Time for Wine! One of the reasons it’s so great to travel in Italy in the fall is for all of the wine sampling to be done. Oenological Week in Montefalco, Umbria, which celebrates Sagrantino, runs from September 18-21. The Wine Championship in Florence, a sort-of wine-related Jeopardy! contest, kicked off today and runs through the weekend; the event is sponsored by Slow Food Firenze. Throughout the month in Tuscany will be the Chianti grape harvest, a yearly ritual which has been honored each year since 1926 with a Festa dell’Uva in Impruneta. The town of Bardolino, on the shores of Lake Garda, also holds a Festa dell’Uva, which begins at the end of September.

Food, Glorious Food! You need something to go with your wine. Try the Festival del Prosciutto di Parma, happening throughout the Parma province of Emilia Romagna through September 21. Some of you probably didn’t know that couscous is a staple in Sicilian cuisine; in fact, a festival dedicated to couscous takes place in San Vito Lo Capo from September 23-28. Outside of Milan, in the town of Gorgonzola, the 10th annual Sagra Nazionale del Gorgonzola, which celebrates the distinctive cheese and other food products of the area, will be held on September 20 and 21. Meanwhile, in Le Marche, the city of Fano will hold a Festival del Brodetto, which will honor the region’s typical zuppa di pesce (fish soup).

Traditional Festivals and Fairs. Soak up some Italian heritage with a visit to Venice, where the Historic Regatta on the Grand Canal takes place this weekend (Sept. 7) at 5:10 p.m. There are traditional jousting tournaments in Arezzo (Sept. 7) and Foligno (Sept. 13 and 14). Naples’ ever-popular Feast of San Gennaro takes place on September 19, and will include lots of food, frolicking, and fawning over the city’s patron saint, a statue of whom is paraded throughout the streets. (We couldn’t find a good official site for the San Gennaro fest, so here’s an “unofficial” explanation of the event.) Finally, a fun event for the entire family is the live chess match, played in the town of Marostica every two years by real people on a life-size chess board in Piazza Scacchi (fittingly, Chess Square). The game(s) will be held September 12-14, and tickets cost between €10-80.

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On September 10 at 6:30 p.m., the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Washington, DC, and the Embassy of Italy will host the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and DC native for a discussion of his latest page-turner. If you’d like to go, you must RSVP to iicwashington@esteri.it or by calling 202-518-0998, ext. 1.

Another book talk coming up from the IIC will be with Eleanor Herman, the author of Mistress of the Vatican. The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope. That discussion will take place on September 24. Contact the above e-mail or phone number for more info.

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A luscious soup recipe from the recipe archives of La Cucina Italiana

I’ve mentioned before that blogging, especially this blog, is a labor of love. But, occasionally, the gods of the blogosphere shower you with interesting opportunities, such as one I recently got from Alex over at Blog from Italy.

Alex and the U.S. version of La Cucina Italiana magazine (a title I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog) are going to sponsor a recipe contest this fall and I’m going to be one of the tasters/testers!

Details are supposed to appear on the La Cucina Italiana site tomorrow (September 5). Stay tuned!

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Mantua/Sabbioneta are new UNESCO Heritage Sites

Time to add two more Italian sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In July, UNESCO inscribed the Po Valley towns of Mantua and Sabbioneta and the Rhaetian Railway, which passes through the Swiss Alps into Tirano, Italy. Both new sites are located in the region of Lombardy.

Mantua (Mantova) and Sabbioneta were selected for their Renaissance town planning, with the former being an example of an irregular layout while the latter “represents the implementation of the period’s theories about planning the ideal city.” The Rhaetian Railway, which was opened in 1904, and made the list because it is an outstanding example of architecture.

Now with 43 city centers, monuments, and other cultural locations on the UNESCO List, Italy is one of the leading countries of “World Heritage” sites. And many more sites are vying for UNESCO status and monies. Perhaps next to be inscribed will be the Medici Villas, the incredibly lovely town of Orvieto, or the Historic Centre of Lucca. We’ll keep you posted!

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Information about Zephyr Self-Guided Adventures through Italy just crossed our desks over the weekend. The company offers walks, biking, and driving tours through Tuscany, Umbria, and parts of Lazio, all of which are powered by GPS navigation. According to a press release:

The GPS Navigation systems have pre-loaded waypoints along the driving routes and are designed to accompany written turn-by-turn directions. With simple touch commands travelers can easily get from one destination to another. These portable systems not only allow for a comfortable traveling pace, but are also a cheaper alternative to the typical guided vacation.

In addition to the GPS Navigation systems, these driving tours come with a “virtual tour guide” in the form of a Portable Media Player loaded with short videos. In these videos, Zephyr Adventures President Allan Wright gives a daily route talk summarizing what to expect for each day while certified Italian guide (and Zephyr in-country support representative) Giovanni Ramaccioni gives entertaining cultural and historical presentations about sights on the route. The cultural videos were filmed at the exact spots the travelers pass through.

The combination of these two technologies allows for the ultimate driving adventure.

While Zephyr may have touched on a rather novel concept, we also like the fact that they have worked in the price of hotels and rental cars, so you don’t have to do any extra legwork (unless, of course, you choose to walk or bike your way through central Italy). Rates start at $1,250 per person, not including airfare.

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Il Porcellino, one of the symbols of Florence

Florence may feel like a fairy tale city for adults, but kids aren’t always impressed. That’s mostly because they’ve yet to study or appreciate the art, architecture, and history that have made the Tuscan town one of the world’s most favored destinations for generations.

Enter Context Travel. The walking tour company, which I have mentioned in The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy, has just announced a “robust kid-friendly program” that includes family tours such as Symbols and Legends of Florence, a 2-hour family treasure hunt, and Arte Firenze for Families, a guided tour through the Uffizi Gallery.

