Discovering and Re-discovering Cortona

According to archaeologists Cortona's history as a city can be traced back at least to 700 BC. However, for the citizens of Cortona this is just not old enough. When asked how old Cortona is, almost every citizen will look you straight in the eye and tell you, "Cortona è la mamma di Troia e la nonna di Roma" that is "Cortona is the mother of Troy and the grandmother of Rome" . They are making reference to Dardanus of Cortona in the epic poem by Virgil, the Eneid, Dardanus left Cortona to found the city of Troy and when that city fell, the citizens went on to found the city of Rome...or so the story goes. Therefore, Cortona as a city supposedly older than Troy and Rome.

Still others want Cortona to be even older. Stories of Pythagoras being buried here at the Etruscan temple outside the city walls. There is also a legend which tells of the selection of the site of Cortona for a city...it starts something like this-And after great the waters subsided, the son of Noah, while navigating down a canal on his barge -looks up- and lo and behold there is a great beam of light shining down upon a hilltop...and which hilltop could that be? Of course the one right under Casa Chilenne! And after consultation with his father, it was decided that yes, this was truly a sign from God, and thus Cortona is said to be the third city built on the new, dry land that became Italy!

However, local pride aside, there is much to admire and discover here-apart from the fine artwork in our museums by Fra' Angelico (the painter, not the liquer), Luca Signorelli and Pietro da Cortona (Berrettini) and the astounding relics uncovered from the stone-age forward which are showcased at our MAEC museum, there is something much more to be appreciated in Cortona. Cortona itself.

There is a magic here, some in my home state of California would say it has an aura, an energy which makes it distinctive from any other place. It calls to you like a siren perched on the hill over the sea of the haze-filled valley. Once you are caught in its spell you must return, you want to discover, know and understand more. And when you think that you have seen it all, there's something new to discover...the Celle, one of the first monasteries founded by Saint Francis of Assisi, Luca Signorelli frescoes and paintings tucked away in San Nicolò Church, the stations of the cross designed by Futurist artist, Gino Severini , a native son of Cortona.

The list continues but you must come to discover it for yourself-

We hope you'll choose Casa Chilenne to be your home in Cortona-Your home away from home.

Cortona Friends and Neighbors

Cortona is the county seat of one of the largest comuni in Italy. The city administration is in charge of 324 sq. KM. That's a lot of land populated by about 30,000 people. 2,000 or so of these people live within the city walls of Cortona

This is a picture of the town hall of Cortona.This is the view of the town hall which can be seen as you approach from Via Nazionale, ancient east-west road. Via Nazionale is of course a new name inspired by unification of Italy as the United Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy which happened in 1861. There had been many previous changes in government over the centuries which translated into changes in the architecture of the town hall. We'll tell you more about that another day.
Getting back to the history of Il Palazzo Comunale...
It was constructed more or less on the crossroads of ancient Cortona. In Roman times it was common practice to plan and construct a main east-west road (decumano) and north-south road (cardo) in each town and the place that would serve as the gathering point to make city government policy would be planned at the crossing point. The Cortona comune lies more or less at that point. Thus, it was the habit of former mayor, Ilio Pasquì, when welcoming visitors to the city in the formal Sala dei Consigli (Council Chambers) to open his speeches with the phrase, "Welcome to the cradle of Western Civilization..."


The Via Nazionale or Rugapiana as it is called by the local folk is one of the liveliest streets in the city. It is where people go to see or be seen, gather the latest news and announcements and sadly, discover who from the community is no longer amongst us. The cynical would say that it's where the show-offs go to display all the new things they have, new shoes, new clothes or new babies-however, one most remember that the local paper "L'Etruria" comes out only every 2 weeks making fresh info and local news a rare commodity. The most important function of "la Rugapiana" is to cement the community together-it is the place where you go to seek out your friends. Here are some photos of some of our friends we met on passeggiata (our stroll) in the last few days. The photo to the right is the east end of Via Nazionale. Casa Chilenne is on the right side of the street as you enter the city at number 65.

Here are Giulio and Antonella Lucarini out for a walk with Lapo. Giulio is a talented ceramicist who made the beautiful placard for our bed and breakfast with Jeanette's logo on it.

Here's a picture of Carlotta with Enzo the taxi driver. He is her official taxi driver and has accompanied her and Jeanette to Rome twice when she went to visit family and friends in San Francisco. Enzo is just great!

Carlotta went to Enrico's shop to visit her admirer Blue. Theirs is an impossible love story but Blue never gives up. He worships the ground Carlotta walks upon-sure that one day she will be his-

The coolest dog in Cortona by far is without a doubt Bruto. Here he is enjoying the shade and watching the world go by. He's a dog of the world and has been around the block.
Daniela his owner doesn't know how many pictures have been taken of him and how far away they've travelled. He's a star and he knows it-
in the nearly 4 years that he's know Carlotta he just now has started to acknowledge her presence..