MAPPING TUSCANY

San Biagio at night (with Montepulciano in the background) Day or night, San Biagio,  il tempio di San Biagio,  is always a looker. But it's a special treat to be able to visit the interior of the church all through the night.  As one of 150 churches in Italy, Montepulciano's famous temple church will stay open through the night for the ' La Lunga Notte delle Chiese' event. Concerts and various cultural happenings will take place during the long night of churches on June 7, 2019 from 9.15 pm.  Check the event website for details of the participating churches in Tuscany and all over Italy.  

If you're in Florence on Thursday May 31, 2018 join me for a discussion about Italy, migration and other topics linked to Across the Big Blue Sea , my memoir about a Tuscan refugee home.  We'll meet at 6pm in the secret garden of Palazzo San Niccolò, my favourite new hotel in Florence (I reviewed it for The Telegraph here).  The event is organized by Florence Cultural Salon, a fabulous new initiative which showers the Renaissance city with inspiring cultural events and cocktail nights. Click through to the Cultural Salon website for more information about the organisation and their interesting events calendar in an around Florence.  Not in town on the day? You can get a copy of the book from Paperback Exchange and Todo Modo  in Florence (both great independent bookshops that deserve our support!).  Not coming back to Florence soon?  Download an e-book or order a print copy of ' Across the Big Blue Sea: Good Intentions and Hard Lessons...

I may not be religious, but I totally worship the Todo Modo bookshop in Florence for its beautiful interior design, central location - a ten-minute walk from the station and Ponte Vecchio - and the cafè hidden among shelves and plants hanging from the roof. UqBar serves some of the best lunches to be had in Florence - especially for people who'd love to forego the usual Tuscan fare for a delicious miso soup . But Todo Modo does another thing well. The shelf-filled spaces in the back can be turned into a small theatre which makes for a great event space among all the books. I had my Across the Big Blue Sea book presentation there and was back last month for a Storytellers night - the first event of a great new series.   Linda and Steve, the team from the The Beehive Hostel in Rome have decided to take their storytellers nights to Florence, and Todo Modo has agreed to host them. Whether residents or just travelling through, English speakers will have great fun...

Readers of my memoir  Aross the Big Blue Sea   know about the courageous Syrian family who after a horrendous journey to Sicily stopped over at our refugee home in the Tuscan countryside. The plight of Syrians at home and in exile is at the base of poet, dissident and journalist Rash Omran's work. Omran, who has been living in exile in Egypt since 2012, will present her recent work this July in southern Tuscany.  The reading will take place in the garden of beautiful palazzo Bracci in Montepulciano. The literary event is part of Montepulciano's longstanding  Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte , the Tuscan wine town's art and music summer festival which is in its 42nd edition.  DEFY SILENCE - SFIDARE IL SILENZIO :  Poetry, music and translation between war and exile Rasha Omran, Kim Echlin and Ashti Abdo in Montepulciano Monday, July 17, 2017 - 9.15pm Palazzo Bracci, via delle Case Nuove, Montepulciano.  Rasha Omran has been invited ...

Every year on a Sunday in May countless private Tuscan villas open the gates of their immaculately kept Renaissance gardens to the general public.  Organized by the Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane (the association of historic mansions in Italy) some of Tuscany's most beautiful gardens in historical estates, medieval castles and Renaissance villas can be visited for free on the day. Many of these are not accessible through the rest of the year, or if so only on payment.  Near Siena visits to the sublimely trimmed gardens of the recently restored Villa Cetinale in Sovicille and to the park of Villa Geggiano in the Chianti will be two of the highlights. Further south in the Maremma you'll be conceded access to the castle in Marsiliana, which consists of an entire hamlet which has been the property of the Corsini family since the 18th century (a partments on the  Marsiliana estate  can be rented in  case you're not here on the day or you'd rather have ...

Montalcino Jazz & Wine 2012 Kurt Elling, Derrek Phillips and Charlie Hunter It's a nightmare. Montalcino Jazz & Wine and Southern Tuscany's several summer festivals are passing over me like a road train. Living the life of a countryside bum in the Tuscan hinterland I'm used to ten months of the year during which nothing happens (and I mean nothing). And then, out of that cultural desert, here we are in mid July, when a whole bunch of world-class musicians are thrown at you in one single week.

Israeli singer Noa's tribute to Naples' music in Southern Tuscany Leave your Wellies at home. Rain and mud are no issues during Tuscany's summer festivals. And all those fabulous medieval or Renaissance locations will make Woodstock seem a teenage hangout. CLASSICAL MUSIC I've already written about Melodia del Vino , Musica Reale in Montalcino,   Amiata Piano Festival and San Galgano's  Opera Festival, which are some of the top  classical music festivals in Tuscany  in July 2012. But there is much more to be had when it comes to classical music down South. 

