Arezzo in Toscana

My Susan is from the City of Arezzo which is in the center of Tuscany about 60 km south of Firenze. This is an old place described by the Roman writer Livy as one of the capitals of the Etruscan empire which

existed long before the Romans came on the scene.After the Romans came the barbarians and when all that settled down the city fell under the sway of the Medici family in Florence. All of this history has left its mark on beautiful Arezzo

I have come to love this town as if it were my own. I feel at home here. I love to sit in the Bar San Lorentino in the morning and struggle with the Italian language and later walk up through winding streets to the Piazza Grande and think about the people who have walked the same streets for thousands of years.

Evening skies over Arezzo from the hillside olive grove of my brother-in-law Franco. Arezzo is on a hill rising above the floodplain of the Arno River. The bell tower of the Duomo is visible on the top of the hill.

The central square in Arezzo is the Piazza Grande. It is ringed with antique stores, restaurants and the City Hall directly across the square. Susan is sitting by the pillory post to the right of center. This image was captured in three separate images later stitched together. The shadows are long because it is January of 2019. It was a very cold day which explains why there are no people in this usually very busy square.

Another view of the Piazza Grande, this time looking South-East. The long building with the arches is the Palazzo delle Logge designed by Renaissance architect Giorgio Vasari in 1572. The tower to the right of center is the Torre di Borgunto but its origins are lost to history. It is believed that it dates to the end of the 13th century but who built it is unknown. It was heavily restored and the battlements added in the 1930’s.

I never tire of walking in the old towns of Italy. The buildings date from a time when my home town was forest and sea shore occupied by Canada’s First Nations people. The streets are paved with stone, the buildings look ancient (they are) and they are occupied by the most delightful shops. People still shop at the butcher’s for meat, the green grocer for vegetables, and in public markets for clothing, hardware and specialty foods.

As you walk, every corner offers image upon image for my lens. I just drink in the wonder of it.