View from our hotel in Cortona which was our base on this trip.  Cortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy.   It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.  The prevailing character of Cortona’s architecture is medieval with steep narrow streets situated on a hillside (altitude 600 metres), embracing a view of the whole of the Valdichiana.