Tuscany Travel Guide

No Italian village can let the year run its course without a handful of celebrations of church, history, local talent, or just good food and wine. And no visit to Italy is complete without taking part in at least one of them. Those listed below represent merely the biggest and most spectacular Tuscany and Umbria have to offer. Under the introduction to each city throughout this book, you'll find these events described in greater detail, along with dates for smaller feste and weekly markets.

For an exhaustive list of events beyond those listed here, check http://events.frommers.com, where you'll find a searchable, up-to-the-minute roster of what's happening in cities all over the world.

Hot Tickets -- For major events where tickets should be procured well before arriving on the spot, check out Box Office at tel. 055-210-804 or www.boxol.it. They will only deliver tickets to an Italian address, but you can buy ahead of time and pick them up at the booth when you arrive.

January

Regatta on the Arno, Florence. The city of the Renaissance kicks off the new year with a boat race. Call tel. 055-23-320 for details. January 1.

Befana (the Christmas Witch) Caroling, Maremma, Tuscany. In the countryside of Tuscany's deep south, carolers costumed as the Christmas witch go from farm to farm and house to house, singing both traditional tunes and modern melodies in honor of the Epiphany. After dark on January 5.

February

Olive and Bruschetta Festival, Spello, Umbria. The town celebrates the olive harvest by drizzling the new oil over toast in a bruschetta fest accompanied by traditional music. Call the tourist office at tel. 0742-354-459 for more information. February 5.

Carnevale, throughout Italy. Carnival was originally a pagan festival that looked forward to the bounty of spring, but in modern times it has been conveniently grafted onto the last 5 to 10 days before Ash Wednesday, which on the Christian calendar signals the start of the sober Lenten period. Every Italian town celebrates in some way -- Venice is famous for it. Martedi Grasso is Fat Tuesday, the final day of Carnevale before Lent, and the best of the fest is saved for this time, with parades, fireworks, and the like. The most outstanding Tuscan Rite of Spring occurs in the coastal town of Viareggio (for details, contact the Cotitaio Carnevale, Palazzo dell Muse, Piazza Mazzini, Viareggio; tel. 0584-47-503 or 0584-962-568), with a colorful and sophisticated parade of mechanized floats subtly lampooning political figures and celebrities. (If you take the train from Florence, your rail ticket will get you a discount on admission to the event.) Other Carnevale festivities worth dropping in on are the costume parade in San Gimignano (call tel. 0577-940-008 for details) and a similar masked procession at Vinci (call tel. 0571-568-012 for details). The week before Ash Wednesday (Feb/early Mar).

March

Torchlit Procession and Pagan Feast, Pitigliano, Tuscany. After the locals set fire to a giant human-shaped straw effigy of winter, they break out the sweets, song, and dance, and party all night on the piazza. For details, call tel. 0564-614-433. March 19.

Easter is always a big event. Some of the most colorful yet solemn celebrations are held in St. Francis's Umbrian hometown, Assisi (call tel. 075-812-534 for details), and in Florence . Easter Sunday.

Scioppo del Carro (Explosion of the Cart), Florence. Florentines celebrate Easter with Renaissance pyrotechnics. When the bishop inside the cathedral gets to the "Gloria" part of High Mass, a mechanical dove is let loose from high over the altar, and it slides down a wire toward the front doors. Waiting for it on Piazza del Duomo outside is a tall 18th-century cart -- pulled there by two snowy white oxen and loaded with fireworks -- which the dove ignites (it's hoped). (No one seems at all concerned that this occurs within spitting distance of the Baptistery's Gates of Paradise.) Contact the tourist office at tel. 055-290-832 for details. Easter Sunday.

National Kite-Flying Championship, San Miniato, Tuscany. Italians fly kites in a competitive manner. Call tel. 0571-42-745 or 0571-42-233 for details. The weekend after Easter.

April

Festival of Sacred Music, Lucca, Tuscany. For 3 months, Lucca's churches put on various concerts and choir recitals. Call tel. 0583-419-689 or fax 0583-442-505 for details. April through June.

May

Calendimaggio, Assisi, Umbria. This pagan spring festival is held in Umbria's holiest of cities. There are lots of singing, dancing, feats of prowess, and medieval costumes as Assisi's Romeos vie for the right to call their own fair damsel Lady Spring. Call tel. 075-812-534 for details. First weekend (starting Thurs) after May 1.

Maggio Musicale (Musical May), Florence. Florence's rather chichi concert series, which now stretches May through June, has become one of the finer musical events in Europe. The concerts and dance recitals take place in the more atmospheric palazzi and churches about town, and tickets don't come cheap. Contact the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (tel. 0935-564-767), or visit the box office at Teatro Comunale, Corso Italia 12, 50123 Firenze (tel. 055-213-535; fax 055-277-222; www.maggiofiorentino.com), for details and tickets. May to late June.

