Weddings in Umbria Blog

Valerio Scanu wins the Sanremo Festival 2010 with "Per Tutte le Volte Che"

2010-02-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

Per tutte le volte che is a song with a notable vocal difficulty but also with a single instantaneity..

"Each time i sing it, i think at the words thus whispered, by moment timidly sang, and on other time with a feeling of rage which comes to express a discomfort and then explodes in the refrain with this melody which falls, raises you and cut your breath. It's like looking at a small world with its details and its characteristics of every day, the troubles, fights, bad moments in the verses... And then the refrain which , on the other hand, brings you above the mounts and the clouds in a happy coasting flight...»

http://www.valerioscanu.com/

Trevi, Umbria - A week without TV

2010-01-27T04:35:00.000-08:00

The Italians - watch on average 28 hours of TV per person per week as compared to 28 hours of weekly viewing by the average Italian. In Italian homes there is nearly always a television in the kitchen as well as in other rooms and it is usually left on during mealtimes.

When a school in Trevi [Umbria] asked two classes to participate in a project in which not only the children but also their parents would spend one week without watching the television at all, then, the families foresaw a difficult seven days. However, 41 children between the ages of 8 and 11 and their families agreed to try, denying themselves the use of video and computer games as well, reports La Repubblica.

The project, called “Oltre lo Schermo” [“Beyond the Screen”] was the idea of Umbrian journalist and mother Giovanna Grieco, who only allows her own son to watch TV for a short time each day. He spends the rest of his free time reading stories and playing games with his family. Ms Grieco suggested games and activities that the children could do in the afternoons at school or at home instead of watching TV.

The emphasis was on interacting with the people around them.
In all, 28 children got through the “week without TV” and they kept diaries of their difficulties and discoveries of other ways to spend their time, such as helping their mothers with the cooking, reading in the school library or enjoying playing games with their parents.

“We enjoyed turning the TV off every time Dad switched it on”, reported eight-year-old twins.
It seems that the older children found the sacrifice harder than the younger ones. The school is happy with the outcome and may extend the project to include other classes in the future.

La scuola del cioccolato

2010-01-14T14:22:00.001-08:00

La Perugina: una storica fabbrica italiana.
Perugia può essere considerata la capitale Italiana del cioccolato dal momento che ogni anno è la sede di Eurochocolate, la manifestazione più importante del settore, e dal 1904 ospita una fabbrica che è entrata a far parte della storia del costume italiano: la Perugina.

Pronta ad accogliere sia grandi che piccini uniti dalla passione per il cioccolato, l'azienda ha creato la Scuola del Cioccolato con un ricco calendario di corsi "per tutti i gusti" e 14 postazioni di lavoro complete di tutti gli strumenti necessari per lavorare il "cibo degli dei" creando la propria personale delizia. I corsi durano mezza giornata e consentono di imparare le basi dell'arte cioccolatiera ma anche di esplorare il mondo della degustazione diventando dei "sommelier" del cioccolato. Imperdibili i classici Master Tutto Latte o Master Tutto Fondente, delle vere full immersion che trattano anche la storia del cioccolato, le caratteristiche delle materie prime e le tecniche di produzione. Chi si sente più creativo può cimentarsi nei "corsi d'artista" come quello per creare e decorare il proprio cioccolatino oppure scegliere uno dei corsi a tema come "Mamma dolce mamma" o "Pasqua in fantasia". Un corso ad hoc è proposto anche agli studenti degli istituti alberghieri per introdurli professionalmente al mondo del cioccolato.

La Scuola del Cioccolato è stata anche il set del film Lezioni di Cioccolato con Neri Marcorè, Luca Argentero e Violante Placido che si sono cimentati in prima persona nei corsi per entrare nel mondo di questo alimento protagonista della storia.

Le lezioni sono tenute dai maestri cioccolatieri Perugina che non solo spiegano passo dopo passo le tecniche fondamentali ma forniscono anche notizie interessanti sulla storia del cioccolato, sui suoi benefici a livello fisico ed emozionale, sulle norme di conservazione e sulle regole per un consumo ideale. Per rendere questa esperienza più completa ad ogni corso si può abbinare una visita al Museo storico del Cioccolato e alla fabbrica Perugina.

Stabilimento Nestlè Perugina
Viale San Sisto
San Sisto, Perugia
Corsi e informazioni: tel. 800-800-907
www.perugina.it

http://www.italytraveller.com/it/x/cooking-class/e/la-scuola-del-cioccolato

What’s Fashion About?

2010-01-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

"What’s Fashion About?” is the title of the 77th Pitti Uomo [Pitti for Men] Fashion Show which is taking place at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence until 15th January. This is the event that opens the international fashion fair season every year and exhibitors from all segments of the fashion industry participate, including textile manufacturers, garment makers, textile machinery and technology manufacturers, embroidery companies, makers of trimmings and accessories and even laundries. In all 730 exhibitors and 905 brands are participating.

