Arezzo

Arezzo is a city in central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany.

Church of Santa Maria della Pieve, Arezzo

Arezzo is about 80 km (50 miles) south-east of Florence, at an elevation of 296 meters above sea level. In 2001 the population was about 91,600 people.

History

Arezzo was founded by the Etruscans. It was a flourishing city in the days of the Roman Empire, then known by the name of Arretium. During the Middle Ages, much of it's earlier architecture was dismantled to reuse the stones for fortifications. Arezzo was an indepedent city-state from the 11th century until 1384, when it was incorporated into the Tuscan State of Florence.

Notable people from Arezzo

Prominent people from Arezzo include the scholar Petrarch, artist Piero della Francesca, painter and biographer Giorgio Vasari, botonist Cesalpino, poet Guittone d'Arezzo, Pope Julius II, and Guido d'Arezzo, who developed the system for writing the musical scale.

Gianfrancesco, also known as Giovanni Francesco Poggio Bracciolini, a famous humanist of the Italian Renaissance, was born near Arezzo.

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