Trekking in Cinigiano: beautiful views, lovely tracks and - oh boy -  plenty of Tuscan wine and food. SATURDAY, MAY 5 - "TREKKING DE' CITTI" . Kids' trekking ('citti' means 'bambino' in Tuscan dialect) 3pm registration at Cinigiano's tourist office. The children's trekking is for free, but registration is necessary (for insurance reasons). Apart of insurance for the day, the kids will get a nice gadget to take home. 3.30pm Start of the trekking in Castello di Porrona (a lovely medieval hamlet five minutes from Cinigiano by car). From Porrona the kids will be taken on a  guided walk trough the Tuscan countryside with animal watching and flower picking. Once back on Porrona's beautiful piazza there will be a snack and lots of fun games waiting for everybody.  Kids from 6 to 12 years of age. Younger children can join if accompanied by their parents. Older ones may want to join the trekking on Sunday morning. 

I've written about Tuscany's cultural hibernation before. So it's always a relief when in spring not just the plant world but also the event scene comes back to life. April doesn't just bring moody weather but traditionally opens the festival, food and wine fair season in Southern Tuscany. And luckily, from here on things will keep going strong for the following six months.  Spring at last

If you're not fluent in Italian but still would like to join some life events in Siena, reserve a Friday this month for some classical music with the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. You can do any day this March, just not Fridays? You're in bad luck then. 

Just checked the weather forecast and wonder whether you'll ever make it out of Siena again? Yes, it's still snowing. No, we don't know how long it will last. So your best bet is to relax, check out Siena's restaurant guide  and shoot a look at the events in town this February. 

Palazzo Chigi Saricini Siena during Palio No fan of classical music? It's not like you have all that much choice event-wise during winter in Siena . So summon up some courage and check out the  Accademia Musicale Chigiana's concert program: great concerts taking place in beautiful venues (in one of Siena's theaters or in the Palazzo Chigi Saracini's own Rococo style concert hall).  It's worth it!

I'm on a secret mission. After a sleepless night I mustered the courage to do something I'm not supposed to do. At least according to my Tuscan native. I'm going to b log about MONTICELLO's FESTA DELLA CASTAGNA (the local chestnut festival). But shhhhh, don't you dare telling my better half! If you insist in reading this blog certain things will just have to stay between you and me.  Never heard of the notorious Tuscan Campanilismo ? If you want to experience it for real come to Cinigiano. Part of the council's territory includes Monticello. A miserable and cold little village on top of an unwelcoming mountain, populated by a bunch of half-wits.  Which is my Tuscan native's description of the town, who - it goes without saying - is not from Monticello. He is from Cinigiano, pure blood. And his statement is in line with the view of the rest of the Cinigianesi - the 500 people who were fortunate enough to have been born and raised a full 10 kilometer...

Still dreaming of that tailormade Italian suite? This is the weekend to get hold of it! Grosseto's MABRO  - handmade in Tuscany  is putting everything on massive sale. And once  you've got your marvelous new piece of Italian clothing you may as well stay on to explore the Maremma a bit further: 

Italy makes you think pasta, wine and Michelangelo? You are missing out on a few, but the one that can be most surprising is that Italy should also make you think... jazz! The current Montalcino JAZZ & WINE festival is the perfect place to discover for yourself some of the knack and talent that is populating the Italian jazz scene. The festival has been going strong for the last 13 years and as every year the program of JAZZ & WINE brings together international jazz celebs with Italian top players.  

During July and August concert season in Tuscany is in full swing. For the people who already overcharged their credit cards with shipping home all those marvelous bottles of Tuscan red - don't worry, ticket prices are often quite modest. Many of the events get generous sponsoring by the wine industry; which is indeed just another reason why you should keep opening those bottles.

It's called Umbria Jazz, and in fact Ahmad Jamal, Herbie Hancock and Branford Marsalis are there for a reason. But the most expensive concerts are the ones of Carlos Santana, B.B. King, Liza Minnelli and the artist formerly known as Prince - or is it just Prince again? 

Sitting on our terrace we see majestic Mount Aquilaia and Mount Amiata as a background to our neighbor's well kept vineyard. And all through summer we sit on that terrace drinking the white wine which is made from the vines we are looking at. Yes, that's rather romantic. However  the striking bit about this information is that we actually CAN afford to drink our neighbor's wine ON A DAILY BASE - which is quite something if you're aware of Tuscan wine prices! The vineyard that gets us through the summer But no, I won't tell you who our neighbor is. The thing is he doesn't produce a lot, and we'd rather not risk having to sip some Chilean or Australian white when sitting on our terrace. That would kind of spoil the view. However there are a few other Tuscans out there who keep producing affordable wines, and at times they are a as good as our neighbor's. To make sure you get to those bottles before they get emptied by somebody else - s...

Tired of all the half-naked women in Italian TV? Not considering Bunga Bunga as a suitable career option for a 16 year old?  It's hard to believe if you watch Italian TV, but Italy is actually loaded with millions of women who couldn't care less about lap-dancing. A good place to validate the truth of this statement is definitely the  Women's Gold Day Offroad  near Borgo Santa Rita. Open to any woman who loves riding a Cross Enduro Bike. Races for pros and training session for tough chicks who'd like to have a try. And incredibly enough nobody has to undress to participate! Women's Gold Day Offroad 15th of May 2011 Crossodromo Borgo Santa Rita (Cinigiano).