Local

Utilizing a bountiful harvest

Sally Uhlmann does it again with a wonderful selection of colourful and tasty cheap and cheerful dishes...
It’s that time of year when Cortona vegetable gardens are producing such an abundance that it can be baffling to figure out ways to utilize it all. Between hot summer days, guests, and a desire to keep things simple, it’s a challenge. Hopefully these ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

Summer in Cortona

A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS CAPTURING THE ESSENCE AND VIBRANCE OF SUMMERTIME IN CORTONA...
Summer in Cortona is not something one tires of easily. I’ve done 38 of them now, so reckon I am able to make a fair judgement!What’s wonderful about this time of year, especially when living in a town like Cortona, are the ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

A MID-SUMMER GARDEN

BEES, BUGS AND BUTTERFLIES WOULD INDICATE A HEALTHY BIODIVERSE ENVIRONMENT - HERE IN CORTONA GARDENS ARE A-BUZZ!
Ever been on an insect safari? Well, Mid-summer in Cortona can’t be far off the mark.  All you need do is watch a lavender bush (or a bed of marigolds) for an amazing display of hummingbird hawk-moths, hover bees, honey bees, bumble bees ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

SEASONAL RECIPES: NO 2

Yet again Sally Uhlmann comes up trumps with quick and simple ideas for satisfying guests' appetites...
Wine and Nibbles, Into the Night: The “Season” in Cortona has arrived, marked by the return of those who leave for part of the year, house guests, and friends who pass through to share an afternoon. The longer days and ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

Cortona's Medieval Month 2022

Marie Lardino has Italian roots, but she never expected to experience the lifestyle of her ancestors in real time..
Experiences of a lifetime don’t come along very often. So when I received an invitation from a neighbour, Anna Costantini, to participate in Cortona’s Medieval Archidado festival, it was an exciting moment. The way I saw it, I already get ...

Marie Lardino -
Cortona, Tuscany

Cortona in Bloom

With town and countryside a riot of colour, we couldn’t help but take a series of photos for our blog...
It’s that time of year again! Splashes of vibrant colour everywhere: Red poppies and wild flowers adorn the olive groves and hillsides.The wisteria and wild rose bushes are in full flower. Everything is busy and buzzing: in the countryside the constant hum of ...

Team -
My Cortona

SEASONAL RECIPES: NO 1

IT SEEMED APT TO INVITE SALLY UHLMANN, AUTHOR OF JUST COOK WITH SALLY, TO SHARE SOME EASY SEASONAL RECIPES...
Bring on the Favas! Italian Springs are glorious between the wild poppies and yellow flowers dotting the meadows, trees leafing out, longer sun-filled days, and the bounty of produce suddenly available in the markets. Fava beans are a harbinger of Spring, making their appearance ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

Winter sunsets in Cortona

Blue sky days usually mean a beautiful sunset. It's well worth taking time out to watch these winter displays...
From the mountains to the valley floor, Cortona’s winter sunsets are giant displays of colour that are spectacular to witness.  They are more or less the only displays of colour during the coldest winter months - unless you’re up with the birds ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

Properties bought in 2021 - an insight

Here are some insights into what passions moved our buyers to purchase the homes they bought...s.
The last two years have been challenging for many people, but in spite or because of Covid, the property market has been very robust. CI completed on 15 properties in 2021 alone - definitely a record - with some of the properties bought ...

Team -
My Cortona

Diary for Olive Grove Maintenance

Producing your own olive oil is done for love not money, but that first bruschetta will make it worth the effort...
So you’ve bought your house in Tuscany and it has a whopping great olive grove out the back.  Now what?  What maintenance does it require?  Who will pick the olives? When should one harvest them? How much will the whole enterprise cost? ...

Lucio Corti -
Cortona, Tuscany

Transformation - No. 3

After an 11 month absence from Cortona, the owner of this transformed townhouse finally made it back...
Holed up in the UK and unable to travel to Cortona since September 2020, the final stages of this town house’s transformation, was done with the owner pretty much left in the dark. Having given the Fedi team carte blanche to do whatever ...

Team -
My Cortona

Cortona: a newcomer's guide - No.4

Sally Uhlmann offers some useful tips and trips for how to entertain guests...
There’s a chill to the morning, the sun lazy in burning off a cloak of fog coating the plains of Valdichiana. Boo, my sweet co-pilot and dog, awakes me at 7, tail wagging, nose pressed to my face, a paw ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

A shortfall of rain in Pergo

A long, hot and dry summer has seen 50 percent less rainfall in some areas of Cortona...a worrying situation...
From his hillside perch above Pergo, Tommy Simmons has been recording annual rainfall, for over 40 odd years.  With temperatures soaring this summer, he watched rainclouds forming over the Esse Valley, Sepoltaglia and the Valdichiana with  increasing frustration as Pergo ...

