Why go
Arezzo was an Etruscan centre before Rome made Arretium a station on the Via Cassia. Its pottery travelled widely in Roman times. Later bishops helped shape the medieval city; the churches and reused stone in the centre tell that later story more clearly than a chronology alone.
The full story
Arezzo, known as Aritim to the Etruscans, occupied a strategic position before Roman conquest. Etruscan traces include remains around San Cornelio and Poggio del Sole; the celebrated Chimera of Arezzo and Minerva bronzes found here later went to Florence. Their absence from the city is a reminder to distinguish discoveries made in Arezzo from objects you can see here today. Under Rome, Arretium grew along the Via Cassia and became known for moulded red pottery exported beyond Tuscany. The amphitheatre is the most legible Roman structure to seek out. In late antiquity Arezzo became an episcopal seat. War, rebuilding and the reuse of older stone changed the Roman town, while the bishops remained powerful in the medieval city. As you move between the amphitheatre, Piazza Grande and the churches, look for a layered city rather than one preserved moment in time.