Casale in Cortona

The area sits on the Valdichiana plain below the hill town of Cortona, with Lake Trasimeno just over the Umbrian border within about 15 km from the eastern side of the comune. Cortona itself is a substantial historic hill town with intact walls, steep streets, major churches and museums. The hills around Cortona are part of the Tuscan-Umbrian foothill landscape rather than a high mountain range. A large part of the local upland falls in the Parco Regionale del Lago Trasimeno catchment on the Umbrian side, and the lake landscape is part of daily life for this border area. Cortona has official status as one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia. The area is known for olive groves, vineyards, the Valdichiana farmland and for Cortona's Etruscan and Renaissance heritage.