Visiting Pistoia and its surroundings

July is at almost at its end and the heat in Florence is stiffling. So this weekend I am planning once again to take off and the destination will be Pistoia. I personally love this city because when I go there I feel like going back to my childhood since as a small child, my parents would take me to Pinocchio’s Park in Collodi on my birthday. So I want to go back to the Park and take advantage and also visit the Garzoni Garden, a beautiful example of a Renaissance and Baroque Italian garden, and the recently opened Butterfly House, both located next to the park. After Collodi I want to go to Pescia, a town famous for its flowers. It’s a delightful city with many things to see, including the Cathedral and the Palazzo del Palagio. Read the post »

I haven’t yet planned everything I will do this week end. The only thing that is certain is that I’m heading to Mercantia in Certaldo tonight. I’m going to go see this great Festival of Street Artists that I liked very much in the past. I’ll be in Certaldo around 8 pm and after taking a look at the market in the lower part of  Certaldo and dinner, I’ll climb up to upper Certaldo to go see all the events.

On Saturday I’m planning a morning of total relax. After lunch, I’m planning to go to Cerreto Guidi, a nice Renaissance town about 35 min driving distance from Florence. There is Medicea, an event about culture, food and wine. At 6 pm the “historical reconstruction of threshing”, as well as wineries will open, with wine tastings and art exhibits. At 9.30pm a guided tour will be offered within the beautiful Medicean villa of  Cerreto Guidi. This Renaissance villa, turned into the Museum of  Hunting and of the Territory, was built by Buontalenti as a hunting villa for the Grand Duke Cosimo I.

I have yet to decide what to do on Sunday. I’d like to go to San Gimignano, where a new and very interesting museum opened two weeks ago. The museum is called San Gimignano 1300 and is a spectacular and extremely detailed reconstruction of this beautiful medieval city in Tuscany at that time. It should be really impressive. On the other hand, I’d like also to go to Palazzuolo sul Senio in Mugello for the medieval festival “At the Ubaldini’s Family Court”. The peculiarity of this festival is that this year it’s an historical reenactment of the heroic deeds of Roland. There will a free shuttle bus service from Florence and Pontassieve.

I think I’ll wait and decide on Saturday night what to do on Sunday. In the meantime I wish you a nice weekend!

It’s summer and the annual return of the International Festival of Street Artists in Certaldo starts this Wednesday. From July 14 to 18, Certaldo will host thousands of artists coming from all over the world: actors, clowns, acrobats, fire-eaters, musicians, circus’ artists, magicians and much more. Read Full Post »

A few days ago I read this article on the Italian newspaper La Repubblica about gay and lesbian tourism in Tuscany and the popularity of the area of Versilia over Greece as a destination for the LGBT community. It didn’t really surprise me since Tuscany has always been a land of freedom. Just think that the Grand Duke Leopold I was the first to decriminalize homosexuality in Italy back in 1853.

Torre del Lago in Versilia is one of the top 5 summer destinations for the LGBT community. This in large part is due to the hard work of Friendly Versilia, a local project set up in 1998 to work with local entrepreneurs and businesses to turn Torre del Lago into a gay-friendly destination.

Versilia offers everyone the chance to relax and lots of entertainment options for everyone who wants to spend their holidays under the Tuscan sun.

This weekend I want to escape from Florence. Maybe because this week has been really hot, but I need a break from Florence’s heat.

Viareggio on the coast. We’ll be there for dinner because I want to eat seafood on the beach at sunset. After dinner some night shopping along the “Passeggiata”, one of the most famous shopping streets in Versilia. I cannot avoid shopping because the sales season has just started in Tuscany!!! Read the full post! »

Finally it’s summer with hot days, unfortunately the heat has also called given life to lots of mosquitoes as well. The gray rainy days of just two weeks ago are a memory and summer begins with the first Palio of the year. In fact, today July 2 is the Palio of Provenzano. I won’t go to Siena but I’ll watch it on TV while sipping something cold in the company of friends. Read more »

So did everyone have a good “San Giovanni”? Did you enjoy the fireworks? Beautiful!

