Cortona, Italy

I am in Cortona.  I was one of two or three people who got off the train at Camucia-Cortona station and most likely the only tourist.  There was no tourist info booth and no one working at the ticket counter.  I walked in the most obvious direction towards town, skipping public transport again.  I considered looking for a map, but since I didn’t see any readily available, I decided to follow my instincts and all signs pointing towards Cortona.

The walk started off uncomfortably because I was the only one walking and I felt everyone was looking at me.  I fought off the unease and the heat of the sun and walked uphill towards all the buildings on the hilltop.  I found no shade as I walked uphill, and took solace where I could, mostly in the grove of olive trees along the road.  I was rewarded with fantastic views of the Tuscan region and a big domed church midway up the hill.  All the houses look new (made to look old) with gated fences and they are large in size judging by the façade.

I almost gave up several times as I continued up the hill without any other life in site except for the occasional motor vehicle that drove past me.  I thought I had seen all I could see when I found the Duomo, but I persevered and picked a path when I came to a crossroads.  This was my “Road Less Traveled” and I won’t chicken out and turn back.  There were no tourists around, Cortona was not mentioned in Let’s Go and Rick Steves’ “Europe Through The Back Door” only mentioned Cortona by name once, saying it had a fine youth hostel.  I knew nothing of this town except I was inspired to see the setting of “Under the Tuscan Sun.”  I was proud that I made it this far.

The steep, winding road led me to another church at the top of the hill.  Intimidated by the growing amount of vehicle traffic and lack of sidewalks, I walked along the road through a parking lot.  In doing so, I spied a set of stairs, which led to a bronze dome high above.  I took these stairs and an extremely steep incline (almost straight up) and found myself in the Town Center.  And here were the tourists.  I’ve only seen a couple handfuls so far.  This is nothing in comparison to other “lesser known” towns like Hallstatt, Cinque Terre, and Siena.  It’s still very quiet, but perhaps it’s also because it’s Monday.