The Hotel RistoArte Corys is a Relais luxury hotel & restaurant with seven double rooms furnished with care and fully equipped, lift, complementary WIFI internet connection and two apartments only ten metres away, with one and three further double rooms. Nearby, the building of the former Church of St. Domenico,Torreone will be transformed, in the next summer season, into three beatiful suites of 55 sqm each, one surrounded by a size able garden. The whole structure commands a splendid panorama over the valley that in ancient times was called the Golden Basin and towards Lake Trasimeno. Our guests have free access to our outdoor swimming pool and we have facilities for the disabled.

Our renovation programme executed in late 2008 has radically upgraded all our rooms ( baths, carpets, furnishing, electric systems, improvement of space... ), enlarged our beloved wine cellar and improved the kitchen. Our project has changed the face of the Corys, though maintaining our objective to have a classical environment with great refinement, style, comfort and attention to detail. To complement the creation of our relaxation areas and the gardens surrounding our Suites, we are planning to develop a fully equipedd Spa. It will soon be possible to book spa treatments at the Hotel including the following different massage styles - shiatsu, warm-stone, moska, Californian massage, drain and energetic massage

The Hotel RistoArte Corys is just one kilometre from the main attractions of Cortona, which can be reached by foot along an ancient Roman road affering panoramic views over the Valdichiana. The area offers numerous recreational activities bookable through our Reception, including like horse riding, walking or cycling, trips to the many archaeological sitesof our beloved Cortona, both well known and newly discovered. Our Reception is able to plan tours to Lake Trasimeno, and to the cities of Arezzo, Perugia, Siena, Montepulciano, Montalcino and the whole Val d'Orcia and Val d'Asso regions. It is also possible to book chauffeured visits and tastings at the region's wines producers.

HISTORICAL: The area has been occupied since prehistoric times, but Cortona was founded by the Etruscans around 3,000 years ago, becoming one of the 12 Lucumones of the Etruscan Federation in the 8th Century BC. The impressive wall that still circles Cortona, as well as may other artefacts and sites, are evidence of the city's importance in those times. By the 3rd Century BC, Cortona became a colony of Rome and in 217 BC the area witnessed the famous Battle of Trasimeno between Carthaginians under Hannibal and the Romans under Flaminius. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Cortona was sacked by first the Goths, then the Lombards, but was rebuilt and became a free city state until falling under Medici rule in 1411. It was as a result of this that Grand Duke Cosimo I ordered the construction of the Medici Fortress (also known as the Fortress of the Gyr Falcon), which can still be seen today. Cortona remained under Florentine influence or control until incorporation in the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

LEGENDARY: There are a numerber of legends about the foundation of Cortona. In one myth, Cortona was founded by Dardanus, son of Jupiter )or in another story, of Atlas) and Electra, and he later went on to found Troy. According to Vergil ( Aeneid III, 167, VII 209), he was born at Cortona, and from there he went to Asia. These stories lead to the saying, " Cortona, mother of Troy and grandmother of Rome". Dardanus fought above a hill that overhangs the Valdichiana and was struck by a lance that disloged his helmet. Unable to find it again, a diviner told him that Mother Earth had closed the helmet in her breast since she wanted there to be a city where it had been lost, which would be impregnable and strong, like Dardanus's helmet. Then the hero built the new city where he had lost the helmet and named it Corito, from korys (the Greek for helmet), from which comes the name Cortona.