Tuscany - Italy - page 182

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Piazza della Repubblica, 28 ( % 0575-20839 ); the regional office is a couple of
blocks into the city in Piazza Risorgimento, 116 ( % 0575-23952 ); and a sup-
plemental office is at the north end of the city next to Palazzo Comunale. The
tourist board website at www.apt.arezzo.it is useful as well.
ACCOMMODATIONS, BOTH STANDARD & NOT
I have three hotels and one farm stay to recommend.

€€€ If you're simply seeking a normal night's lodging in a standard hotel, the
Continentale (Piazza Guido Monaco, 7; % 0575-20251; www.hotelcontinentale.
com) is a good call. With 73 rooms, you'll probably find space, and the rooms
themselves are decent, though a little tired and noisy on the street side. Request
an “old style” room for a little more character, a garden room for more quiet. The
rooftop garden offers nice views of the city, and the lobby has a couple of free
high-speed Internet terminals. The staff is professional, and the location, while
not in the heart of the old town, is an easy walk from there. Prices are a reason-
able € 108 for a double.

€€€

If I were to build my ideal apartment in a historical Italian town, it would
resemble a room at La Corte del Re

(Via Borgunto, 5; % 0575-401603;
www.lacortedelre.com). A perfect combination of old and new, the nine apart-
ments at La Corte have stylish and functional modern furniture and full kitchens
blending coolly into the arched wood beams and stone walls of a 14th-century
building. Five of the rooms look directly over Piazza Grande, the best view in
town. Room rates are

55

130 a night in high sea-
son. Energetic manager Franca Gianetti will do what it takes to make sure your
stay is a good one.

€

750 to

€

1,000 for a week, or

€

5
(Via Cavour, 23; % 055-401962; www.hotelpatio.it), perfect for those looking for
a blowout stay in the city. Each of its seven rooms and suites are designed from
the theme of a Bruce Chatwin travel book, from the Wu-Ti Chinese suite to the
Fillide Moroccan room. And who wouldn't want to spend a night in the Ouidah
Trophies' Room, named for a story of “tropical madness and cruelty”? Just be sure
to turn on the light when you get up at night, or you'll be gored by one of the
antlers sticking out of the walls. The beds and bathrooms are top-notch; the rooms
are super quiet—and just a touch bizarre. Room rates for 2006: about € 170 to
€

Just down the street from St. Francesco church is the lavish Hotel Patio

€€€€

220 for a double. Stay a night and enjoy a journey within your journey.

5
(Rendola, 66, Montevarchi, about 24km/15 miles northeast from Arezzo; % 055-
9707045; www.rendolariding.freeweb.org) is an actual working ranch, with a
dozen horses for lessons and multiday treks. Rendola Riding also raises barnyard
animals and vegetables for the dinner table. Jenny Bawtree, an Englishwoman,
founded Rendola in 1970 before agriturismo became hip. Guests come for the rid-
ing, but are not required to be experts at the English technique used here. The
place has the feel of summer camp, partially owing to the youth classes taking
place in summer, but mostly from the communal dining, and the “scrape the

Unlike most agriturismi (farm stay accommodations), Rendola Riding

€€