The organisers say that, because of the recession, all fashion houses have been rethinking their strategies and Pitti have reflected this by breaking with tradition in the design of this year’s exhibition space. Spanish designer and architect Patricia Urquiola has revolutionised the design of the main pavilion and, on the lower floor, she has created a “fashion district”. Here the exhibitors’ stands are smaller than in previous years so that there is more space between them to encourage people to stop and talk. “Give up a little of your space so that there is room for all” is the message.

Exhibitors hope that the autumn-winter 2010 – 11 collections will mark a turning point for the industry as it comes out of recession but everything depends on the army of international buyers – 22,000 of them attended the last winter fair - who can make or break a brand. The upturn in the industry’s fortunes is expected to begin with the export market which decreased by 19.6% last year. The fashion companies particularly hope to be able to export their goods to the USA.

Yesterday Lars Nilsson showed elegant outdoor wear for men along with brightly patterned scarves. The waistcoat is definitely back in his suits and evening jackets featured a Bogey cut. Japanese designer Jun Takashaki showed in Italy for the first time in the setting of the Boboli Gardens in the evening. Corleani are showing at the Pitti for the first time. Pitti_W Woman Precollections are showing simultaneously at the Dogana. These are collection previews taking place in an exhibition space designed by Oliviero Baldini.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy/firenze/whats-fashion-about

Darwin Day - Perugia 2009

2009-12-07T03:47:00.001-08:00

To commemorate the centenary of Darwin's Evolution of the Species theory, the Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali, the Centro di Ateneo per i Musei Scientifici have scheduled a long series of events throughout Umbria for Darwin Day from February through to December.

Email: segreteria@perugiasciencefestival.it

Forget Van Gogh's ear - it's Galileo's molar

2009-12-07T03:14:00.000-08:00

A private art collector who recently purchased a seventeenth-century box containing unidentified “artefacts” must have had a gruesome surprise when he opened it, for it contained a human tooth, a thumb and a middle finger, later authenticated as having belonged to none other than Galileo Galilei [1564 – 1642] who was condemned by the Vatican for claiming that the Earth moved around the Sun.

The collector contacted the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza in Florence and the Museum’s director, Paolo Galluzzi, pieced together the story:
when Galileo died, those close to him feared that the Church would refuse him burial in consecrated ground because of his “heresies” so his body was taken to a small room beneath the bell tower of Santa Croce.

In 1737, 95 years after the astronomer’s death, his body was removed from its “temporary” grave and placed in a monumental tomb in the Basilica itself. It was during this process that Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti, chief physician of the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova Gualtieri, removed the tooth, two fingers and the thumb from the right hand and the fifth lumbar vertebra. He wrote that he found it difficult not to yield to the temptation to remove the skull too, for it “had housed such extraordinary genius”.

One of the fingers was kept in the Science Museum in Florence and the vertebra was conserved at the University of Padua, where Galileo had taught.
The other body parts, however, were kept in a blown-glass vase inside a wooden container and this was passed down the generations of a noble family. Eventually, no one in the family knew what was in the container and they sold it. All trace of it was lost by 1905. Then suddenly it turned up at auction.

The rediscovered relics will be displayed in the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza in Florence when it reopens next year as the Museo Galileo.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/

Wine of the Month: Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia

2009-11-16T04:21:00.000-08:00

Ten years old and still going strong. First made in 1997 and released in 1999, Le Serre Nuove is a complex aromatic red by the acclaimed Tenuta dell’Ornellaia winery in Tuscany.

One of the Tenuta’s three wines, it came 12 years after the flagship Ornellaia and, like its big brother, it quickly garnered international praise.

Le Serre Nuove is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, mainly made with grapes from younger vineyards. Technically, it is a second vin, a byproduct of Ornellaia, because it is produced with base wines that don’t make the cut during the flagship wine’s extremely rigorous selection process.

But second vin doesn’t mean it is a second rate wine. Its combination of intense aroma, structure, balance, but also freshness, softness and approachability captured critics’ interest from the very early days.

Each of the base wines is fermented and aged separately, first in stainless steel vats, then in barrels. After 12 months, the blending takes place. Once blended, the wine is aged in barrels for three months, and in bottle for six more. The end result has been described as “gorgeous”, “mellifluous”, “very rich”, and “elegant”, and, over the years, was awarded a minimum of 88 points (for the 1997 vintage) and a maximum of 92 (for the 2004 vintage) by wine bible The Wine Spectator.

Now the tenth anniversary vintage, which dates from 2007, promises to be among Le Serre Nuove’s very best. The weather was perfect in September two years ago, with hot sunny days and cool nights, ensuring the grapes ripened to perfection.

"Having ideal conditions in September enabled a perfect, slow, steady ripening of the grapes," says Leonardo Raspini, general director and agronomist of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia. "In this way, the grapes mature with a good concentration of aromas and polyphenols and without any hint of overripening.”
The resulting wine has “a complex bouquet, with intense red berry fruit, sweet spice and balsamic mint and eucalyptus accents," according to Axel Heinz, winemaker of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia. “Ample and silky on the palate, it displays an elegant, deft tannic structure, fresh sweet fruit, and intense minty accents.”

