Arezzo

Arezzo's origins as a place of human habitation date far back into the Stone Age. Its history begins no later than the 4th century BC, when it was called Aretim and was one of 12 hill towns of the Etruscan League (the list also included what are now called Perugia , Chiusi , Cortona and Volterra ). After the Romans took over Etruria, they called this city Arretium. In the 11th century, Arezzo was made a free commune, siding with the Ghibellines. Arezzo is also famous for Guido d'Arezzo, the Medieval abbot who originated solfeggio (the mnemonic music system known to many from the song in The Sound of Music that starts "Doe, a deer") at the Duomo in the early 11th century. Arezzo's Basilica di San Francesco holds Piero della Francesca's fresco cycle "The Legend of the True Cross," one of the major works of the early Italian Renaissance. Tourist information Discoverarezzo.com , Via Giorgio Vasari, 13 , ☏ +39 0575 377468 , [email protected] . ( updated Oct 2023 ) Arezzo city website