If you’re still in Florence this weekend, we’ve got another recommendation for you. Saturday night, starting at 9am and continuing on to 3am Sunday the Oltrarno puts together the “Nottarno”, a night of events and activities to head toward the Oltrano area on Saturday evening. Starting at 9pm, the historic neighborhood on the other side of the Arno hosts events along its streets and piazzas to enjoy cultural entertainment, from music to plays and wine.

Some examples:
Via Santa Monaca – jugglers and acrobats, organic wine tasting and jazz concert
Via Camaldoli – get your hand read or your destiny foretold with the pendulum
Piazza del Cestello – “Anfitrione”, a comedy show put on by the students of “commedia dell’arte” from the Teatro Cestello
Piazza Pitti – live music
Piazza del Carmine – dance to Latin-American rhythms
Via Romana and Via Sant’Agostino – businesses will be offering along the street free slices of watermelon, cups of sangria and slices of mortadella
Piazza Poggi – young DJ artists Umberto Saba and Fabio della Torre will make sure music fills the air

The Museum Siviero with its large art collection will remain open as well as the Convitto della Calza.

Summer is finally here! Aside from enjoying a walk with a gelato in hand through downtown, enjoy the special events connected to today’s celebration of Florence’s patron saint, St. John the Baptist. As you can imagine, the day’s celebrations are mostly religious – including a large mass this morning in the cathedral – but many more are part of Florence’s long history and are fun to watch and participate in.

Starting at 6pm tonight, the parade in historical costume of the Calcio Storico Fiorentino starts in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The participants in the game as well as musicians, flag-throwers from the Sbandieratori degli Uffizi and city officials will join in the parade toward Piazza Santa Croce.

At 7pm the “friendly” Calcio Storico match begins between the Blues (Santa Croce neighborhood) and Whites (Santo Spirito neighborhood) in Piazza Santa Croce. You can buy your tickets at the Teatro Verdi’s box office on via Ghibellina 99 starting at 5pm today. Tickets cost from € 15 to € 40, depending on the seating area.

At 8.45pm there is a musical concert along the Lungarno della Zecca while the “Fochi di San Giovanni” or fireworks display starts at 10pm. Just head toward the Arno to get a great view of the fireworks. As they are set up and go off from Piazzale Michelangelo, the piazzale has been closed off to foot traffic all day but the best view is from the Arno, with the fireworks’ bright colors reflecting off the river. See you there tonight!

View photographs of the historical parade and June 24 celebrations »

If you’re still looking for ideas of what to do this weekend in Tuscany, another major event taking place this Saturday is the Giostra del Saracino, or Joust of the Saracen (Moor) in Arezzo.

The whole city turns up in medieval costume to recreate the atmosphere of medieval Arezzo as the quarters of the city compete against each other in a joust to win the Golden Lance. The event has its origins in the Middle Ages and was an evolution of a military training exercise knights used to simulate battle, using a lance to hit a “puppet” of the bad guy, at the time of the Crusades the bad guy being the Saracens or Moors.

Keep reading about the Joust of the Saracen in Arezzo »

Still wondering what to do this weekend in Tuscany? We love medieval festivals and really look forward to heading to San Gimignano this weekend. Famous for its tall medieval towers that create a unique skyline, this weekend San Gimignano will be celebrating the “Ferie delle Messi“, a fertility festival and pageant that dates back to 1255. Street music, theater, markets and a historical costume parade and jousting take you back to Medieval times in the village.

The “Ferie delle Messi” festival was established in the statutes of the comune of San Gimignano from 1255 to 1314, and was celebrated by the whole population – divided into its four districts of San Giovanni, San Matteo, Castello, and Piazza – with dancing, singing, games, and jousting, all with the aim of encouraging a good harvest.

The event takes place on both Saturday and Sunday, the highlight on Sunday being the Grand Procession where around 300 costumed locals, on foot or on horseback, parade in a stream of color along the ancient streets of the historic center to the Rocca di Montestaffoli, where they attend the “Giostra dei Bastoni”.

The jousting tournament is fought by four knights, one from each district. The victor and his district are awarded the prize of a golden sword, symbolising wealth and fertility.

Look forward to celebrating fertility this weekend, will you be joining us?