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Sitting on a low hill in a wide plain, Arezzo, especially the bell tower of its Duomo, is visible from afar. Surrounding the older town is an area of urban sprawl. As you begin to walk along the narrow pedestrian streets inside the walls, however, the standard stores of the lower town are gradually replaced by the exclusive antiques and jewelry shops for which Arezzo is known, and the anonymous buildings of the new town give way to Renaissance town palaces, Romanesque and Gothic churches, and the medieval squares of the upper town—all of which is crowned, quite naturally, by the Duomo itself.
Arezzo's medieval cathedral at the top of the hill contains a fresco of a tender Maria Maddalena by Piero della Francesca (1420–92); look for it in the north aisle next to the large marble tomb near the organ. Construction of the Duomo began in 1278 but twice came to a halt, and the church wasn't completed until 1510. The ceiling decorations and the stained-glass windows date from the 16th century. The facade, designed by Arezzo's Dante Viviani, was added later (1901–14).
With its irregular shape and sloping brick pavement, framed by buildings of assorted centuries, Arezzo's central piazza echoes Siena's Piazza del Campo. Though not quite so magnificent, it's lively enough during the outdoor antiques fair the first weekend of the month and when the Giostra del Saracino (Saracen Joust), featuring medieval costumes and competition, is held here on the third Saturday of June and on the first Sunday of September.
The curving, tiered apse on Piazza Grande belongs to a church that was originally an early Christian structure—itself constructed over the remains of a Roman temple. The church was rebuilt in Romanesque style in the 12th century. The splendid facade dates from the early 13th century but includes granite Roman columns. A magnificent polyptych, depicting the Madonna and Child with four saints, by Pietro Lorenzetti (circa 1290–1348), embellishes the high altar.
