Italy, the best of both worlds © PhotoLab XL

The holiday destination of Cortona perches above the lofty hills of olive groves and vineyards overlooking Lake Trasimeno and the plain of Valdichiana. It is one of the oldest cities in Tuscany and its Etruscan roots have been indelibly imprinted onto its foundations. Cortona also stakes a claim as a 'City of Art', having spawned the great artists, Luca Signorelli and Pietra da Cortona.

Most of the Etruscan city is hidden in basements but part of the original 4th century BC walls can be seen at the base of Porta Colonia's outer side. Climbing the city's cut-stone staircases and meandering along its cobbled streets guides one back through the past from the Renaissance to the Middle Ages and beyond. The medieval houses along Via Janelli are the oldest in Italy; massive timber beams support their overhanging upper stories.

Other places of special interest for people on holiday in Cortona include the Palazzo Comunale, Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca (containing a number of major Etruscan artefacts) and the church of San Francesco, the first Franciscan church outside Assisi.