MAPPING TUSCANY

With the last days of June, the summer festival season is taking off and the sound of violins and drums will shake up the lay-back Tuscan hilltop towns. Classic, pop and jazz festivals will be hold in Siena, the Val d'Orcia, the Maremma and even in the remote villages around Mount Amiata. It's a summer of beat until September, when the festival season closes with the final concerts on the isle of Elba.   Getting ready for the opera season in Massa Marittima CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVALS DOWN SOUTH MELODIA DEL VINO , from June 27 to July 6 at various wineries in Tuscany.  The young festival brings Mozart & co. to the world of wine. The concerts will take place in famous Tuscany vineyards (some of them designed by the world's archistars like the  Petra winery by Mario Botta or Renzo Piano's Rocca di Frassinello).  AMIATA PIANO FESTIVAL , from June 27 to September 1 in Poggi del Sasso near Cinigiano. The three cycles of classical music (wi...

The man is one of Italy's best known pop stars. He's talented, good looking and has sense of humor. And... he's Tuscan. Which is just one more good reason why he's taking up all that space on this blog. Tensione Evolutiva  (evolutionary tension) is Jovanotti's latest hit. The video has been filmed by Gabriele Muccino, the Italian filmmaker who's made his way to Hollywood thanks to his admirer Will Smith. The song is part of Jovanotti's latest album "Backup 1987-2012 IL BEST" (album cover designed by Maurizio Cattelan), which - as the title says - looks back on 25 years of success in Italian rap and pop music.  Last but not least, from   golden shoes   to batik suits, the man knows how to dress. It must be all that Tuscan blood.  See Jovanotti's website for the dates of his BACKUP tour (June and July 2013). No better way to meet the man himself than live in Italy this summer! 

Tuscany is wine and Renaissance art to some and medieval hilltop villages and cypress trees to others. Obviously there is much more. For an example a vivid folk music scene. But no, Tuscany's traditional folk songs aren't played in every pizzeria around the world. O Sole Mio  and co. have their roots in Naples.  Maremma Amara may not be an international seller, but most Italians will have heard one or another version of the lovely tune. The song describes the hardship of life in Maremma in a time when the Malaria and Saracen pirates were ravaging the coast and drinking water was a rarity in the swampy countryside. Many a poor Tuscan who went to the Maremma to make his fortune or to earn some money for his family never returned. My favorite interpretations of the song is by the Cardellini , one of Southern  Tuscany's great folk music choirs. 

Madonna and Italy is an evergreen. She's got plenty of Italian blood running through her veins, likes crucifixes and is best friends with Dolce & Gabbana.  But who would have paired the hip pop star with Tuscany's famous cypress trees? I just couldn't see it coming. Those skintight 80s outfits just didn't seem to ask for a room with a view.  But always good for a surprise, here she is taking in the Renaissance city and the rolling Tuscan hills from the back of a convertible.  Madonna in the back of a car with the boys (or girls) isn't really a novelty. And I can see her doing it anytime in Las Vegas, Miami or Los Angeles (see her Music video ). But in Florence? Just to think of the traffic. Give that woman a vespa!  The official version of the video can also be seen on the website of the national newspaper la Repubblica,  Madonna in Florence - turn up the radio  (which contributed some material) or on  Madonna's official youtube chan...

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. 

San Galgano Abbey  So where's the roof? Gone for centuries. By now San Galgano's top bit has been been off for longer than it ever was on. Even though the abbey's history started well, things weren't meant to last. The Cistercian monks began with the construction of the church in 1218 and finished it in 1288. At the same time the monks were also in charge of the construction of Siena's famous cathedral - San Galgano had quickly become one of the most influential monasteries in Tuscany. 

