Le mura di Cortona, un patrimonio da riscoprire

The new research on the walls of Cortona is being carried out as part of an agreement between the ’Accademia Etrusca di Cortona’ and the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence, with the High Supervision and scientiic support of the ’Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di Siena, Grosseto e Arezzo’. The study aims to develop a deep and appropriate knowledge to be made available to the relevant administrations, as well as to create the basis for a project of restoration, enhancement and accessibility of the town wall. The walls of Cortona extend for about three kilometers around the medieval city, preserving in several places remainings of the Etruscan town wall dating back to the 4th century BC. They were built using isodomic technique with large blocks of local sandstone, some even exceeding 3 m in size, which provide evidence of the continuity of the urban form from the classical age to the medieval and modern period. The town enclosure still preserves one of the ancient gates, the Porta Bifora, which was investigated between 1986 and 1990 during the work that enabled its restoration and reopening. The agreement provides for a survey using advanced laser scanner techniques and terrestrial and drone photogrammetry, with appropriately processed data. From the irst results, a clearer picture of the overall remains of the Etruscan walls has emerged, with information shedding new light on the peculiar constructive connections between Etruscan pre-existences and later-period additions.