Archive for 'Events'

Monte San Savino is a beautiful little Tuscan town located halfway between Siena and Arezzo and each year, it is home to a delicious food festival: the Sagra della Porchetta.

Food festivals are a penny a dozen in Italy with most towns having at least one but this one, in particular, promises some good eating. A well-known and popular event, it centres around suckling pig and is celebrated each September with a big festival and market where you can try the star of the show (the pig) or sample countless other local products and dishes.

Just find a luxury villa in Monte San Savino and you will be tasting the best pork of your life this September.

There is never a lack of exhibitions happening at any given moment in time in Florence. However, some are a little more special than others whether the pieces are on loan from all over the world, have never been seen together, gain new meaning in an entirely new setting or have rarely been seen before. It is the latter reason that makes an exhibition currently running in the Pitti Palace so special.

“Rigour and Grace” sees pieces that are rarely on display being opened to the public in their home in the Palatine Chapel which is, likewise, rarely seen. For the next few months, this beautiful and exclusive space is being opened for visits. If you have found your luxury villa in Florence and are planning on visiting before May 17th, be sure to drop by the chapel.

One of the things that define holidays for most people, along with having a bit of a lie-in in the mornings, tasting the local cuisine and seeing the sights, is doing some shopping and picking up souvenirs to remind you of your trip and to bring back as gifts for those who didn't go with you. Of course, it's always nice when there are bigger and better versions of the shops you like or impressive urban shopping districts but it's preferable to purchase things that you can't get anywhere else; crafts, locally-produced goods and other one-off items. This is one of the many things that makes the town of Greve in Chianti so desirable around Easter.

Toulouse-Lautrec is a French artist of the nineteenth century who worked in similar circles to the Impressionists such as Monet. Even if his name is new to you, it is unlikely that you are unfamiliar with his works as they have become hugely iconic. The so-called “soul of Montmartre”, he captured the streets, lights, music and atmosphere of the bohemian Montmartre district in the late nineteenth century. He was an illustrator and engraver and is best known for the posters that he designed for establishments such as the Moulin Rouge. This key figure of Parisian art history is being showcased in a fantastic exhibition not in Paris but in Pisa at the Palazzo Blu which has become more and more well-known for its world-class exhibitions. Any serious art-lovers who are thinking of holidaying in Tuscany will want to find a luxury villa in Pisa and drop by before the exhibition closes in February.

Autumn is harvest season which means that there are lots of delicious foods around. A particular harvest which is common across Italy is that of truffles. San Miniato in Tuscany, in fact, is one of the most productive truffle-rich areas of Europe and the white truffle that grows in the San Miniato hills is the most valuable variety. The truffle has greatly impacted local cuisine and is so important to local identity that the town hosts an annual market, the San Miniato National White Truffle Market, which is internationally celebrated and recognised. If you're serious about your food, and your truffles in particular, this is the only place to be this season. Just find luxury villa in San Miniato and head down to the market to let your palate rejoice!