Why Cortona ? That’s the question my husband and I have been asked since 2002 when we bought our house in Cortona. The answer is simple but also deeply imbedded into who we are. Eighteen years ago, both of us recently having left long marriages, we reunited after thirty years having first been together as high school boyfriend and girlfriend. After settling the legalities of our former lives we decided to seek a new, life-changing adventure that we could share as we kicked off our new life together.

“Let’s buy a house abroad, how about Italy ?” Sounds simple and actually it was pretty easy. We identified several towns in Tuscany including Volterra, Siena, Pisa, and Cortona. Then with a one week vacation we went town to town, finding a realtor (who hopefully spoke English) and visiting small houses and the nearby countryside with each of them. Just as Goldilocks found something not exactly right with each bed so did we with each place we visited until we entered Cortona. Cortona was just right !

Upon entering, we first sat in the parterre (park) at the end of the main street, Via Nazionale and were enchanted by the dolphin fountain bubbling before us. Then we wandered down Via Nazionale and engaged with the lively atmosphere, lovely shops and abundance of restaurants. But, most of all, we felt enveloped by the sights, sounds, smell and tastes of Italy that Cortona offered us in a matter of minutes.

We found a realtor (who spoke English) who took us to several places, one of which was a charming little home inside the town walls. We decided on the spot that we would buy it. All these years later we don’t regret our purchase for one second. Now that we are retired we spend about 6 months a year in Cortona. We have met wonderful people: Italians who have welcomed us with kindness and care and other Americans who love Cortona as much as we do. What’s not to love about the food, wine, people, scenery and  a calmer, more focused  way of life?  Our lives are so much richer because of this random adventure on which we decided to embark. In the last 18 years we have had lots of answers to the question “Why Cortona ?”