The 2007 vintage of Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is available now.

Vampire trips in Volterra

2009-11-12T10:12:00.001-08:00

Why are young people [and some of their mothers] flocking to the small Tuscan town of Volterra?

Ah, romance is far from dead in the twenty-first century and these particular pilgrims have set out for the “shrine” where Stephanie Meyer, the author of “Twilight” and “New Moon”, set a particularly important scene between her heroine Bella and Edward, the vampire she loves.

Volterra is also where the elite vampire coven, the Volturi, reside in the books and films of the “Twilight Saga”.

The film version of ”New Moon”, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson as Edward, is due to be released on November 20th in the USA and Italy and on November 27th in the UK. Despite a vigorous online campaign for filming in Volterra the Italian scenes were actually shot in nearby Montepulciano but that has not stopped the townsfolk of Volterra from making the most of the tourism opportunity which has come their way: you can book Vampire Tours, New Moon weekends and a tour called “Hot on the trail of Bella and Edward”. You can buy “New Moon” mugs, calendars and even soaps.

Should you be in the town and suffer from “New Moon fatigue”, you can always explore the walled city itself, with its Roman Theatre, palaces, Museo Etrusco Guarnacci and twelfth century Duomo. And should you need a complete change of scene, you can escape to the medieval hill town of San Gimignano.
“New Moon” is not Volterra’s only claim to literary fame as the Italian novel “Chimaira” by Valerio Massimo Manfredi is set there and the town is mentioned in Dudley Pope’s “Captain Nicholas Ramage” series. In real life the French author Stendhal had a disastrous encounter with his unrequited love there.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy/volterra/vampire-trips-volterra

Chestnuts: a rare treat, and versatile too

2009-10-04T02:51:00.000-07:00

Hanging by a thread off laden branches, chestnuts sparkle like dark jewels.
They look like huge, fat raindrops, and gleam with a perfect deep brown gloss against the golden spines of the half-open burrs that hold them.
Deep inside—wrapped securely in the shiny peel's firm cocoon, sheltered by what remains of the prickly burrs—the straw-yellow core is ripening, getting ready to yield its sweet, nutty flavour to the voracious embrace of a roasting pan.

Soon starch will turn into sugar and the chestnuts will start falling with muffled thuds on the mossy undergrowth that carpets woods from Piedmont to Umbria.

Europe's oldest living chestnut tree, which stands in Sicily, is reputed to be more than 3,000 years old.
It is so big that legend wants it to have given shelter to a medieval queen, Joan of Aragon, and her escort of 100 knights on a stormy evening. If the story is true, it was already there when the Romans, who were great fans of the plant, started planting chestnut trees along the length and breadth of the Mediterranean basin.
The sweet nuts were so popular that even the empire's greatest poets sung of them in their work—in the Eclogues, Virgil recalled a dainty dish of chestnuts cooked in milk and eaten with cheese, while Martial raved about the roast ones he had in Naples.

In some areas, such as the Tuscan Apennine, chestnuts were the main staple since Roman times and throughout the Middle Ages - chiefly because of their nourishing qualities, though their reputation as aphrodisiacs can't have hurt.

Also from TuscanyIUmbria comes castagnaccio, a thin, textured, nutty cake made with chestnut flour peppered with pine nuts and rosemary.
Even richer is Monte Bianco, a rum-drizzled mountain of chestnut puree and cocoa, covered by a snow-white blanket of whipped cream.

And of course there are chestnut-filled tortelli, chestnut flour fritters,and the velvety marmellata di marroni—a chestnut puree blended with syrup and cooked until it becomes a deliciously sweet cream.

The best places to savour the nuts, both in traditional and innovative recipes, are the areas of production.
Virtually every hill or mountain wood in Italy will have a chestnut grove - they cover some 15% of Italy's wooded surface—but the most acclaimed nuts come from Tuscany and Umbria, Piedmont and Campania.

A wonderful medieval town: Gubbio in Umbria

2009-09-27T03:22:00.001-07:00

‘One of Umbria’s most beautiful hill towns’ is probably the only generalisation one can make about Gubbio. It is unique in its owndominion, not really belonging either to Umbria or its near neighbour, Le Marche.

It is an unspoilt medieval citadel with a splendid Roman amphitheatre, a town with an even earlier heritage revealed in the pre-Roman Eugubine Tablets with strange runes that spell out primeval ritual ceremonies. Gubbio was a crucible of ancient civilization.

