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A vacation in Cetona usually means rest and tranquillity in
a picturesque landscape. But there is a lot to do in and around
the immediate area.
Only a short drive away, art lovers will find some of the
most exceptional gallery and museums in the world. In the
nearby towns of Chiusi, Montepulciano, Pienza, Cortona, Perugia,
Arezzo, Orvieto and Siena, history has left treasures from
the time of Etruscans to the Reanaissance. And don't forget
that from Cetona you can easily reach, by motorway in about
an hour time, even Florence and Rome.
Hikers, Riders, Biciclists and Nature lovers will find foot-paths
and country roads that wind through hillsides and vineyards
where they will discover hidden corners and breathtaking views.
If it's sports you're after there are sporting facilities
in Cetona and surroundings.
Nearby, Trasimeno Lake offers a variety of water sports and
at San Casciano, Bagno Vignoni and San Filippo you can take
teraupetic baths in the natural hot water springs.
On the cultural side, every summer Cetona hosts a numer of
conferences and seminars in archaelogy, medicine or art and
organizes exibition of local handicrafts and artists.
 Walking
in this lovely town, the visitors can admire the medieval
fortress, the Collegiate church of the XIII century and the
churches of S.S. Annunziata and S.Michele, enjoying the fresh
air of this place which smells of ancient and magic, an atmosphere
which nowadays is more and more difficult to find.
South of Siena, few Kms far from Valdorcia,
Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, Trasimeno Lake; we are
near thermal water baths such as S. Casciano Dei Bagni,
Bagno Vignoni, Bagni S. Filippo.
In the town of Cetona the old and the new
mingle together in an unequalled harmony, and you can’t
do without being fascinated and loving it.
The first mention
of Cetona is found as a "Castle" between 1207 and 1241
in the estate of Count Ildebrandino, but subject to the
sovreignty of the Commune of Orvieto. Around the Castle,
known locally as the "Rocca", a village developed, a
typical medieval agglomeration of houses and dwellings
built in a spiral on the steep slopes of the hills.
In the area
around Cetona one of the oldest human settlements of
central Italy has been discovered which goes back 40.000
years and the remains of which can be seen in the delightful
archeological park of Belverde and the 25 prehistoric
caves which are today lit by power comming from modern
and ecologically friendly solar panels. The finds are conserved
in the museum devoted to the prehistoric period of Mount
Cetona located on the ground floor of the Town Hall, a
museum which the experts have defined as "didactically perfect".
This ancient community is at the same time a lively centre
of contemporary life and has become, since the 1960s, a
haunt of "VIPs" who have bought and
renovated farm properties.
The Sienese nobility remained until the end of the Republic (mid-16th century)
when the Grand Duke Cosimo I of the Medici conceded Cetona to the Marquis
Chiappino Vitelli who trasformed the fortess into a residence and built the
large town square (Piazza Garibaldi) where Palazzo Vitelli can still be seen.
In 1772 Cetona became a Commune linked to Sarteano until 1840. Today Cetona
has 3,000 inhabitants and covers 53 sq km including Mount Cetona, known in
former times as "Monte Piesi" (1,148 m.), and the hills which slope down towards the flat
bottom of the Astrone valley. Other than the main town itself, starding 385
metres above sea level, the Commune includes the villages of Piazze, a recent
development, and the areas of Belverde and Camporsevoli. Even if residential
tourism of élite classes has brought fame to the village of Cetona,
the community has retained its rural identify on which its economy is predominantly
based.
CETONA Art
The town is of
Etruscan origin and is built along circular lines following
the sides of the hill on which it stands. The square tower
of the fortress is dated between 900 and 930 while the
round towers date back to 1458.
The following buildings are worth noting:
SS.TRINITA': built between 1417 and 1475 it contains a cycle of frescos by
Pinturicchio.
THE CHURCH OF S.MICHELE ARCANGELO: a structure from 1155 with Sienese school
frescos attributed to Cola Petruccilli who also worked on the crypt of Orvieto
Cathedral.
PALAZZO VITELLI: built in the second half of the 16th century.
CETONA Archeology
The history of
Cetona precedes the conflict between Siena and Orvieto,
in the middle of the 13th century enjoying the assistance
of Florence, and for a short time, in the 14th century,
dominion by Perugia until cessession to the Republic
of Siena in 1418.
Some of the oldest
finds which bear witness to the presence of man in the
Valdichiana have come to light on Mount Cetona. In the
small GOSTO CAVE many hand-made stone artefacts have been
discovered dating back to the MUSTERIAN culture (between
40,000 and 80,000 years ago). Similar objects have been
found in the LATTAIA CAVE, location of an ancient cult
of water worship, which were meant to promote milk production
in pregnant women.
The
search of the CAVE OF S.FRANCESCO produced particularly interesting results:
here some fireplaces and vases with the burned remains of cereals and vegetables
were discovered.
Similar finds have been discovered in practically the whole area, some traced
back to the RINALDONE culture (late bronze age) and the Appennine culture
(bronze age).
On higher levels concrete evidence of remains of the Musterian era were found.
Numerous cuts in the rock visible mainly in the Belverde area, particularly
near the so-called amphitheatre, are related to mining, probably roman.
In 1990 the Civic Museum for the Prehistory of Mount Cetona was inaugurated
which documents the various stages of human settlement on the territory starting
from the paleolithic up until the bronze age.
An examination of the finds in 1939 estabilished that the Lattaia cave was frequented
from the beginning of the mid paleolithic until the first Villanovian period
(9th-10th century B.C.) and ultimately in Roman times as can be seen from
a votive fireplace from the first century A.D.
Many other caves, forming the most important labyrinth of the whole of Mount
Cetona, can be found at Belverde. Between 1928 and 1935 thirteen entrances were
explored providing the most abundant documentation relating to the bronze age
in central Italy.
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