Arezzo

Arezzo or Arretium is a city and comune in central Italy. It was known to the Romans as Arretium. Arezzo was made in the 11th cent. a free commune, siding with the Ghibellines. Arezzo is also famous for Guido d'Arezzo, the Medieval abbot who originated solfeggio (the mnemonic music system known to many from the song in The Sound of Music that starts "Doe, a deer"). Nowadays, it is an agricultural trade center and has machine, clothing, gold, and jewelry industries and is also a tourist center.

Arezzo's historic old town is small enough to explore on foot. If you have a rental car, you can park in one of the municipal lots for under ten Euros for the entire day, then walk up into the historic centre. WARNING: Arezzo is atop a steep incline, and you will feel as though you are walking uphill pretty much everywhere. Wear comfortable shoes. ATAM runs the city bus service (there is also a "Centro Storico" line that covers the historic old town). The taxi service is efficient and not too expensive.

The Piazza Grande is the most noteworthy medieval square in the city, opening behind the thirteenth-century Romanesque apse of S. Maria della Pieve. Once the main marketplace of the city, it is currently the site of the Giostra del Saracino ("Joust of the Saracen"). It has a sloping pavement in red brick with limestone geometrical lines.

Arezzo is home to an annual medieval festival called the Saracen Joust (Giostra del Saracino). In this, "knights" on horseback representing different areas of the town charge at a wooden target attached to a carving of a Saracen king and score points according to accuracy. Virtually all the town's people dress-up in medieval costume and enthusiastically cheer on the competitors.