Archive for 'August'

If you’re a music lover then you’d certainly enjoy visiting the annual melody festival that takes place in the town of Bolgheri in Livorno! This magical event is hosted from mid July until mid August and is comprised of mostly jazz music but there’s also a fine selection of other genres to listen to.

Visitors wishing to stay here for some or all of the festival have a fine choice of vacation rentals in Bibbona, only six kilometres from Bolgheri. There’s frequent public and private transport available to and from Bolgheri during these lively few weeks!

One of the most famous Italian Palio events is the Palio di Siena held in the city of Siena in the central Tuscany region. To celebrate their historic Palio event, the people of Siena stage a famous horse race twice a year; one on the 2nd of July and one on the 16th August. There is a great selection of luxury holiday villas and simple vacation rentals close to Siena where you can easily commute to witness this spectacular event.

The participants in this exciting race are horses and jockeys representing their ‘contrada’ or region of the city of Siena. The competition and rivalry between the contrade is fierce and attracts thousands of city supporters and tourists every year. There are seventeen contrade in total but only ten are allowed to race on each date for safety reasons. The ten that are chosen to race in one Palio are then replaced in the following one by the seven that didn’t race plus three that will be chosen by drawing lots between the other ten.

The tradition of the Palio dates back to medieval times, when most of the communities throughout Italy would have a local athletic competition between the contrades, or districts, of the town. Less populated areas would have the hamlets of a commune compete against one another. The traditions were typically a commemoration of an event that varied from town to town, some had jousts, archery tournaments, horse races, and even bull fights right in the city. Other cities have changed the traditions to slightly safer contests, much like Montepulciano's Bravio delle Botti.

Throughout all of history, each and every culture has some sort of event that is designed as a celebration or festival. Without these celebrations life can become rather dull. America has the almost completely flavorless county fairs that dot the country, with the same carnival rides coming each year to each town. It may be a distraction or just something that is slightly out of the routine enough to draw some of the town in but nothing that really excites people.

Italy, and Tuscany in particular, has been able to hold on to local traditions and still get the people excited even today. Though very close in distance and very similar in heritage and culture, each town in Tuscany seems to add its own particular flavor to the region.