Thomas Simmons -

The Fruits of Summer's end

September can be a slightly melancholy time of year, but also very beautiful and fruitful...
The Cortona landscape is once again changing. Summer is subtly making way for Autumn. Leaves are beginning to turn russet red, grapes are almost ready for harvesting, as are the olives, sunset is a little earlier each day.Cortona - full frontalValdichiana from ...

Team -
My Cortona

A Family Re-union

After 18 months separated from my family, I finally made it to the UK despite all the confusing travel requirements
A Family Re-union: After booking a flight to the UK, I almost gave up at the first hurdle, so complicated were all the Covid requirements the airline bombarded me with.  I just couldn’t get my head around what I was required to do, ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

Cortona: a New Comer's Guide - No. 3

Settling in to her new home has meant a garden redesign for Sally Uhlmann, author of Just Cook with Sally...
I am most fortunate: I found my home.  In July 2020, I made an impromptu day trip to Cortona, having no idea my impulsive urge to visit this ancient hill town was a crucial step towards daily joy. I returned two weeks ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

Fish take-away...Italian style!

Take-aways are often associated with fast-food, but not so in Italy where you can often pick up a three course meal
Linguine with scampi followed by a Mediterranean fry up of prawns and calamari may not be quite what the doctor ordered, but as we all know fish can be cooked in a myriad of ways and most of it healthily!  Think Mediterranean ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

SUMMER IN CORTONA

SUMMER IS ONE OF CORTONA'S MOST SUGGESTIVE SEASONS ABETTED BY THE BLAZING HEAT CEASING ONLY AT NIGHT...
Morning: Awakening to the cool of the day, revitalised, accompanied by the sounds of shutters drawn up, deliveries in arrival, shop fronts being swept, tables and chairs set out in piazzas and the aroma of fresh ground coffee and cornetti hanging in the air.Midday: ...

Team -
My Cortona

Swifts - photos and facts

These beautiful birds that can bring such joy, are also amazingly resilient and agile creatures...
I can (and do!) spend hours, watching the swifts. We probably have about 30 nesting in the walls of the house. When I sit out on the balcony they fly by within touching distance.  I felt curious about these wonderful birds who give ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

BOOKS 2: FAVOURITE AND RECENT READS

A GREAT WAY TO RELAX AND GIVE YOURSELF A TAN IS WITH A GOOD BOOK. HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR SUMMER 2021...
With Summer 2021 now officially arrived, what better way is there to relax than sitting under the shade of a tree or on the beach with a good read?  But often the question is what to read? Jeannie Tognola has ...

Jeannie Tognola -
Oxford, UK

Walking the backstreets of Cortona

Meandering your way through alley ways and hidden corners of Cortona is a great way to spend an afternoon...
Monday 17th May was one of the few sunny days we’ve had in Cortona and I felt that a walk was definitely in order. I came up with the idea of taking photos of the many window boxes and flower displays the ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

Cortona: a New Comer’s Guide - No.2

I am just one small person occupying a place where countless others have gone, leaving their marks in stone walls..
Cortona Life in the Time of Covid: I am writing from Amsterdam, here for a two-week visit to my apartment, after spending nearly 7 months living in Cortona during what was supposed to be a two-week visit to harvest the olives back in October 2020. ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

Cortona's annual flower festival

Due to be held this weekend this event is definitely worth marking in your calendar for 2022!
Cortona’s Fiera del Rame, del Fiore e del Coccio (flower, copper and earthenware fair) is always a welcome and cheerful event and usually held on the first weekend of May. It is held in Piazza Signorelli and via Casali where stalls displaying new ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

Lifting of travel restrictions in EU

Come mid to end June the EU commission foresees the return of European travel and Covid safe holidays...
Although you’re missing the buds and blooms of an Italian Spring this year, promising news is emanating from the European parliament which foresees travel restrictions being relaxed over the next few months. When interviewed recently on Italy’s popular "Che Tempo Che Fa" programme, ...

Team -
My Cortona

Round trip of Cortona in Spring

Cortona is turning greener everyday, with more and more blossoms and flowers appearing...
“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”  A great quote, by an unknown author said to be inspired by spring (and a whole lot more, I would say!).A Spring that even this year, after 12+ ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

Mountain Trekking - No. 3

If you need to let off steam or burn a few calories, mountain trekking has to be one of the most satisfying ways...
Talking from experience, a good, bracing hike can do wonders for one’s state of mind.  This spring and summer, I have set myself the goal of re-discovering the mountain walks I first made over 30 years ago.  With Spring already in the air, ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

Fly-by of flamingos over Cortona!

The greater flamingo is common to Italy and can be found in marshy, coastal regions...but a novelty for Cortona...
It may be the first time ever that flamingos have flown over Cortona, but their change of flight path was a welcome event last week with everyone agape at the sight of these extraordinary birds - heralded by an excited hubbub of noise ...