The best and almost only way to arrive is by car, and I always use the unsealed parking area next to the Roman amphitheatre to take in one of the best views in Italy. After a quick coffee in the bar alongside the ruins you may be able to have a wander through the fence and walk up on the Roman Theatre (end 1st century BC) which is still used for summer concerts.A moment of MadnessDirectly crossing Viale del Teatro Romano you can walk through a covered passageway to Via Cavour, take a left and make you way around to Piazza G. Bruno and directly along Via dei Consoli, crossing the river and up to the Lago del Vescovado where a simple 16th-century fountain called ‘the fountain of the madmen’ stands with the symbolic five hills of Gubbio on top.Around this fountain you must run three times, some accounts say that you must have your elbow in the water all the while and hopefully being splashed while you go. You are now officially a madman of Gubbio.

Continuing on Via dei Consoli, you will pass some lovely leather goods and ceramic shops, eventually entering the splendid Piazza Grande and the fabulous Palazzo dei Consoli. You have arrived at the heart of Gubbio, a giant piazza flanked on three sides and open to the valley below.A massive civic project was undertaken in 1321 to erect two new public halls with a huge overhanging square connecting them, across a precipitous terrain. The colossal undertaking was supervised by Gattapone and Angelo da Orvieto but hit a snag during subsequent troubled times and the project remained incomplete. Nevertheless, the result is one of the most striking examples of civic architecture in Italy.The crenellated Palazzo is in the Romanesque style with elements of Gothic. Today it houses the Museo Civico and the famous Eugubine Tablets (3rd century BC), seven bronze plaques that are the only decipherable record of the original Umbrians.Dine like a ConsulGubbio has a particularly fine reputation for good cuisine and I highly recommend retracing your steps to number 59, the Hotel Consoli, a modern interior that belies a superb menu. We ate the house signature dish; Il Piatto del Console, a feast of seven specialities, each one truly delectable, probably the best meal I’ve ever had in Italy.
Continuing further along, the road becomes Via Gattapone, you will find a sign for ‘ascensore’. Down the end of a modern hallway is a pair of lifts that will save your legs the sharp ascent and bring you to the Diocesan Museum which houses a modest collection of religious art, and Gubbio’s Cathedral, perhaps Italy’s only Duomo without a piazza in front.

Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino, had been called from Urbino by the Eugubini who wished to be freed from the domination of a greedy Bishop. Here, right in front of the Duomo, Federico built a splendid palace you can enter for a small fee. The elegant courtyard echoes the grand Ducal Palace in Urbino and sparsely decorated but elegantly proportioned rooms give a superb view of the countryside.

After a quick and worthy peek in the Cathedral, return back down the hill and turn right to enter I Giardini Pensili, one of the best beer gardens (formerly the Ducal Garden) to be found. As you sip a birra alla spina (draught beer), you can watch the setting sun over the dappled roofs of Gubbio. From here you can return via the lift or zigzag your way down the hill.Take to the skiesIf you have time, an hour or so and solid nerves, continue along to the end of Via XX Septembre, where outside the walls you can take a gondola cage to the top of the hill and the Basilica of Saint Ubaldo, where the 12th-century patron of Gubbio still lies in state above the altar.Halfway down the direct descent of Via della Repubblica, Piazza San Giovanni opens out to the right. The elegant white façade of this 13th-century Church is incredibly beautiful. It is the parish church of TV fictional character Don Matteo, played by spaghetti-western star Terence Hill, and worthy of a stop as you head toward the Piazza of the Forty Martyrs, a dark reminder of German reprisals in the Second World War.

A pleasant arcade often houses an artisan market and the piazza holds the weekly market. As you return to the Roman Theatre, look back on the evening light, caressing the brilliant white buildings of Gubbio in a honey glow; the whole scale and proportion is dazzling. Some would say Gubbio is solid, sensible and sane. But if you were lucky enough to meet a genuine Eugubini, you’d be quickly reassured that in this sublime world, they are wonderful crazy people, just like us.

How to reach Gubbio, in Umbria

BY AIR: Gubbio is unique because of its isolation but as a consequence is not near any air or rail hubs.
Perugia Airport http://www.airport.umbria.it/ is nearer still and is expected to be upgraded.
BY TRAIN: The nearest train station of Fossato di Vico is connected to Gubbio by bus service (18 kms).
Perugia Fontivegge train station is connected to Gubbio by bus service (40 kms).
BY CAR: From the north: Autostrada A1 (del Sole), exit Arezzo and take the direction to Sansepolcro, Citta de Castello and the A45 highway south until the Gubbio exit and another 20 minutes to Gubbio. From the south: Autostrada A1 (del Sole), exit Orte in direction Perugia and the A45 Superstrada north taking the Fano exit and another 20 minutes to Gubbio.
Car parking: Piazza 40 Martiri, Teatro Romano Parking, Seminario Parking, S. Pietro Parking, Cableway Parking.From Ancona, Gubbio is113 kms, Arezzo 90 kms, Assisi only 48 kms and
Perugia even less at 39 kms.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/

Home-made tomato sauce with basil by Anna (our cook).

2009-09-03T00:26:00.000-07:00

Anna’s cantina or store-cupboard contains jar upon jar of her luscious red tomato sauce.

It is a staple ingredient used almost daily, and she makes enough over the late summer and early autumn months to last her family for a year.

