Olive oil festival and XXVII exhibition white truffle of the Crete Senesi
San Giovanni d’Asso (Siena)
Nov. 12-13 & 19-20

Another area famous for its truffles, San Giovanni d’Asso will be opening its doors, markets and museums for guests to taste and explore the delicate flavours and recipes of the black and white truffles.

For the complete program click here

 

Christmas Market - Weihnachstsmarkt
Piazza Santa Croce, Florence
December 2nd - 20th

One of the most popular and most visited markets is the German Christmas Market, or Heidelberger Weihnachtsmarkt (a little bit of a mouthful!) which takes place on the Piazza Santa Croce, in front of the stunning Santa Croce Basilica. Christmas markets are a very popular tradition in Germany and the idea originated in Northern Europe. Luckily for us here in Florence, the organisers of the Heidelberger market decided to bring the market here in 2003 and they have been coming ever since! This market takes place during the month of December and comes back every year to spread a little bit more Christmas joy!
It brings to Florence that magic feeling that only Christmas has. It takes place every day from 10am to 10pm from December 2nd to 20th. You can find food, gifts’ ideas and Xmas decorations.

 

Francesco and the Painted Cross
National Gallery of Umbria Perugia
Oct. 30 to Jan. 29

A new exhibition is being held at the National Gallery of Umbria from Oct. 30 to Jan. 29, displaying a series of historic Umbrian masterpieces which trace the development of the ‘painted Cross’.
Composed between the end of the 12th and the first half of the 13th century, the show follows the iconographic progression of the crucifix and Saint Francis of Assisi, often represented on foot by the Cross in adoration of Christ. Curated by Marco Pierini, director of the gallery, the exposition presents nine masterpieces in total, offering a panoramic of the religious, liturgical and artistic particularities of such artefacts.
The exhibition timelines the evolution of depictions of the Cross throughout the western world, from the Giunta Pisano model – later adapted by Cimabue (the great Florentine painter) – to those of Giottesque style.
A catalogue of helpful information and contextual essays, accompanied by an introduction by Mauro Gambetti – the new custodian of the Sacred Convent of Assisi -- is available as an aid, complete with an ample schedule of the various works.

 

Dalì - Il sogno del classico
Palazzo Blu
Pisa
1 October 2016 - 5 February 2017

Dalí the prominent Spanish surrealist painter born in Catalonia, Spain was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters.
Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behaviour. His eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork, to the dismay of those who held his work in high esteem, and to the irritation of his critics.
At the exhibition taking place at Palazzo Blu, named Dalì. Il sogno del classico for the first time in Italy, over 150 works originally from the Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí in Spain and from the Dalí Museum of St. Petersburg (Florida) will be displayed, as well as others from the Vatican Museums.
The exhibition will include a series of important paintings in which the Spanish artist quotes Raffaello, and revisits the sculptural and pictorial masterpieces of Michelangelo, the drawings and acquarellos which depict the legendary life of Benvenuto Cellini, and the entire series illustrating Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.

Opening hours: from Monday to Friday: 10.00 - 19.00 Saturdays and Sundays from 10.00 to 20.00

 

Umbria Jazz - Winter #24
Orvieto - Umbria
28th December 2016 to the 1st January 2017

The stage is set for the twenty-fourth edition of Umbria Jazz Winter in Orvieto: five days of music, from 28 December to 1 January, with over one hundred events that together make up one of the traditional dates of the Italian jazz calendar. The Festival is built around a successful tried and tested formula combining tourism and first-class music with the hospitality of one of the most beautiful towns in Umbria, rich in history and art. The programme includes new musical encounters between artists and innovative projects, and the aim is to create a musical mix that can be appreciated by both well-informed jazz lovers and also by those who are less well versed in the language of African-American music. Orvieto’s magnificent Cathedral, built in the 1300-1500s to a plan by Lorenzo Maitani, will once again be the setting for a Mass for Peace with Gospel singers on the afternoon of New Year’s Day. Festival concerts take place at the Teatro Mancinelli, the Palazzo del Popolo, the Palazzo dei Sette.

The history of the Umbria Jazz festival is really quite interesting - so here’s a brief account of it for you:

In 1973 Carlo Pagnotta and Adriano Mazzoletti organised the first Umbria Jazz Festival as a series of free concerts at various venues in Terni (who still claims to be the birthplace of the Umbria Jazz Festival), Gubbio, Todi, Cittá della Pieve and Perugia. Pagnotta had moved back to Perugia after going to the university in Bologna 1955 and became a frequent patron of Mazzoletti’s jazz club, the “Hot Club”. With Mozzoletti’s pre-established relationships in the jazz community, the pair were able to attract some of jazz’s biggest names, including BB King, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. The festival got so big, in fact, that they started having security and logistical problems, unable to prepare for the immense growth in attendance each year. In 1975 Count Basie wasn’t even able to make it to the stage through the crowd of people gathered for the show!

After the assassination of political leader Aldo Moro in 1978, organisers decided to suspend the festival in light of socio-political conditions, not picking it back up until 1983 and permanently settling in Perugia. Four years later, though, they decided to expand the festival, inviting pop and rock artists who they believed were “able to satisfy the tastes of all music lovers”. Sting was the first special guest in 1987 and since then they’ve hosted pop music legends like Elton John, Prince, James Taylor, Phil Collins, Van Morrison, Earth Wind & Fire, Eric Clapton, Tony Bennett and Alicia Keys.

Click here to view the programme and book tickets.

 

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