Team -
My Cortona

Cortona: a New Comer’s Guide - No.1

...I bought a 400 year old farmhouse in September 2020, in walking distance of Cortona. I’ve come home...
Why Cortona? Considering buying a home in Cortona? Or just curious what it is like to become an Ex-Pat? If so, I invite you to join me here, over the coming months, for a glimpse at my journey of settling into my ...

Sally Uhlmann -
Cortona, Tuscany

TRANSFORMATIONS - NO. 2

Check out the wow factor of this open plan kitchen-living room. Second sneak preview of Cortona town house...
The Fedi Team have done it again! In Transformations: No. 1 we showed you the ground floor makeover of this Cortona town house: the concept was to keep it simple and rustic as per tradition. In contrast, the project for the first floor ...

Team -
My Cortona

TRANSFORMATIONS - NO. 1

ARE YOU UP FOR A RENOVATION PROJECT IN 2021? HERE IS A SNEAK PREVIEW OF A CORTONA TOWN HOUSE UNDERGOING WORKS...
Are you up for a renovation project in 2021? If you’re one of those clever people who can see potential in sad, grim-looking homes, but don’t necessarily have the time to transform one personally, then look no further.This town centre property was bought ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

BOOKS 1: FAVOURITE AND RECENT READS

the work of Giorgio Bassani may be less well known to those wishing to read Italian novels in english...
Set in the northern Italian town of Ferrara before, during, and after the Second World War, The Novel of Ferrara by Giorgio Bassani brings together his six classic books, fully revised as a single volume by the author at the ...

Reg Weir -
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Urban Trekking - No. 1

Round trip from Piazza Garibaldi via Cortona's public gardens, up to Torreone, Porta Montanina and Poggio.
About 1 hour on foot.Starting from Piazza Garibaldi, where you can enjoy a unique panoramic view of the Val di Chiana, you head off towards Cortona’s public gardens (the parterre) where most Cortonese, young and old, take their daily walks.View from Piazza ...

Team -
My Cortona

Mountain Trekking - No. 1

Although just 12 kms from Cortona, the mountains are a world away – rugged, wild and extremely beautiful
The mountain ranges above Cortona – Monte Sant’Egidio, Monte Castel Giudeo, Monte Ginezzo – at little more than 1000 metres above sea level – are a 15 minute drive up from Cortona. Although just 12 kms from the town, the mountains are a ...

Team -
My Cortona

Celebrate safely on the fourth of July

With social distancing and the unavailability of many things we will have to content ourselves....
Its always a little strange celebrating the 4th of July outside of the United States. We all have our celebrations of independence and in the past we have found a way to mark the occasion with the Americans that were here. We have ...

Rebecca Ghezzi -
Cortona, Tuscany

Pet owners - Getting away made easy

I discovered the Trusted Housesitters website some years ago… it was like regaining my freedom!
While many of us may not take a holiday abroad this year, if you’re planning a getaway of some sort and have a pet (or a menagerie like me), take a note of this website address: www.trustedhousesitters.com.I have twice used Trusted Housesitters ...

Alison Koetser -
Cortona, Tuscany

CHURCHES OF CORTONA - NO. 2

The neo-Gothic church of Santa Margherita standing today, is the result of numerous interventions and alterations..
The Church of Santa Margherita is situated above Cortona, almost at the top of the hillside, just below the Medici Fortress (Fortezza Medicea), with spectacular, dominant views out over the entire Valdichiana. The church was originally the site of a small oratory, ...

Team -
My Cortona

CORTONA'S KENNELS FOR ABANDONED DOGS

The canile is one of the most joyful places I know; truly uplifting, even in the worst of weathers...
When I was first persuaded, somewhat reluctantly, to go down to our local kennels (canile) in Ossaia, I was very worried that it would be a sad place, full of tragic, caged dogs. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. In fact ...

Hazel Murray -
Cortona, Tuscany

CHURCHES OF CORTONA - NO. 1

THE CHURCH OF SAN CRISTOFERO CAN BE FOUND IN THE QUIET UPPER REACHES OF CORTONA TOWN IN IL POGGIO...
The Church of San Cristofero stands in the upper reaches of Cortona in il Poggio. It is probably the oldest church in Cortona and a plaque states that it was consecrated in 1192. In 1575 it was renovated and modified due ...

Team -
My Cortona

LA ROTONDA DEL PARTERRE

ALTHOUGH THE TOWN PLANNING OFFICE IS UNLIKELY TO RE-INTRODUCE HORSE RACING IT HAS ANNOUNCED THAT....
Recently work began on the redevelopment and conservative restoration of the stone amphitheater in Cortona’s public gardens. “Il Parterre”,  together with the circular space at the entrance of the park, was designed in 1842 by the engineer Allegretti.At that time it ...

Team -
My Cortona

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