Tuscany September 2020 Arezzo

Yesterday was quite busy, visiting Cortona, but today I want to go to Arezzo because the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art is open for longer on Tuesdays. The museum is free to visit but fussy about entry times. There are fixed times and you have to be there at that time or wait an hour and a half until the next one. We decide to go there first so as not to spend the rest of the day keeping an eye on the time. My Internet investigations advised Parcheggio Pietri which has a free and a pay section and is right near the elevators for the historical centre. The advice is a bit too blithe because at before 9 o'clock in the morning the free section is full and remains so all day (also when we survey it from the park above and get back to the car at 5). Luckily we find a free free (!) space along the road nearby and with the help of the elevators are up to Piazza Duomo and back down the hill to the Museo Diocesano for 9.15 on the dot.

Because of Covid-19 precautions time inside is limited to 75 minutes, we are slow, so it's only just enough and the attendant kindly reminds us to get a move on a couple of times. The ground floor hosts some sculptures and fragments of medieval tombstones, columns, capitals and sculptures from the Duomo and other churches in Arezzo and some interesting ivory pieces which are worth looking at but the most interesting section starts on the first floor, which is dedicated to medieval and Renaissance art: the Madonna della Misericordia by Parri di Spinello is particularly striking with the Virgin wearing a beautifully printed gown protecting those enveloped by it. 

On the second floor there are paintings from the 16th to the 20th century including some Luca Signorelli, including the Madonna with Child and saints, and the Allegory of the Immaculate Conception and a banner depicting San Rocco as well as works by Vasari. Equally interesting is the exhibition of about 250 ceramic plates of Renaissance majolica dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries: they are all painted with enchanting scenes, and mostly come from the Urbino and Gubbio workshops. The 75 minutes are not really enough to do it justice but we leave pleased if a little dazed.

We walk back up to the Duomo and the square in front which we had snubbed in our hurry to reach the museum and even go in but our concentration is exhausted for the morning so we take to wandering the streets, down to Piazza Grande 

with its fine loggia designed by Vasari. The Piazza itself is a little spoilt by the large amount of chairs and tables from surrounding restaurants spilling over towards the centre but the three layers of arches and columns of the back and the front of the Santa Maria della Pieve church are striking. 

We also go into the church but the most beautiful work of art, the alterpiece or Polittico di Pietro Lorenzetti is missing in restoration.

It's getting on for lunchtime so we walk back up in the direction of the park below the Fortezza Medicea. Perhaps surprisingly the fort is both open and free to visit. There's an art exhibition and some nice views. The park also hosts a large statue of Petrarca who was born in Arezzo. By the time we walk back down from the fort the perfect bench, in the shade but with a good breeze and excellent views over the surrounding countryside, is free.

A long lunch break follows, picnic, coffee, view admiration (also of the full free part of Pietri car park), snooze and a rest. When we finally get up it's still quite hot but we go back down to Piazza Grande and from there explore the winding streets of the historical centre. We've decided not to visit San Francesco with the splendid frescoes by Piero della Francesca because there is a time limit of 30 minutes due to Coronavirus precautions. Understandable but also off-putting, we need to take our time and relax and enjoy art slowly not having to keep checking the time. Next time....

Instead we go to San Domenico where there's a Crucifix by Cimabue. We manage to work out how the illumination is activated and it's surprisingly beautiful, almost worth the whole visit to Arezzo, so simple striking and essential to seem almost modern.

Our last stop is back at the San Donato cathedral where there's a small fresco of Maria Maddalena by Piero della Francesca and the large marble arch and altarpiece dedicated to Saint Donatus terminating in spires and pinnacles in Gothic style.

We go back to the Fortezza Medicea park for a coffee outside a kiosk and then head back down the elevators to the car.

Our last stop of the day is in Lucignano. One of the "borghi più belli d'Italia" this time a village deserves the title, quiet sleepy perfectly conserved reddish brown brick houses in concentric circles within its walls. Most people may not have heard of Lucignano but this for me represents Tuscany at its best.