Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca e della Città di Cortona

Cortona


Spread over five floors and 40 rooms in the 13th-century Palazzo Casali, the collection here includes substantial local Etruscan and Roman finds, Renaissance globes, 18th-century decorative arts and an eclectic array of paintings. The Etruscan collection is the highlight – don't miss the extraordinary hanging bronze lamp on the 2nd floor. Paintings to look out for include Luca Signorelli's sinister Madonna with Child and Saint Protectors of Cortona (1512) and Gino Severini's exquisite Maternità (1916).

After admiring the museum's collection of Etruscan artefacts excavated from the tombs at Sodo, you may wish to visit the tombs themselves, which are part of the MAEC Archeological Park just outside town on the road to Arezzo (open 10am to 2pm Friday to Sunday; free at the time of research but €5 charge to be levied at some time in the future).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cortona attractions

1. Museo Diocesano di Arte Sacra

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2. Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

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The views of the Val di Chiana from the terrace in front of Cortona's 15th-century duomo (cathedral) are spectacular, but the church itself is…

3. Chiesa di San Francesco

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4. Chiesa di San Domenico

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At the eastern end of Via Nazionale is this 15th-century church, home to a 1515 painting of the Madonna and Saints by local luminary Luca Signorelli.

5. Basilica di Santa Margherita

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6. Fortezza del Girifalco

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7. Eremo Francescano Le Celle

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8. Pinacoteca Comunale

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