Some other Context Travel tours of Florence and Tuscany that your family (and teens) may enjoy are Florence Food Experiences, Fresco Workshop, and (one we’d LOVE to try) Tuscan Truffle Hunt. You can also find Context Travel tours and services in Rome, Naples, and Venice.

Of course, you can’t expect some of the most knowledgeable guides in the business to charge a pittance for their services. These group walks, excursions, and daytrips start at around €200 per group. But, you’ll definitely return from your trip to Italy with more interesting captions for your photos. And your kids will be able to impress their teachers with loads of Tuscan trivia.

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Some people in Rome think it’s a good idea to create a Disneyland-like theme park outside the city. Could this possibly be a good idea? I can’t imagine Italians wanting to pay money for a bit of Italian-style Americana in their backyard, nor can I see tourists skipping the real Roman tourist attractions to see another Euro-Disney. Yuck.

On August 16, the Bruco contrada won Siena’s Palio Horserace. Congratulations, Caterpillar! Lots of Palio history and trivia here.

There have been two articles on Sardinia’s coast. The New York Times’ Seth Sherwood writes about the Costa Smeralda (Emerald Coast), claiming that An Elite Playground Becomes Less So, while The Guardian ran a feature on Sardinia’s Overlooked Beaches.

And, some art news caught our attention. In Rome, through September 7, looted Roman antiquities that have recently been returned to Italy will be on display at the Palazzo Poli (near the Trevi Fountain). And, beginning on September 7, those interested in Etruscan art and relics should head to Cortona, where Etruscan art from the Hermitage will be on loan to the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca e della Città di Cortona (MAEC).

We should be getting back on track this week, so stay tuned!

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Puccini Festival. This festival in Torre del Lago (near Lucca, Tuscany) is a must for opera buffs. It runs through August 23.

A Palio or Two. If you are unable to make it to the second installment (August 16) of this year’s Palio in Siena, check out the Race of the Terzieri in Citta delle Pieve, Umbria, from August 13-24.

Tuscan Sun Festival. Does Frances Mayes hear the sound “ca-ching” every time this arts festival takes place in Cortona? Anyhow, it runs through August 10.

Art in Rome. There are plenty of opportunities to cool off indoors at Rome’s many art exhibits in August: The Renaissance of the Arts from Donatello to Perugino at Museo del Corso (through Sept. 7); 15th Rome Quadriennale at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, which showcases 100 contemporary Italian artists and highlights the sculptures of Luciano Fabro (through Sept. 14); City Life 1930-2007 at the Museo di Roma Palazzo Braschi is a collection of 200 photos of Rome street life through the years (through Sept. 21); Coreggio and the Artists of Ancient Times is a comparative study of Coreggio paintings and the artists from ancient times at the Galleria Borghese (though Sept. 14); Vietnam photographs from Italian photographer Ennio Iacobucci at the Museo di Roma in Trastevere (through Sept. 14); and many, many more exhibitions.

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I defer to a recent press release from onthesnow.com. In “The No. 1 Snow Sports Web Site Picks Top 10 Ski Staycations,” onthesnow says:

The newest buzzword in the travel vocabulary is “staycation.” It means staying home and still doing the things one loves to do. That’s difficult for skiers and riders who don’t live in tiny mountain towns and villages.

OnTheSnow.com’s 17 regional editors, based in alpine regions around the world, have selected 10 excellent ski and snowboard options, all within a tank of gas, from a metropolitan area. That’s staying, at least, close to home and still indulging in a favorite sport.

Coming in at number 4 on the list is Rome. The Gran Sasso subregion (listed as the San Grasso region in the release, unfortunately), with its Campo Felice ski area, is within about a tank of gas of the Eternal City and offers, according to onthesnow’s editors, “varied skiing and snowboarding experiences, and there are a surprising number of challenging pistes. The weekends get crowded, but there are 16 lifts. There’s not much nightlife at Campo but, after all, home is Rome.”

And to address the part about it being too early to talk about snow? Well, snow in August is not unheard of in Rome. In fact, legend has it that the papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was built on a hill where a miraculous snow fell on August 5.

On a personal note, this talk about “staycations” gives me the opportunity to plug a colleagues newest book. Backyard Adventures may not be about travel in Italy. But, it just may give you some good ideas for activities to do while you’re planning next year’s trip to Italy.

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Academia Barilla
Parma, Emilia Romagna
1-866-772-2233 (U.S. number)
“Biggest Surprise: ‘How easy it was to customize a class - via email - based on what I actually liked.’”

La Vetrichina (a villa available for booking through Homebase Abroad)
San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany
781-639-4040 (U.S. number)
Classified by Gourmet as a “relaxed” cooking vacation

Regaleali Vineyards (book through absoluteitalia.com)
between Agrigento and Palermo, Sicily
011-39-0934-81-46-54
“everything from roasted hen and fresh stuffed sardines to…fritto misto, cassata, and strawberry sorbetto”

Enrica Rocca Cooking School
Venice
011-44-7762-167900 (UK number)
“What I Learned: ‘To add stock to risotto only when no more liquid is visible.’” Also, Enrica Rocca Cooking School is based in London.

Rhode School of Cuisine*
Vorno (Lucca), Tuscany
011-44-1252-7902-22 (UK number)
“Prosecco and pastries in the morning…four course banquets - accompanied by copious bottles of Chianti and Brunellos - late into the evening”

Villa Ravida*
Menfi, Sicily
011-39-0925-71109
“regional recipes that range from stuffed swordfish with pine nuts, lemon, raisins, herbs…to almond and pistachio gelato”

*info and quotes from NBreview.com

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