Arezzo

Draped elegantly over the hillsides of southern Tuscany, Arezzo is a town of terracotta hues that thrums with a real local energy like nowhere else in the region. Tight-knit lanes run everywhere, concealing unassuming trattorias where Italian mammas sculpt balls of buffalo mozzarella over Montepulciano reds. At the Piazza Grande, the sleepless central hub of the town, the stoic brickwork gives way to majestic fraternal palaces and the soaring bell towers of the Santa Maria della Pieve. This is also where the monthly market takes place, and the legendary Giostra del Saracino of mid-June. Churches abound throughout the town too, and Arezzo tour guides hardly have time to pause when pointing out the various chapels that pepper the centre; from the Tuscan-Gothic Basilica of San Francesco to the all-important Cathedral of Saint Donatus. History lovers should also be sure to check out the crumbling remnants of the Roman amphitheatre, the adjoining archaeological museum and the exhibition rooms of the Palazzo Bruni-Ciocchi, all of which stand as testimony to Arezzo’s long and interesting past.