Cortona

Cortona needs 1 day: the medieval old town on a hill with views over the Valdichiana, including the Diocesan Museum with works by Fra Angelico and Luca Signorelli, is walkable at a relaxed pace. April-October is best. It's cheaper than Florence or Siena. It became world-famous from «Under the Tuscan Sun», Frances Mayes's memoir about restoring a house here, later a film, but its real history goes back to the Etruscans, who founded it as one of the 12 main cities of their confederation over 2,500 years ago.