She harvests the tomatoes from her orto while they are still warm from the sun, and after making the fragrant sauce puts it into all kinds of glass jars which have been carefully collected for the purpose.

Anna sterilizes her jars in water over an outdoor fire, but you can put them on newspaper in an oven set at its lowest temperature for 30 minutes.Once the jars have been sterilized, filled with sauce and hermetically sealed, boil them in water for half an hour and then leave them to cool in the same water.

Pomodoro sause recepy:

Ingredients ( per 4 people)

350 g fresh Italian tomatoes

1 onion

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

A handful of basil

Some chopped chilli pepper

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper
Roughly chop all the ingredients.

Peel the tomatoes first by placing them in boiling water and then removing the skins, but Annaa uses hers with the skins and then passes them through a sieve after cooking.

Place all the ingredients in a pan with the olive oil. Do not add any water.

Bring slowly to the boil and then simmer for about half an hour, stirring from time to time, until the sauce thickens.

If it becomes dry then add some more olive oil, but never water.

Take off the heat and pass the sauce through a sieve or processor to get it smooth and to remove the skins, if you haven’t done so beforehand.

If using the sauce fresh, then stir into it salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese. If bottling, then spoon into sterilized glass jars, seal and boil as described above. Serve on pasta or use in any recipes, such as ragu, which require tomato sauce.

Buon appetito!!! :)

Julia Roberts comes to "eat" in Italy

2009-08-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

The American Holywood star is filming a new movie to show in 2011, entitled "Eat, Pray, Love" that describes the journey of a woman through Rome for pleasure, Mumbai for spirituality and Bali for "balancing".

The film is based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert, entitles "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia".

After a bad divorce the main character of the book goes on a year long journey that begins in Rome were she spends 4 months learning the language and enjoying the cuisine, before going to India to meditate in an ashram and then Indonesia to reconnect with a healer in Bali.
A funny couple of excerpts from the book:---

"I wish Giovanni would kiss me.
Oh, but there are so many reasons this would be a terrible idea. To begin with, Giovanni is ten years younger that I am, and - like most Italian guys in his twenties - he still lives with his mother."

---
"I instantly love Naples. Wild, raucous, noisy, dirty, balls-out Naples. An anthill inside a rabbit warren, with all the exoticism of a Middle-eastern bazaar and a touch of New Orleans voodoo. A tripped-out, dangerous and cheerful nuthouse [...] The Neapolitan women in particular are such a gang of tough-voiced. loud-mouthed, generous, nosy dames, all bossy and annoyed and right up in your face and just trying to friggin' help you for chrissake [...]"

---
The film will be directed by Ryan Murphy and filming in Rome will take place later this year.

http://www.italymag.co.uk

UMBRIA, ITALY - HEALTH

2009-08-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

My wife and I are both English and have been living in Umbria, Central Italy for almost 30 years. During that time various friends, clients and relatives have suffered from broken, shoulders, legs and ankles, have had heart attacks and nervous breakdowns, have torn their hands, cut their fingers and had things in their eyes, have suffered from perforated ulcers and internal haemorrhaging, but apart from that, have been pretty healthy! The local Italian, or Umbrian health service is outstanding.

So, our area of the Upper Tiber Valley is served by three excellent hospitals, Perugia, Umbertide and Citta’ di Castello. No-one, as far as I know has ever received a bill for more than €30 – 40 despite the cost of their treatment, ambulance transfers and after care. Excellent Umbrian Health care.

My visits to all these hospitals has found them to be clean, well equipped and caring. No-one waiting, or dying, in the casualty or emergency reception. No-one parked to live, or die, on trollys in corridors, no-one ever turned away because they hadn’t paid their medical insurance, and no-one being turned away uncured. unhelped or uncared for.

I can't rate the local health services more highly.

We run a country house, hotel, B&B, guest house called La Preghiera, rent a villa for holidays and vacations called Moscatelli, and build and restore ancient farmhouses, country houses or real estate and, depending on where our guests, friends and clients have come from, our local health service seems to be, like our home and properties, four star.

John Tunstill, Umbria, Italy.

Italian Film Locations - Our House in Umbria

2009-08-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

But if you really want a "Room With a View"; for your wedding or honeymoon in Italy; from "My House in Umbria"; near Umbertide, Citta' di Castello and Montone, see La Preghiera; hotel, country house, inn, bed and breakfast; and which is only a few miles away from Bramasole in Cortona, which featured in "Under the Tuscan Sun", and is near where they filmed "Brother Sun and Sister Moon" in Asissi; and which is featured on the site Reelstreets where some 350 films are examined for their real movie locations; and which is only an hour's drive from the shooting location of "Life is Beautiful", as well as "Tea With Mussolini"..................you really ought to come and stay and enjoy the understated pleasures of life in the Umbrian countryside............and maybe view a few of the houses which are for sale in Umbria Fly into Perugia, Bologna, Ancona, Forli, Pisa, Roma or Firenze.

