Visit Cortona or not?
 

Hi All (again haha)! My husband and I will spend 4 days in Montefalco and 5 days in Montepulciano. In Montepulciano we plan to spend a day in Chianti, a day in Montalcino, a day in Montepulciano and then say we have one extra free day. I wondering if it's worth driving up to Cortona on our way to Montepulciano? TBH, the main reason I want to go there is because of the Tuscan Sun (and from pictures it looks like they have a lot of sunflowers?). I've read such conflicting reviews or people loving and hating it. What would it offer that we won't see elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for your help.

What would it offer that we won't see elsewhere?>

The Tuscan Sun, whatever that is!

Cortona is a classic hill town - on a very high hill and as such is dreamy but there are many - consider also driving via Siena, which to me is one of the most interesting of all Tuscan hill towns en route to Montepulciano.

Near Montepulciano check out Chianciano Terme - right next door practically - a very very famous and posh thermal resort - I enjoyed it as a foil to the iconic hill towns:

https://www.google.com/search?q=chia...w=1745&bih=868

Not Chianciano is a classic hill town next to the more modern Chianciano Terme.

What do you mean by Via Siena? Do you mean when we go to Chianti?

I think I will just give it a miss... I think I would rather spend our time getting lost around Val D'Orcia.

Well I mean between Montefalco and Montepulciano but yes it is an easy day trip from Montepulciano - I meant you could drive that way instead of via Cortona but scratch that since you will be in that area several days. Sorry for not reading carefully.

BTW do not miss Gubbio when in Montefalco - to me one of the nicest old Umbrain non-hill towns - well on a small hill. I also like Perugia - a large town but great for a day with so many neat things to see there - a large university makes it lively.

When are you traveling? I absolutely loathed Cortona in July, found it palatable in late October. Same as many popular places in Europe.

There are sunflowers all over Europe in late summer. You don't really need to target a specific town to see them. You just have to be there when they're in full bloom.

I'm not sure why Under The Tuscan Sun is a reason to visit someplace - a super-rich American buys and renovates a huge, expensive house in Italy and writes a soporific tale about it. Kind of like Peter Mayle - who cares?

Ah Under the Tuscan Sun - now I get it! thought it was some kind of neat sunset!

I absolutely loathed Cortona in July, found it palatable in late October. Same as many popular places in Europe.>

Especially the later in July you go and August- and especially in Italian hill towns- crowds often negate in inherent ambiance.

If you're interested, I took this cooking class in/outside Cortona last year and really enjoyed it. It would give you a chance to see a bit of Cortona (we met the teacher at a cafe in town, went shopping for ingredients in town, and then caravaned to her home outside the walls).

http://www.workshopsintuscany.com/Pr...kingClass.html

We stayed just outside Montepulciano and it was a fairly long drive - maybe 45 minutes to an hour? Personally I wouldn't make a special point to get over there if you're not doing something specific.

"I think I will just give it a miss... I think I would rather spend our time getting lost around Val D'Orcia."

I think this is a good idea. There are some very nice drives, views, photo ops and hikes (if you're a day hiker) throughout the valley, plus many small villages worth a visit. There are also nice towns just east of Montepulciano that might be worth a visit- Sarteano, Cetona, Radicofani). If you enjoy nice gardens, consider visiting La Foce for a tour. I have found this guidebook to be very helpful with steering me in the right direction in the area-

http://www.abebooks.com/Insight-Guid...89812584076NEW

Cortona- It was a nice hill town 15 years ago. It is now way too visited, with a huge parking lot below town and I actually found the town quite dirty on my last visit two years ago. It wasn't like that 15 years ago. IMHO, there are much nicer towns/villages to visit and prettier countryside to explore near Montepulciano and the Val d'Orcia.

Cortona is like Capri. It has its fans and its critics. You can't know until you go there.

Three comments -
1. Cortona is not a hill town in the sense that it is perched on top of a hill but rather a hill-side town. To cover the town there is a lot of climbing up and down. It is not suitable for anyone with reduced mobility.
2. Sunflowers - in Tuscany they are already in full flower in June and the seads have not developed sufficiently to weigh down the flower head so they still track the sun throughout the day. By mid-July, roughly, the heads become heavier and tend to droop and no longer follow the sun. Also the petals begin changing colour to a dirty brown.
3. If it's within your budget consider lunch at Il Falconiere - http://www.ilfalconiere.it/ - This place is very close to the town and is magnificent.

To be honest, I was underwhelmed by Cortona. The Basilica of Santa Margherita on the hill above the town is worth a visit, but on a hot day, the climb is a bit arduous. The civic museum has a wonderful Etruscan candelabra, which I was glad to have seen. Other than that, it's just an average town, and I know many others in central Italy that are far more attractive.

Sunflowers never track the sun during the day. The flowers always point east. Once you can see the flower heads, in the bud stage, they're already pointing east. On the western edge of a field of sunflowers, you'll see an occasional short plant whose flowers point west, probably because the eastern light was obscured by their brothers.

Sunflowers have only a few weeks of beauty before their petals begin to wither, so I wouldn't recommend planning a trip around sunflowers. This year, I passed a particularly beautiful field. When I returned two days later with my camera, the petals had already begun to wrinkle and the effect was greatly diminished.

In any given area, the peak period varies a lot from year to year, depending on when the seeds were able to be planted. Where I live, in Le Marche, the peak could be from mid-June to mid-July. At higher altitudes the peak is later. I have rarely seen sunflowers in August, and even more rarely at their peak.

This year, the spring was very wet, so the planting was delayed. By the time the flowers were maturing, it was already too hot and dry for a good crop.

bvlenci - maybe in Le Marche but in central Tuscany I have witnessed the effect.

Read also - http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...the-sun-solved

Nochblad, here's a less romantic, but more scientific article, which also has a photo of the sun setting behind a field of sunflowers.

http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.ed...olartrack.html

We live surrounded by fields of sunflowers. Until a few years ago, both my husband and I believed the myth, until someone told me it wasn't true, and we began observing their growth more closely.

I've also observed what the article says about wild sunflowers, which face every-which-way. Many of them in our area are in fields that once had sunflowers, growing in the midst of wheat, for example.

Someone bought me <i> Under a Tuscan Sun </i> as a farewell gift when I moved to Italy. It is a fantasy view of life in Italy. Tim Parks' <i> Italian Neighbors </i>, although written over 30 years ago, and now a bit out of date, hit the nail right on the head.

I love Tim Parks!

We saw fields of sunflowers close to Bergerac the weekend of August 12, but I think in general they show up later here than elsewhere.

bvlenci - maybe they are different in central Tuscany. But I noted it only when the flowers were very young.

Almost at the time when there were still the papaveri which reminds me of the joke about the papaveri and the sole (not a pun!) sunflower. A very down to earth Tuscan joke which I could probably tell in Italian on this forum but not in English!

A farmer told me they follow the sun before they begin to bloom, but I've never observed that. I do know that by the time you can see the green flower heads, they're already pointing east.

Another great book about living in Italy, although even more out of date, is <i> a Small Place in Italy </i>, by the late great Eric Newby.

My first visit with an insurance agent in Italy followed so closely the observations of Tim Parks that I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Thanks a lot guys. I think we will give it a miss and I don't even second guess it thanks to you! We're going next week, so excited.

A farmer told me they follow the sun before they begin to bloom, but I've never observed that.>

I indeed have in my garden. Maybe not always but here yes.

In French they are called tournesol - which I think means turning towards the sun?