Piazza Grande in Arezzo

We hadn't planned to walk around Arezzo, but decided to stop here for dinner. The town turned out to be very similar to Siena, the same narrow, cobblestone streets with stores and no vegetation, and the same central square, the main tourist magnet.

The Arezzo station is practically in the old town, but we came by car. There is a huge parking lot (43.469494, 11.884316) within walking distance of the center. Considering that the old town is on a hill, we were happy to see a series of escalators.




Just beyond the escalators is the cathedral of Arezzo and a huge park, which is quite unusual considering that we are inside the fortress walls. The park dates back to the Medici era, as a promenade park for the nobility.








Piazza Grande, which is just behind the park, is accessible through the arch in the Loggia Vasari, built by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici.




At the end of September it was not crowded and we spent a wonderful evening in one of the many restaurants.


As in Siena, Montepulciano, and many other medieval cities, the square is sloped to allow water runoff and avoid floods.


Piazza Grande is surrounded by excellent palazzos and houses of the nobility of the 16th century.




There are several famous films associated with Arezzo, but the main one, of course, is the tragicomedy "Life is Beautiful" (1997), starring Roberto Benigni, which received seven Oscar nominations and won three statuettes. The film was shot all over the city, though the most beautiful scene, the bike ride, was shot in Piazza Grande, you could see this scene on the poster of the film.