Dream Weddings in Umbria, Italy

2009-07-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

With its own private chapel, a pastor who can perform the legal civil Italian marriage service, and catering to die for, La Preghiera in Umbria's Upper Tiber Valley, has already become a legend in the few short years of its newly refurbished life. The relatively short wedding season, some four months, only allow for about sixteen weddings a year, so, if you are serious about a dream Italian wedding in a dream setting, start thinking and planning today. The average costs of a wedding in the UK or USA are often double that of the fee charged by Weddingsumbria who will organise and plan the whole event. Acommodation, church service, music, catering, flowers, photographer, wining and dining, hire cars, fireworks, dancing, and all the thousand and one small items that will add up to the happiest day of your life.

Umbria Jazz 09 - July 10 - 19

2009-07-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

A great event !

The summer jazz Festival is back in Umbria with its old formula, meaning artistic quality that matches big numbers.

Umbria Jazz 09: 36 years of history 7 editions at Arena Santa Giuliana as main stage10 days of concerts (10 – 19 July )9 stages including the ones at the Arena,
the theatres, squares and restaurants220 events, free for the most part550 performers66 Grammy Awards on the main stage at the ArenaThe eclectic line-up of Umbria Jazz Festival tells the spectators at what extent music can be different and the reasons why,
if we talk about good music, it all deserves attention. Popular songwriters will be performing in Perugia ( Paolo Conte, Burt Bacharach, James Taylor) along with some extreme vanguards ( Cecil Taylor and George Lewis presenting the AACM project)and the sophisticated accredited pop authors (Steely Dan and Simply Red);the orthodox jazz with McCoy Tyner and Bill Frisell, the Roy Haynes Trio, Ahmad Jamal) ;

the ever-green standards (three tributes to Nat King Cole: George Benson with a big string orchestra, the crooner Allan Harris, Freddy Cole, the great singer’s brother) and the Black music (BB King, Solomon Burke, Maceo Parker, John Scofield with the New Orleans project).

It is worth mentioning the two encounters between the USA and Italy with Wynton Marsalis –Francesco Cafiso and the never seen before duo Chick Corea – Stefano Bollani. Charles Mingus music will be celebrated with the Mingus Dynasty and Quintorigo. Italian Jazz will be well represented, as usual with, among the others Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu, Gianluca Petrella, Enrico Pieranunzi, Renato Sellani, Danilo Rea, Roberto Gatto and Gabriele Mirabassi, plus the curious “intrusion” of Gino Paoli who shares a good feeling with the jazz music.

www.umbriajazz.com

Celebrating St. Rita of Cascia

2009-05-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Words by Michelle Fabio
One of the most beloved Italian saints is St. Rita of Cascia, a native of Umbria who died in Cascia in 1456. Santa Rita is widely celebrated not only in the Green Heart of Italy but also throughout the country on her feast day, 22 May, with Mass, processions, and other festivities. St. Rita has a most interesting tale for a saint as she was married and had children.

Although St. Rita had always wanted to be a nun, she obeyed her elderly parents’ wishes to marry a harsh, immoral man when she was just 12 years old. She was a loyal wife and mother of twin sons for 18 years, but family life went sour when her husband was murdered and her sons sought revenge.

St. Rita tried to persuade them to change their minds, but when she realized nothing could stop them, she prayed they would be taken from Earth so they couldn’t commit murder themselves; they died of natural causes a year later. Alone in the world, St. Rita sought admission to the Augustinian convent in Cascia, but was refused because she was a widow. Eventually she was admitted, though--her entrance itself a miracle as she claimed to have been transported inside by her own patron saints, John the Baptist, Augustine, and Nicholas of Tolentino.

St. Rita is often portrayed holding roses and/or figs and sometimes with an injury to her head because when she had asked to suffer as Jesus had, a thorn from the Crown of Thorns on a figure of the crucifixion fell on her forehead and cut her. She is the patron saint of hopeless causes, abused women, and parenthood.

W Santa Rita!

http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy-featured/cascia/celebrating-st-rita-cascia

Festival Umbria Jazz - 2009

2009-05-08T03:15:00.000-07:00

The wonderful frame of Umbria is the location of many special events in July 2009.

Festival Umbria Jazz, one of the most important appointments in Europe, will take place in Perugia from 10th to 19th July 2009, with no stop shows of different kind of music.The event, very famous all around the world from its first edition in 1973, includes artists such as Simply Red, Donna Summer, Gino Paoli and Paolo Conte. Perugia is the marvellous city in Umbria full of monuments and things to do.

A luxury guest house in Umbria, La Preghiera, originally a 12th Century monastery, is an historic house which has been restored to an elegant country house estate offering bed and breakfast accommodation near Perugia is glad to offer 15% discount for a stay of three night or more in selected roomsFor availability email: info@lapreghiera.com, www.lapreghiera.com

Calendimaggio in Assisi

2009-05-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

Assisi (Pg).

