Arezzo and its historic workshops: experiencing art in the City of Arts

Nestled in the heart of Tuscany, maybe in its lesser-known yet certainly most authentic side, the extraordinary city of Arezzo is the perfect destination you were seeking for your next trip to discover new places, rich in charm, art and beauty.

A trip that can become a true cultural experience thanks to Fondazione Arezzo Intour, the organization that promotes the city as a quality tourist destination on the international scene, for an exciting invitation to experience art in the City of Arts.

A travel experience that passionately intertwines centuries of history and daily life, a magic that’s still so much alive here in Arezzo to be discovered by visiting the wonderful art workshops in its historic centre, icons of the artisan tradition of Tuscany.

Visiting Arezzo is itself an exciting experience, a journey to discover what could be defined as the city of art par excellence - after all, Arezzo is the birthplace of Vasari, a multifaceted artist and the first professional art historian - a daydream framed by large historic squares and period buildings, silent guardians of glorious stories that have come down intact from the Middle Age to the present.

Stories of life, stories of hard work and love for art in all its forms, just like those of the workshops in Arezzo that populate the streets of the historic centre. Stories with faces and names, with their own identity and an equally unique way of telling about experiencing art and creativity in a city with an immense cultural heritage - just think of the sumptuous Vasari House Museum, or the enchanting cycle of frescoes Stories of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca at Basilica San Francesco.

A travel experience that therefore finds in art an unparalleled cultural value, not simple motion to physically explore the city following a strict scheme, but the purest pleasure of discovery and meeting the people who make this city so intimate and welcoming. This is why each of the historic art workshops in Arezzo is a world itself to be experienced, small pieces of a rich and fascinating mosaic where everyone, artists, artisans, gallery owners and restorers, are protagonists of an artistic tale that will accompany you on your trip to the city, perfect for a weekend of beauty.

To discover the most fascinating art workshops in Arezzo it takes to venture into the heart of its historic centre, an urban environment that has remained on a human scale and can be easily visited on foot despite the passage of centuries. The most authentic photograph of a city devoted to arts that has kept its majestic aura of a great entity from the past, as a solemn living museum of creativity ready to welcome tourists and enthusiasts.

Here we find what are called Streets of Workshops - more precisely, Via Cavour, Via Cesalpino and Via Bicchieraia - the main streets that historically hosted the most important artisan workshops, painting studios, restoration laboratories and antique galleries of the city. Streets that, even today, revive again in the wonder of workshops and craftsmanship Made in Tuscany thanks to the work of old and new generations of artists, art lovers by profession and by lifestyle.

These streets are easily recognizable while walking around Arezzo, representing not only real attractions themselves to visit step by step, but also convenient connecting ways between the most popular places in the town. In fact, they are located in the area ideally circling the main squares in Arezzo: the iconic Piazza Grande, a window on a Middle Age that survives; the welcoming Piazza San Francesco, where to pamper yourself with a stroll among shops, cafes and restaurants; and the elegant Piazza delle Libertà, full of emotions and sparkling looks in the presence of breathtaking historic buildings.

Walking slowly step by step through the historic Streets of Workshops in Arezzo is a journey within the journey, a cultural experience to discover the history of the City of Arts and its souls to enjoy through the senses.

The perceptions that can be felt in the historic centre of Arezzo are many, each co-protagonist of an authentic storytelling of the prestige of tuscan craftsmanship. Sensations such as the scent of hand-processed leather goods and the intense smell of quality tempera in search of the perfect shade; the refined touch of gold, silver and precious stones that embellish the ancient goldsmith art of this land; the harmonious sound of hands at work, capable of transforming raw wood and ceramics into works of art and restoring masterpieces from the past with the masterful use of humble tools; or the look in awe of visitors immersed in the exploration of antique galleries full of treasures that bear witness to remote eras.

And taste? Don't worry, even the pleasure for taste buds finds (a sweet) space in the great tradition of the workshops in Arezzo: the town indeed host renowned artisan chocolate laboratories, small temples of delicacy where the best qualities of cocoa from all over the world transform into delicious bars and pralines, ideal for a souvenir from the City of Arts in full sweetness.

But when it comes to beauty and creative flair, a city like Arezzo cannot help but overcome conventions of art in its classic sense, of which its historic workshops are undisputed icons, truly becoming that living museum of creativity open to contemporaneity and new artistic trends.

In recent decades in fact Arezzo has immediately seized the opportunity to keep evolving, while remaining faithful to its principles, becoming an important hub for contemporary and pop art in all its forms. Starting from cinema, with the city that has served as the backdrop with its most beautiful locations for successful films such as La vita è bella by and with Roberto Benigni awarded with three Oscars in 1999, also exploring the new frontiers of pop art with creative collage and photorealism - a painting style that imitates photography - and street art, which finds expression in the murals that color the city.

Among the most beloved contemporary arts in Arezzo photography indeed stands out, the protagonist of one of the most popular and interesting themed trade exhibitions in Italy, an unmissable opportunity to visit the city and discover the secrets and the best vintage equipment of the great professional photographic art.

Today more than ever the fundamental social and cultural role of art workshops in Arezzo, and of the art expressed by all the artists of the city, is heartfelt with growing enthusiasm.

Lively emotions that rekindle the passion of the historic centre with events celebrating the history and traditions of Arezzo, such as the great Antiques Fair in Piazza Grande held twelve times a year on the first Sunday of the month and the previous Saturday, or the folk magic of the Saracino Joust with a double annual event on the penultimate Saturday of June and the first Sunday of September, one of the oldest medieval tournaments in Italy of which there is even a trace through the pages of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Both events actively involve workshops and artisans, not only from a professional point of view for the setting up of stands, artistic consultancy and the creation of exclusive artworks, but also and perhaps especially as beacons of wisdom to orient oneself in discovering Arezzo and its culture, so deeply rooted in history yet in constant evolution.

With an exceptional cultural heritage made up of historic places pursuing the pop world, elegant buildings, churches and palaces with a solemn aura, timeless works of art, museums that house ancient and contemporary wonders and fantastic art workshops where to breathe the best of tuscan craftsmanship, Arezzo confirms itself as one of the new Italian top destinations for those seeking a more authentic, slower, more human travel experience.

An electrifying rise to the top of international tourist interest also confirmed by data, which see the City of Arts progressively growing in tourism in Tuscany with results even higher than a world-famous destination like Florence.

A success that has no secrets or particular tricks, except the best that Arezzo can offer to tourists seeking unique emotions and highly immersive experiences - some art workshops periodically arrange guided visits of their laboratories and creative activities by involving the visitors - by the example of Nobel Prize for Literature José Saramago, in love with the city and its beauties.

A success that starts (and restarts) from art, with the workshops of Arezzo as absolute protagonists of a new way of experiencing the city and the territory, through active and participatory tourism. A success that elevates travelers, from a simple temporary guest to a protagonist of an artistic story always in progress.