Festa del Grillo (Cricket Festival), Florence. In the Cascine Park, vendors sell crickets in decorated cages, and, after a parade of floats on the Arno, everybody releases the bugs into the grass. Contact the tourist office at Via Cavour 1r (tel. 055-290-832) for details. First Sunday after Ascension Day (mid- to late May).

Corso dei Ceri (Candle Race), Gubbio, Umbria. One of Italy's most spectacular and oldest festivals, this one has to be seen to be believed. Color-coded teams of burly men from the city's three districts run about town all day long carrying 9m-high (30-ft.) wooden "candles" (read: phallic symbols) topped with statues of saints. After a seafood dinner, they carry the things at a dead trot more than 300m (1,000 ft.) up a mountain. Perhaps the tourist office can explain it: Call tel. 075-922-0693. May 15.

Giostro dell'Archiado (Crossbow Competition), Cortona, Tuscany. This crossbow competition is held in late-14th-century costume. Contact the tourist office at tel. 0575-630-353 or 0575-630-352 for details. May 18.

Balestro del Girifalco (Crossbow Competition), Massa Marittima, Tuscany. Massan crossbow sharpshooters in 13th-century costume fire bolts into impossibly small targets, following all the requisite processions and flag tossing. Contact Amatur at tel. 0566-902-756 for details. May 20 or the following Sunday and again the second Sunday in August.

Palio della Balestra (Crossbow Competition), Gubbio, Umbria. 'Tis the season to fire crossbows. Eugubians, all dudded up medieval-style, test their crossbow skills against teams from historical rival Sansepolcro. In September, Sansepolcro gets to host the annual rematch. Call tel. 075-922-0693 for details. Last Sunday in May.

June

Corpus Cristi Procession, Orvieto, Umbria. In the town where this religious holiday was first proclaimed, the holy liturgical cloth onto which a communion wafer once miraculously dripped blood is carried through town in a procession of hundreds dressed in medieval costume. Contact the tourist office at tel. 0763-341-772 for details. Corpus Cristi (early June).

Festa di San Ranieri, Pisa, Tuscany. The city celebrates its patron saint by lining the Arno River with flickering torches. Call tel. 050-42-291 for details. June 16 and 17.

Regatta del Palio (Boat Race), Florence. This is the first and most important of several regattas held on the Arno on this day. Spectators line the quays between the Uffizi and Santa Trinita Bridge as teams from Florence's four traditional neighborhoods compete to win a painted banner. Later in the day, united Florentine teams duke it out with rowers from Pisa and Livorno for titles and trophies. Contact the tourist office at Via Cavour 1r (tel. 055-290-832) for details. June 23.

Gioco di Calcio (Historic Soccer), Florence. St. John is Florence's patron, and what better way to celebrate his holy day than with a violent Renaissance version of soccer played in 16th-century costume? Two teams of 26 men battle each other tooth and nail on dirt-packed Piazza di Santa Croce (the first June match) and Piazza della Signoria. The teams hail from each of Florence's four historic quarters -- San Giovanni in green, Santa Maria Novella in red, Santa Croce in blue, and Santo Spirito in white. The season opens on June 16, but the big game is on June 24, after which fireworks explode over the Arno at 10pm. The teams also butt heads on December 24 in the full Christmas Eve spirit. Contact the tourist office at Via Cavour 1r (tel. 055-290-832) for details. June 24 and 28.

Gioco del Ponte (War on the Bridge), Pisa, Tuscany. Pisan teams from opposite banks of the river get into Renaissance garb, stand on the city's oldest bridge, and have a push-of-war with a 7-ton cart. For details, call tel. 050-42-291. Last Sunday in June.

Spoleto Festival, Spoleto, Umbria. This world-renowned festival of music and the performing arts (formerly called the Festival of Two Worlds) was started by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958 -- the "two worlds" were originally Spoleto and Charleston, South Carolina, but Melbourne, Australia, has also joined the family of cities putting on a month-long series of concerts, opera, ballet, film, and theater. Tickets usually sell out by March. For details, contact the Associazione Festival dei Due Mondi, Piazza Duomo 8, 06049 Spoleto (PG; tel. 800-565-600 in Italy, or 0743-220-032; fax 0743-220-321; www.spoletofestival.it). Also try the Teatro Nuovo at tel. 0743-40-265. Mid-June to mid-July.

Estate Fiesolana (Fiesolean Summer), Fiesole, near Florence. This summertime festival of music, ballet, film, and theater is held above the oppressive Florentine heat in the ancient hill town of Fiesole. Most of the performances are staged in the remains of the 1st-century-A.D. Roman theater. You can get information and tickets in advance through the Agenzia Box Office, Via Alamanni 39 Firenze (tel. 055-210-804; www.estatefiesolana.it), or at the Roman Theater on the day of performance after 4:30pm. Late June to August.