From May 7th to 9th Assisi will be turning back the clocks 500 years to its glorious Medieval past as a free city state, caught in the eternal struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines.

Processions in period costume, musicians, dancers, archers and flag-throwers will be parading through the streets, with the tension mounting for the culminating event – the joust between representatives of the city’s two factions, the Parte de Sotto and the Parte de Sopra. The inaugural ceremonies will be held in the Basilica of St Francis’ .... ...

Heaven's Above

2009-05-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

The picture hvn006, the prison, is in St.Albans in Hertfordshire. The prison has long gone, but the front remains, as I think it's listed. It was also used as the prison door on the opening titles of Porridge.

................we'll blog this, thank you

To cap it all, the car in the picture belonged to my father, Mervyn. He was paid about 20 quid for the use of the car in the opening sequences of the film. He spent many hours in that car, way over the limit, enjoying the lax drink driving laws that existed in the early 1960s.

.............the family connections for films are always fascinating, and for the cars as well. Pull the still of your dad's car and we'll blog it on www.tunstill.it, a site for old car owners.

Best wishes

John Tunstill

Also, I found a reference to the film on an intenet thread that says the small railway station near the beginning is Shepperton. It's likely that the town seen in long shot is also Shepperton.

Regards

Keith Wickham

May's Programme of Events

2009-05-04T08:08:00.001-07:00

May truly sees the start of the festa season, with the Umbrian town of Gubbio staging two of the big events of the year. Both the Festa dei Ceri (the candle race) and Palio della Balestra (crossbow competition) are unmisable occassions in the Upper Tiber Valley calendar.

Until 7th Citta di Castello, Piazza Vitelli, Exhibition covering a range of furniture, arts and crafts
1st - 3rd Citerna “Citerna Fotografia” exhibition of photos by Vasco Ascolini
1st – 3rd Pistrino 19th annual “festa dei fiori” agricultural and flower show.
4th – 13th Cdi C Stadio Bernicchi holds the “Trofeo Cartoedit” junior football tournament.
6th – 8th Cdi C Cathedral, 11th E. Zangarelli musical competition for school children.
7th – 9th Assisi Medieval festival in period costume, archery, processions, flag waving and jousting.
10th S. Giustino Antiques market.
10th Lisciano Niccone “Lo Scambivendolo, agricultural, biological and antiques market.
14th – 17th Cdi C Zoccolanti, the popular religious festival for St Pasquale.
15th Gubbio Festa dei Ceri, the ancient race through the streets of Gubbio
17th Cdi C Piazza Metteotti, Antiques market.
17th Montone 6th Umbertide Endurance motorbike race.
24th Gubbio Replica of the Ceri race in miniture
24th – 2nd Cerbara 24th annual Countryside Cherry festival.
24th Monte S. M Tiberina Ascension Day, featuring a historical procession.
30th -2nd Cdi C Piazza Matteotti, Moto in an open air concert.
30th – 31st Cdi C Communal Pool, 22nd International Swimming competition.
31st Umbertide,Scula Media Mavarelli, 44th annual “Fotografia Umbria” exhibition of photographic equipment.
31st Gubbio The famous medieval Crossbow competition.
31st Cdi C Stadio Comunale, “Matty & Co” football tournament.

Events over Easter in Umbria

2009-04-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Yes Spring is finally in the air, the days are getting longer and warmer and the first hints of green are appearing. This is reflected in the range of activities that continue to grow as the heat of Summer arrives. This month we have a wide range of entertainment to appeal to all tastes, plays, sporting events and fairs, especially with Easter around the corner.

Photo by Umbriart

5th April Palm Sunday

5th “Trofeo Alta Valle del Tevere” cycling competition around Citta di Castello and its surrounding countryside. www.unioneciclistica.it

8th April – Cantori di Assisi – From 9pm in the Basilica of St Clara the Assisi Choir will be holding their Easter recital.

10th April – Procession by the citizens of Montone in medieval costume.

10th April - Good Friday procession – Statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary will be paraded through the streets of the old centre of Citta di Castello. 8pm.

10th April – The procession of Christ in Gubbio, a tradition which dates back to the 13th Century will start at 7pm and be led by the Brothers of the Church of St Croce della Foce, accompanied by two choirs; the procession makes its way through the torch-lit streets.

Until 11th April - Umbertide - April Exhibition of the Great War in the Upper Tiber Valley, in the Fabbrica Moderna, Piazza Marx

12th April – Pietralunga holds its traditional egg festival “Tocciata” in the main piazza from 11am.

12th April - Piazza Garibaldi, Assisi, Giant Easter Egg exhibition, showing the talents of the local school children.

