Arezzo: My Very Very Favorite Place

This past summer I had the incredible opportunity to study abroad in Arezzo, Italy. I remember before arriving in Italy I had been so excited for the big name cities... Rome, Florence, Naples/Pompeii... and true to my expectations, those places did not disappoint. They were lively and beautiful, steeped in history. What I did not expect was to fall so completely in love with Arezzo, a small city in Tuscany which I had hardly heard about.

Personal photo from my apartment window in Arezzo, July 2014.

Arezzo is a sleepy town in some ways. There are always people on the streets, hanging out in the piazzas, sharing wine on the patio, however there is still a slowness to everything. No one is in a rush, there isn't the same hustle and bustle as there is in Rome and in Florence.

Arezzo sits on a hill and its ancient walls still exist around much of the city. It's a charming mix of old and new. One of my favorite places within in Arezzo was the park that sits directly on the top of the hill and looks out over the wineries, houses, and scenery that sits just beyond the old city walls. There is a drink stand at the top of the hill where you can buy beverages of all sorts. After class my friends and I would climb the rest of the hill and share a bottle of wine while we did our homework or just sat and talked. 

Personal photo taken at the park on top of the hill in Arezzo, July 2014.

Another thing that made me fall so in love with Arezzo were the constant city wide activities. Throughout the summer Arezzo will divide its city into four different neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods compete against each other in medieval contests like jousting. All throughout the city you will see the flags of each neighborhood hanging from the buildings. At night the piazzas would be filled with people, stages were set up in front of the fountains and free concerts were held. One night in the middle of a concert I was able to participate in a lantern festival. It was straight out of Tangled. Nothing can quite compare to the feeling of sitting with friends in my favorite piazza, listening to beautiful music and watching hundreds of colorful lanterns float across the sky. It was the most magical thing I have ever seen.

Personal photo of the lantern festival in Arezzo, July 2014.

I cannot wait until I have another opportunity to go back to this place. It was absolutely the most exceptional and magical experience of my life.