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CORTONA , a See also:town and episcopal see of See also:Italy, in the See also:province of See also:Arezzo, 18 m. S. by E. from the town of Arezzo by See also:rail. The See also:ancient and See also:modern names are identical. Pop. (1901) of town, 3579; See also:commune, 29,296. The highest point of Cortona, a See also:medieval See also:castle (Fortezza), is situated 2130 ft. above See also:sea-level on a See also:- HILL
- HILL (0. Eng. hyll; cf. Low Ger. hull, Mid. Dutch hul, allied to Lat. celsus, high, collis, hill, &c.)
- HILL, A
- HILL, AARON (1685-175o)
- HILL, AMBROSE POWELL
- HILL, DANIEL HARVEY (1821-1889)
- HILL, DAVID BENNETT (1843–1910)
- HILL, GEORGE BIRKBECK NORMAN (1835-1903)
- HILL, JAMES J
- HILL, JOHN (c. 1716-1775)
- HILL, MATTHEW DAVENPORT (1792-1872)
- HILL, OCTAVIA (1838– )
- HILL, ROWLAND (1744–1833)
- HILL, SIR ROWLAND (1795-1879)
hill commanding a splendid view, and is approached by a winding road. It is surrounded by its ,ancient See also:Etruscan walls, which for the greater See also:part of the See also:circuit are fairly well preserved. They are constructed of parallelepipedal blocks of See also:limestone, finely jointed (though the jointing has often been spoilt by weathering), and arranged in See also:regular courses which vary in See also:size in different parts of the See also:enceinte. Near the N.W. See also:angle some of the blocks are 7 to 82 ft. See also:long and 21 ft. high, while on the W. See also:side they are a See also:good See also:deal smaller—sometimes only r ft. high (see F. Noack in Romische Mitleilungen, 1897, 184). Within the town are two subterranean vaulted buildings in good See also:masonry, of uncertain nature, some other remains under modern buildings, and a See also:concrete ruin known as the "Bagni di Bacco." The museum of the Accademia Etrusca, a learned See also:body founded by Ridolfino Venuti in 1726, is situated in the Palazzo Pretorio; it contains some Etruscan See also:objects, among which may be specially noted a magnificent See also:bronze See also:lamp with 16 See also:lights, of remarkablyfine workmanship, found in 174o, at the See also:foot of the hill, two votive hands and a few other bronzes, and a little See also:gold jewellery. The library has a good MS. of See also:Dante. The See also:cathedral, originally a Tuscan Romanesque See also:building of the Ilth-12th centuries, is now a See also:fine See also:Renaissance See also:basilica restored in the 18th See also:century, containing some paintings by Luca See also:Signorelli, a native of the See also:place. Opposite is the See also:baptistery, with three fine pictures by Fra See also:Angelico. S. Margherita, just below the Fortezza, is an ugly modern building occupying the site of a See also:Gothic See also:- CHURCH
- CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
- CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
- CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
- CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
- CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)
church of 1294, and containing a fine See also:original See also:rose window and reliefs from the See also:tomb of the See also:saint by Angelo e See also:Francesco di See also:maestro Pietro d'See also:Assisi. Other See also:works by Signorelli are to be seen else-where in the town, especially in S. Domenico; Pietro Berettini (Pietro da Cortona, 1596–1669) is hardly represented here at all. Below the town is the massive tomb chamber (originally subterranean, but now lacking the See also:mound of the See also:earth which covered it) known as the Grotta di Pitagora (grotto of See also:Pythagoras). To the E. is the church of S. Maria del Calcinaio, a fine See also:early Renaissance building by Francesco di Giorgio See also:Martini of See also:Siena, with fine stained See also:glass windows.
The See also:foundation of Cortona belongs to the legendary See also:period of Italy. It appears in See also:history as one of the strongholds of the Etruscan See also:power; but in See also:Roman times it is hardly mentioned. See also:Dionysius's statement that it was a See also:colony (i. 26) is probably due to confusion.
See G. See also:Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of See also:Etruria (See also:London, 1883), ii. 394 seq. ; A. Della Celia, Cortona Antica (Cortona, 1900). (T.
End of Article: CORTONA
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