Arezzo Attractions, Italy

Archeological Museum
The former Monastery of San Bernardo, built by Olivetan monks in 1547 in the ruins of the amphitheater seating and badly damaged during the Second World War, has since 1934 housed the Museo Archelógico Mecenate. It contains material of the Stone and Bronze Ages and the Etruscan and Roman periods, largely from Arezzo and the surrounding area. Of particular interest are the Etruscan vases and bronzes and the so-called Arretine ware of terra sigillata, the fine decorated pottery which was widely exported from Arezzo during the Imperial period. Other notable items include Etruscan terracotta reliefs, urns, sarcophagi, mirrors, craters, amphorae and Roman mosaics.

Cathedral
On the highest point of the hill stands the cathedral, occupying the site of an earlier Benedictine church, San Pietro Maggiore. It was begun in 1277, continued in 1313 and 1510 but not completed until the beginning of the 20th century. The campanile was built in 1857-60, the façade with its three doorways and large rose-window added between 1900 and 1914.
Interior: The interior (aisled, without transept) is in the severe architectural style of the Mendicant Orders (Franciscans, Dominicans). It contains a number of notable works of art. Windows by Fra Guillaume de Marcillat
In the right-hand aisle are stained-glass windows by Guillaume de Marcillat (1477-1529), a Frenchman who worked almost exclusively in Italy: "The Calling of Matthew", "The Woman taken in Adultery", "The Cleansing of the Temple", "The Raising of Lazarus". Here, too, are the Tomb (after 1320) of Pope Gregory X (d. 1276) and the Burial Chapel of Ciuccio Tarlati (1334), with marble ornament and a fresco. In the presbytery is the high altar, with the Late Gothic tomb and relics of St Donatus, Bishop of Arezzo, martyred in the time of Diocletian. The tomb has marble reliefs of scenes from the Saint's life. The chapel to the left of the presbytery has a stained-glass window by Marcillat ("SS Lucia and Silvester"); the sacristy has fine frescoes and terracottas. In the left-hand aisle are a fresco, "The Magdalene" by Piero della Francesca (1459), the Tomb of Bishop Guido Tarlati (c. 1330), with 16 fine bas-reliefs, and the organ gallery by Giorgio Vasari (1535). Opening off this aisle are the Chapel of the Madonna del Conforto (18th-19th centuries), partly in Neo-Gothic and partly in Classical style, and the baptistery.
 

Piazza Grande

Behind the church of Santa Maria della Pieve is the picturesque Piazza Grande, scene of the Giastro del Saracino, the medieval joust performed on the first Sunday in September. At the west side of the square stands the beautiful Palazzo della Faternitaå dei Laici (1375-1460), on the north side the Palazzo delle Logge, built in 1573 and named after the loggias which face the piazza.
 

Chiesa di San Francesco
In the center of Arezzo is the Church of San Francesco, dedicated to St Francis of Assisi. It was begun in 1290, but various rebuildings and extensions continued down to the present century (campanile c. 1600; most recent renovation work 1900-20). The facade overlooking the square is completely without ornament, articulated only by narrow string-courses projecting from the brickwork. The interior (53m/174ft long, 17m/56ft wide), is aisless, as is normal in the churches of the Mendicant Orders. The chapels entered from the left- hand side of the church were added in the 15th century. At the far end are one large and two small choir chapels.

Vasari Mansion (photo - right)
This two-story house in Via XX Settembre was acquired by the painter and architect Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) in 1540, and between that year and 1548 he decorated it with a series of fine frescoes; the so-called Cámera d'Apollo is particularly notable. The house is now occupied by the Museo e Archivo Varsariano.

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