Sleeping in Cortona
$$$ Albergo San Luca, perched on a cliff side, has 57 modern, business-class, impersonal rooms, half with stunning views of Lago Trasimeno. It's friendly, well-run, and conveniently located right at the bus stop (Sb-€75, Db-€110, request a view room when you reserve, popular with Americans and groups, Piazza Garibaldi 1, tel. 0575-630-460, fax 0575-630-105, www.sanlucacortona.com, info@sanlucacortona.com). If driving, there's a small public parking lot at the hotel where you might find a spot (cheap and easy meters).
$ Casa Betania, a big wistful convent with a large, inviting view terrace, rents 35 fine rooms (only twin beds) for the best price in town. While it's primarily for "thoughtful travelers," anyone looking for a peaceful place to call home will feel welcome in this pilgrims' resort (S-€26, Sb-€31, D-€37, Db-€42, breakfast-€3, about a third of a mile out of town, a few minutes' walk below Piazza Garibaldi at Via Gino Severini 50, tel. 0575-62829, fax 0575-604-299, casabetaniacortona@interfree.it).
$ Istituto Santa Margherita, run by the Suore Serve di Maria Riparatrici sisters, rents 25 cheap and simple beds in a smaller and more institutional-feeling convent across the street (Sb-€32, Db-€46, breakfast-€3, Viale Cesare Battisti 15, tel. 0575-630-336, fax 0575-630-549, comunitacortona@smr.it).
$ San Marco Hostel, at the top of town, housed in a remodeled 13th-century palace, is one of Italy's best hostels (€12.50/bed in dorms with 2, 4, or 8 beds, includes breakfast, Via Maffei 57, tel. 0575-601-392).
Near Cortona
$$$ Casa San Martino, 12 miles east of Cortona near the isolated village of Lisciano Niccone, is a 250-year-old countryside farmhouse run as a B&B by American Italophile Lois Martin. While Lois reserves the summer (June–Aug) for one-week stays, she'll take guests staying a minimum of three nights for the rest of the year (Db-€140, 10 percent discount for my readers in 2007 — mention this book when you reserve, pool, washer/dryer, house rental available, off-season cooking and painting classes, Casa San Martino 19, Lisciano Niccone, tel. 075-844-288, fax 075-844-422, csm@tuscanyvacation.com). Lois' neighbors, Ernestine and Gisbert Schwanke, run the tidy La Villetta di San Martino B&B (Db-€100, 2-night minimum, cash only, common kitchen and sitting room, San Martino 36, tel. & fax 075-844-309, www.tuscanyvacation.com, erni@netemedia.net).
$$ Castello di Montegualandro is a well-preserved castle on a hill opposite Cortona, overlooking the lake and countryside. The Marti family rent four charming medieval apartments, formerly peasant's quarters, inside the peaceful castle walls. Each one is unique and named for its former use — the Fornacci's sunken living room used to be a kiln. The castle's chapel is a popular spot for weddings (3- or 4-person apartment starts at €133, 3-night minimum, mention this book for a 7 percent discount in 2007, discounts for longer stays, cash only, 10 min southeast of Cortona, Tuoro sul Trasimeno, tel. & fax 075-823-0267, www.montegualandro.com, info@montegualandro.com).