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Hotel Italia Cortona is in a beautiful 15th century palace. At that time, the “Palace” was the manifestation of the settlement of the high-artistic rural aristocracy, so it was the exclusive residence of the wealthy family in opposition to the “home”, the habitation of the people.
The palace has a Renaissance architecture and in the past was rich in precious works of art, paintings, sculptures, furniture, libraries and archives. Some of the important pieces of that time are still present in the building that is now home of the Hotel Italia, some examples are the ancient reception armchairs, original armchairs of the Signorelli Theater and the imposing mirror, an object of Palazzo Ferrettini.
For a certain period of time in a part of the palace there were carriages, used for the public good, also as an ambulance service for Cortonesi citizens. In another period, a part of the palace was the ideal place, with its thick Etruscan walls, to preserve the wood that was then used in the public oven of Cortona.
Another curiosity is that maybe in the past the palace of Hotel Italia were one time two palaces with a small street in the middle, in fact between the present reception and the back of the Relax Room there is a small alley with two arches and a written date on the wall: 1661. As it may be assumed the date when the two buildings were joined.
At the beginning of the 1900’s the Palace was used to organize large banquets and parties for only a few selected people and soon the Palace was transformed into a hotel.
Then towards 1940 the Palace became a hotel with the name “Hotel Italia”, the original and historical name still present. The hotel also served as a restaurant for its guests and passed various properties until 2003 when it was purchased by Planhotel.
