Day 7 - rimini to san gimignano

See more photos and details of this great tour here

See photos of the tour group having fun here

Its time to move on from San Marino and Rimini across the center of the country toward the regions of Umbria and Tuscany to our final stop of the day San Gimignano.

On our way we will make a special stop in Cortona. Cortona was put on the map by the film "Under the Tuscan Sun" from Frances Mayes's 1996 memoir by the same name.

When we leave the seaside town of Rimini we will travel through the rich green and hilly lands toward Rimini. Along the way we see the terrain change from flat to mountainess. Ancient Roman signaling towers are see upon the tops of hills used in ancient times to communicate with Rome along vast areas of land.

Cortona was founded by the Etruscans who were the ancient people of Italy dating back to 800 BC. Cortona was established around the 10th century and was just another castle hill town on the border of Umbria and Tuscany until the film was released.

Cortona Stats:

Region :Tuscany
Province :Arezzo (AR)
Mayor: Andrea Vignini (since June 2004)
Elevation: 494 m (1,621 ft)
Area: 342.33 km2 (132 sq mi)
Population: (as of 31-08-2009) - Total 22,777
Coordinates: 43°16′32″N, 11°59′17″E
Dialing code: 0575
Postal code: 52044

Now it attracts thousands of tourists per year but still maintains its small, castle hill town feel. Cortona is a great stop over for lunch or short visit. The area is an ideal place to base to explore the region of Umbria.

Our group arrives around lunch time for a two hour visit. Clients get to stretch their legs, eat a light lunch and take some photos of the quaint town.

Some café’s and shops have photos of Diane Lane during her free time from shooting the film, others have oil paintings from local artists.

If you want to take a break away from the shops then Cortona offers amazing views of the Umbrian and Tuscan countryside.

The weather is perfect for our visit. The coach can’t part up in the old town so we must drop the clients and take the coach down during their time exploring this unique town.