Arezzo

It has been many years since we have been to Arezzo but our first visit, back in 1995, turned out to be a blast.

In those days we had no reservations. We just arrived in a town and looked for a hotel. On this one evening we left it too late, a major rain storm moved in, no matter where we drove, all hotels, regardless of the price we full. We opened our Michelin Red Guide, picked Arezzo and a big Red Roof Rated hotel. Sure they had a room. We shared the hotel with rock stars, had crowds of fans cheer when we walked out of the hotel, until they realized we were not the stars, and had one of the best meals and evenings of any trip.

But that is us, the town is the important information. At one time it was one of the twelve most important Etruscan cities in Italy. This is time before the Roman Empire. Later, in 311 it was won by Rome and held an military position of the important via Cassia - the road from Rome to the basin of the Po River that runs into Venice.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the old Roman city was demolished and Christians made the city again important as it became a seat of bishops and continued to prosper. The city was heavily damaged in World War II as the Germans made a stand here, there was significant fighting. The Arezzo War Cemetery, where 1,266 men are buried, is located to the north-west of the city.

Arezzo is located about 80 km southeast of Florence.