 CONSORZIO AGRARIO SIENA - foodie's paradise! Some people visit Italy to shop madly for shoes and clothes. Others go ballistic in a food store. Siena obviously has it all. But don't get tricked into buying your Cinta Senese prosciutto in one of the touristy shops. Go straight to the Consorzio Agrario di  Siena. The farmer's association of the province of Siena has a fantastic selection of all things Tuscan; plus you'll be sure that your Sienese salami wasn't produced in Naples or China. 

I never thought I'd have to this one day - but here we go, I'm in for a rain dance. Whilst friends and family from abroad keep asking us whether we are okay (having heard of the terrible floods in Northern Tuscany and in other parts of Italy), we seriously haven't seen a drop of rain in months in our area of Southern Tuscany.

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: 

I'm in a muddle: I held the firm belief that autumn starts on the 21st of September - at least in this part of the world. But I'm not on my own. So did the DJs of the famous Italian  Radio Deejay  radio station. Thanks to their listeners I've finally learned that autumn is supposed to start on the 22nd and sometimes (this year) on the 23rd of September (it must be the Italians - arriving late as always) . I love autumn in Tuscany - my favorite season down South. But the stupid nostalgic I am I also already miss the Tuscan summer. Therefore let's stretch that summer feeling just a tiny bit more with what has become over the last years one of the biggest Italian summertime standards. 

No doubt, the Dionisus cycle of the Amiata Piano Festival is one of the hidden gems in Southern Tuscany's summer festival scene. The Collemassari  wine cellar (designed by Italian architect  Edoardo Millesi ) makes for a stunning setting for the 4 concerts, which are quite rightly dedicated to Dionisus, the greek god of wine and wine making. The musicians match the prime setting; the pianist and artistic director Maurizio Baglini  has put together a selection of Italian and international musicians who'll guarantee for fantastic performances. 

What can I say? This video just makes me laugh so much, even more as it's taken on a rooftop in Milan. But remember Jovanotti is pure Tuscan at heart:  JOVANOTTI & MICHAEL FRANTI UNPLUGGED And 'The Sound of Sunshine' is just the tune to listen to, if you want to teach your kids (or yourself) some Italian, whilst dancing merrily through the living room. Repeat: 'Il battito del sole, il battito del sole...'.  In case the link above doesn't work in your country watch the official video on Youtube bellow. I prefer the unplugged rooftoop version above, but this one is still fun to watch.

Most people who live in a bustling city know this one. The weekend on the horizon you study your city's Time Out guide (or similar), you read up on a few events, your partner or friends circle a few other options and after hours of discussing which theater/film/concert to go to... you open a bottle of wine and watch an old dvd. This is what could happen to anybody who travels through rural Tuscany during July and August (mind you, not during the rest of the year, when good live concerts are turning into a rare species). The list of events to contemplate for this Saturday (July 16) makes me tear my hair - why all in one night?! Below my top 5:

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? 

Did you say famous? He may not have hit the US big time yet - but Tuscany's hot shot Lorenzo 'Jovanotti' Cherubini has been rocking the Italian music scene for more than 20 years. There is a reason why he has collaborated with people like Bono, Ben Harper, Sergio Mendes and the Beasty Boys.   So if you were planning to cruise the Tuscan hills with Lady Gaga and Madonna on your playlist - forget it! You can get closer to Italian music than that - even in the US. Read about Jovanotti's smooth move into the American music scene on his  website

The Cardellini are a male choir from Tuscany's Monte Amiata. No words needed really, just click on the video to hear them sing.  The song is called a Ninna Nanna  - which means a Lullaby. However don't be fooled, this isn't the kind of lullaby you'd want to sing to your children (unless you are very open-minded).  ' Bella se vuoi venir sull'Amiata insieme a me' is  a farmer's invitation to his loved one (the Bella) to visit him at his vineyard up in the mountain. And regarding the intention of his invitation: a bed made with weeds and a blanket made of cane leaves is all ready in the little hut he normally uses for his siesta...  Hard to find their CD s abroad, but you can download a few songs from their Myspace Site . Have a go - this is as good as it gets when it comes to Italian folk music!