes, Il Falconiere is set in farmland and olive groves several kms from the main road which can be neither seen nor heard.
It’s about 5 kms to Cortona (the setting for Frances Mayes’s much-loved ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’), full of art treasures, good restaurants and shops.
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Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Cortona, Tuscany, Italy[2.2 miles]
Made famous by Frances Mayes’s Under the Tuscan Sun, Cortona is a delightful hill town perched above the Val di Chiana packed with sights (the Duomo, the Museo Diocesano, the Palazzo del Popolo) and excellent restaurants.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy[20.7 miles]
Held on the first weekend of each month, this huge market with stalls selling everything from vintage postcards to Renaissance paintings is laid out in and around Piazza Grande, attracting vendors and buyers from all over Italy.
Best for ages: 8+ | Free
Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy[20.7 miles]
One of the greatest of all Italian fresco cycles is housed in the barnlike church of San Francesco in central Arezzo. Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross decorates the choir, taking fourteen years from 1452-1466. Recent restoration works mean the frescoes are in superb condition.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
Monterchi, Tuscany, Italy[24.4 miles]
Piero della Francesca’s extraordinary 1445 Pregnant Madonna is housed in the modest town museum in the medieval village of Monterchi. It depicts a weary Virgin in her ninth month, one hand on her swollen belly.
Best for ages: 18+ | £5
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
Tuscany, Italy
A heady mix of incomparable Renaissance art, gorgeous palazzos, Tuscan cuisine and home-grown haute couture.
Tuscany, Italy
The astonishingly beautiful region of Tuscany has it all: art cities and ancient hill towns, high mountains and long sandy beaches, alongside luxurious hotels and some of Italy’s best food and wine.
