Send Gift Baskets to Arezzo, Italy

Piazza Grande

This sloping plaza appears in Life is Beautiful, starring Roberto Benigni. There are elegant palaces surrounding the square, which is beautiful. Along the north side, Vasari’s graceful colonnade on Palazzo delle Logge dominates, and Santa Maria della Pieve’s rounded apse can be found next to the 14th-century Palazzo della Faternitaå dei Laici.

Duomo (Cathedral)

Guillaume de Marcillat, a French stained-glass artist who worked almost exclusively in Italy, has four of his windows there, as well as the tomb of Pope Gregory X. On the high altar are the late Gothic tomb and relics of St. Donatus, Bishop of Arezzo, who was martyred during Diocletian’s reign.

Santa Maria della Pieve

Known as the Pieve, the Parish Church of St. Mary is the oldest surviving church in the town and its most significant Romanesque building. In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, as well as in 1863, the church was rebuilt, altered, and restored several times from the 12th century onward. Nevertheless, it is one of the finest examples of Pisan Romanesque in eastern Tuscany.

Basilica di San Francesco

The Basilica of San Francesco, in the center of Arezzo, was built in 1290, and various reconstructions and extensions continued until the 20th century. In the 15th century, chapels were added to the left side of the church. A circular window by Guillaume de Marcellus, Pope Honorius III Approving the Rule of St. Francis, is above the doorway.

San Domenico

Located north of the cathedral, this aisleless church features a plain facade typical of Mendicant churches from the 13th century. The city was founded in 1275 and is believed to have been designed by Nicola Pisano.

Casa del Vasari (Vasari House)

Seeing Giorgio Vasari’s works at the Palazzo Vecchio and in Florence, you can imagine what his own home might look like, where he could indulge all his artistic whims.

National Archaeological Museum and Roman Amphitheater

Built on the remains of a Roman amphitheater from the second century A.D., the Gaius Vilnius Maecenas National Archaeological Museum opened in 2000. An extraordinary collection of sealed Arezzo ware, an ancient form of pottery discovered during excavations, highlights the museum’s more than 20 galleries.

Shop for Antiques

Piazza Grande is filled with antique dealers every first entire weekend of the month, whose displays spill out into the surrounding streets. Across the narrow streets, art is displayed on the walls of buildings, and goods are displayed on tables and spread on rugs.

Medici Fortress

Constructed by Cosimo I de Medici in 1538 to strengthen the defensive system of the Medici holdings, it was built over buildings dating back to the 3rd-2nd centuries B.C. This plan is in the shape of a five-pointed star, which was popular then.

Museum of Medieval and Modern Art

Showcasing ancient sculptures from the Etruscan period, Renaissance masterpieces, and contemporary art, the Museo Nazionale d’Arte Medievale e Moderna collection is outstanding. There are excellent ceramic works by Della Robbia and works by Arezzo-born architect/artist Giorgio Vasari.