How to reach
Castelsecco, known also as S.Cornelio, rises on a hill overlooking the city of Arezzo. It can be reached following the SS73, that connect Arezzo and S.Sepolcro. Passing by the crossroad with the signals 'Stadio' we meet, on the left, the indications for Le Pietre: this recently asphalted road lead us straight under the ruins of the settlement. Otherwise a few hundred meters ahead is possible to follow a second road that start from the parking of the restaurant La Giostra.
History
The archaeological zone of Castelsecco-San Cornelio, from which is possible to enjoy a splendid panorama on the city of Arezzo and the whole Aretine plain, worth a visit mainly for the imposing ruins of its elliptic shaped enclosure, dry walls built using enormous blocks of stone and fortified with counterforts.
Inside the walls not much remains of what, in the ancient time, was an important settlement. The ruins dates back least to the 1st century AC [even if some relics found on this ground make probable an earlier frequentation of the site].
The remnants of the Roman amphitheater and the church of S.Cornelio, of the 16th century, are the only identifiable testimonies. There are many suppositions on the original function of Castelsecco, from the simple military stronghold to a votive place dedicated to the goddess Giunone Lucina, but nothing remain of this temple. Sure it was an important takeover during the wars between Bizantini and Longobardi of the 6th/7th centuries. At the end of the low Middle Ages Castelsecco was abandoned for the most comfortable settlement located at the bottom of the valley, Arezzo.