18th – 26th April – Settimana Della Cultura/ Seven Days of Culture – Perugia. A week of events, guided tours, activities and exhibitions throughout Perugia. Celebrating its cultural heritage and encouraging the public to participate in discovering their own talents. For more information: www.beniculturali.it

19th April – Antiques Market – Citta di Castello

25th April – Descending the Tiber 2009, now celebrates the 30th anniversary of this event where canoeists row from Citta di Castello to Rome. www.discesadeltevere.org

25th April – Flag Waving and Bell Ringing Festival – Gubbio, Piazza Grande, 11.30am

26th April – Walk in the Woods – an organised ramble through the lovely Montone countryside to the Castle Carpini. Starts at 12.30 in the Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone.

La Festa della Donna

2009-02-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

words by Michelle Fabio

International Women’s Day (IWD) is held 8 March, and in Italy, it’s called La Festa della Donna.
The first IWD was really a National Women’s Day held in New York City in 1909;
by 1911, the idea of a day honouring women had spread to Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland and now celebrations are held in countries throughout the world including China, Russia, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

The symbol of the day is the yellow mimosa, and men are encouraged to give a bunch of them to all of the important women in their lives.

Read more about International Women’s Day at http://www.internationalwomensday.com/.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy-featured/guarda/la-festa-della-donna

Festivals for March in Umbria

2009-02-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

Photo by Umbriart

1st Gubbio – Childrens Festival
7th Umber tide - Daltonico Studio, Live Music “Arezzo Wave Bands 2009”
10th C di C - Teatro Comunale, Prose recital “Lezioni Americane” by Italo Calvino
14th Umber tide - Daltonico Studio, Live Music Omar Pedrini in Concert - “Timoria”
15th C. di C - Piazza Matteotti , Antique and Retro Market
14-15th C di C - Ponte sul Tevere, Canoe competition
22nd Gubbio – Groupo dei Verdi, Market, fresh local produce
28th C di C - Teatre Comunale,Franz Leahr poetry recital “La Vedova Allergra”
29th C di C - Scuola di Musica, Jazz Trio - S Zanchini, M. Gerboni, G. Farina
29th Umber tide - Teatro dei Riuniti, “Il Popolo non ha il Pane”

Italians to snub ST Valentine's day

2009-02-14T00:10:00.000-08:00

More than half of Italians expecting a gift from their lovers on Valentine's Day this weekend are in for a disappointment, the Coldiretti farmers' group said Thursday.

Some 52% of people in a poll by the union said they had no intention of digging into their pockets for a romantic present this year - an increase of 7% on Valentine rubbishers in 2008.
The economic crisis will also take its toll on lovers planning to shell out this year, with more people opting for cheaper gifts like flowers (25%) and clothes (11%), Coldiretti said.
Around 9% of Italians said they would buy chocolates or sweets - a 5% drop on 2008 figures, while just 3% were planning to buy jewellery - down 6% on last year.
But the group said florists expected to sell 20 million flowers this year, including 14 million roses, at a cost of 75 million euros.

Another farmers' group, CIA, said around 50% of under-18s would not buy presents this year, but 35% of these would say 'I love you' by SMS or email.
The president of consumer rights group Codacons, Carlo Rienzi, meanwhile started an official campaign to ''cancel St Valentine's from the calendar as a form of protest, not against those in love, but against a pointless recurrence of unrestrained consumerism''.
''Let's be honest, St Valentine's Day gets on everyone's nerves - both for singles, who feel alone and a bit sad, and for those in couples, who feel obliged to give something because of social convention,'' Rienzi said on his website, www.carlorienzi.it.

''People who are really in love should not feel pressured by this symbol of consumerism but should celebrate their love every day,'' he added.
Consumer rights association Adoc confirmed that lovers will also be saving their pennies on Valentine's meals, with 65% deciding to stay home and cook rather than go to a restaurant.
Among the most popular dishes people planned to prepare on Saturday were polenta with creamed cheese, 'trofie' pasta with flowers and pesto and buffalo mozzarella with tomato mousse, followed up by chili-pepper-flavoured chocolate, strawberries or spumante.

Not everyone was shying away from grand romantic gestures, however.
A Genoa bus driver has forked out 400 euros for advertising space on three city buses, one of which he drives, and which now bear the message ''Federica, I live for you only'' as a Valentine's present to his wife.
''It was simply a way of showing my love and affection for my wife. We've been married for 12 years and I love her to distraction,'' the doting driver said.
Consumer moans are also unlikely to stop lovers from turning out in droves at St Valentine's birthplace at Terni in Umbria.
Each year couples swear undying passion in the cathedral that houses the saint's head.
Couples also flock each year to the small Sardinian town of Sadali near Nuoro to ask the saint to look kindly on them and bless engagements.
The ritual has been going on for centuries in the town's 15th-century church, only the second in Italy to be devoted to St Valentine.
In local dialect the saint is affectionately known as Su Coiadori (''he who betrothes'') and many of the couples expect their pilgrimage to bless their marriage (''coias'' in dialect).
As well as saintly enterprises, Italy boasts other romantic rites for St Valentine's Day.
The small southern town of Vico del Gargano, for instance, has a 300-year-old tradition of garlanding a lovers' lane.

http://www.italymag.co.uk
Published on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 08:56 Life & Style