Between late April and late May Cortona comes alive with a score of events and festivals: the Fiera del Rame Antico e Lavorato (Antique and hand-wrought Copper Exhibit), in the multicoloured setting provided by a flower-and-plant-strewn Piazza Signorelli.
The month of May is dedicated to the medieval historic re-enactment of Francesco Casali’s, lord of Cortona and Antonia Salimbeni’s of Siena wedding. The medieval costume events, recitals and 14th century-style chants and dances reach their climax on the last Sunday of May when the five town Rioni compete in the crossbow contest known as the “Giostra dell’Archidado”.
Between July and August Cortona proposes a variety of relevant cultural meetings ranging from music, cinema, theater, literature, art and wellbeing. The Mix Festival inherits the tradition of “Tuscan Sun Festival” that throughout the years guested global celebrities including Robert Redford, Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Irons, Sofia Loren and Sting.
All cross the old town and in the Fortezza, from mid July to the end of September of every year, Cortona On The Move transforms Cortona in a dynamic centre of contemporary photography, where experimentation and a watchful eye on the future development of visual communications are at home.
The key words are: originality of vision and authenticity in approach to the reality that surrounds us in order to narrate stories through images that reach a vast public.
At the end of August, the city offers two weeks of exibition of fine antiques including forniture, paintings, carpets, sculptures and collection items. “Cortonantiquaria” represents the, la mostra più longeva e prestigiosa del settore.
All during the year there are many food and local festivals that evoke the moments, tastes and habits of the old agricultural life. You can find a full list of Tuscan festivals in this website. In Cortona the most well known include Calici sotto le stelle, Sagra della bistecca chianina, sagra della ranocchia, sagra dell’ocio, sagra della battitura, sagra dell’uva, sagra delle castagne, sagra dei funghi, sagra della lumaca, sagra dei “maccaroni”, sagra della “ciaccia” fritta).
We also need to remember that Cortona and the surrounding territory have been in the past the location of several popular movies such as “Life is beautiful” by Roberto Benigni and “Under the Tuscan Sun”, based on the namesake best seller by Frances Mayes. Weekly open-air markets (Thursdays in Camucia and Saturdays in Cortona) provide some interesting choreographic scenery and are well worth visiting.
Many popular Italian and international writers, journalists, diplomats, politicians, movie-directors, singers and illustrious and prominent figures of the cultural and artistic world and show-biz chose Cortona as their residence, a clear sign of how well-known and valued this sunny corner of Tuscany is around the world.
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