Cortona, encora

We spent the bulk of our time in Italy in Cortona, a little town in Tuscany and it was every bit as charming as one would expect.

The photo is above is the view from our apartment window showing the bells of the church of San Francesco.

Fun facts about that church: built in 1245, it was designed by Friar Elia Coppi, who was the same person that designed the famous Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.
This friar was excommunicated twice during his lifetime and died in Cortona in 1253. After he died, the church sort of 'lost track' of where he was buried until Renaissance renovation on the church dropped a beam through the choir floor revealing a body in monk's robes. There was no name, but they suspected that it was Brother Elias.
In the 1960s, researchers from the university in Perugia were able to verify that the bones belonged to a man who died approximately 700 years prior and who was between 70 and 80 old when he died, confirming it was most likely Brother Elias.

For the rest of our images from Cortona, look here.