July

Palio delle Contrade (Horse Race), Siena, Tuscany. The Palio between Siena's traditional neighborhoods vies with Venice's Carnevale as Italy's premier festival. It's a breakneck bareback horse race around the dirt-packed main square prefaced by 3 days of parades, trial runs, and heavy partying. The night before the race is a regular bacchanal to which visitors are often welcome. The best 80€-to-200€ ($104-$260) grandstand seats sell out years in advance, but some are always available a few months before. Standing in the center of the piazza is free. Afterward, winners and losers alike celebrate with the aid of much chianti. Hotel rooms in the entire city are booked more than a year in advance of the July 2 event. And they do it all over again on August 16. For more information, contact Siena's Ufficio Informazione Turistico, Piazza del Campo 56 (tel. 0577-280-551; fax 0577-270-676). July 2.

Umbria Jazz, Perugia, Umbria. This has been one of Europe's top jazz events for more than 30 years -- 2 weeks of performances, concerts, and jams from top names and bands that cool out Umbria's capital during the summer heat. For more information, contact the Associazione Umbria Jazz-Perugia, Piazza Danti 28 (tel. 075-573-2432; www.umbriajazz.com). Mid-July.

Wine Festival, Portoferraio, Elba. This festa to toast the island's excellent but seldom exported white and red wines takes place at Le Ghiaie beach behind Elba's main town. Call tel. 0565-914-671 for details. Last week of July.

Giostra del Orso (Joust of the Bear), Pistoia, Tuscany. This medieval-costumed jousting match pits mounted knights against targets shaped like bears. Not nearly as death-defying as the olden days when they used real bears, but still a rousing good time. Call tel. 0573-34-326 for details. July 25.

Sangimignanese Summer, San Gimignano, Tuscany. This nearly 80-year-old cultural festival of moderate note offers open-air concerts, opera, and film in the Town of Towers. For details, contact the tourist office at Piazza del Duomo, San Gimignano (SI; tel. 0577-940-008; fax 0577-940-903; www.sangimignano.com). Last weekend in July.

Settimana Musicale Senese (Sienese Music Week), Siena, Tuscany. This festival brings a week of the best concerts and opera Siena's prestigious music center can muster. Contact the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Via di Città 89 (tel. 0577-46-152). One week in July or August.

Classical Concerts in the Roman Theater, Gubbio, Umbria. In the valley below town, you get the Roman experience by attending concerts in the overgrown ruins of a 1st-century-A.D. theater. Meanwhile, up in town, the Gubbio Festival brings in international performers for more of the same in less scenic settings. The tourist office (tel. 075-575-951) can fill you in on both. Late July to early August.

Todi Arte Festival, Todi, Umbria. This annual bash started in the 1980s brings theater, music, ballet, and opera to the medieval hill town for 10 days in late summer. Contact www.todiartefestival.it or tel. 075-894-2526 for details. Late July (some years in Aug).

August

La Palombella (The Unlucky Dove), Orvieto, Umbria. A live white dove surrounded by flares ignites a pile of fireworks outside the Duomo. Great fun, unless you're the bird. Call tel. 0763-341-772 for details. Pentecost Sunday.

Ferragosto, throughout Italy. This isn't an event; it's an exodus. The feast of the Assumption marks the beginning of the August holiday, when everything in Italy closes, hotels and restaurants included. Everyone goes on vacation. Unless you're at the beach, you might not see more than 10 Italians all day. Some things will reopen on the 16th, but most of Italy takes the rest of the month off. August 15.

Cowboy Parade and Rodeo, Albarese, Tuscany. The gateway town to the Maremma's best natural park hosts a rodeo of the top butteri stars of Tuscany's deep south. Butteri are the old-fashioned Italian cowboys who've watched over the white Maremma cattle herds for generations. The Monti dell'Uccellina park information office may have details at tel. 0564-407-098. August 15.

Feast of the Hams, Sorano, Tuscany. Local pig population plummets. Prosciutto and sausage consumption rises dramatically. Butchers prosper. Pork enthusiasts can call tel. 0564-633-023 for details. Mid-August.

Palio delle Contrade (Horse Race), Siena, Tuscany. An encore of Siena's famous horse race. This edition is more popular and even more crowded. August 16.

Palio Marinaro (Boat Race), Livorno, Tuscany. This annual neighborhood boat race is held at Tuscany's major port. For details, call tel. 0586-899-111 or fax 0586-896-173. August 17.

Bravio delle Botti (Barrel Race), Montepulciano, Tuscany. This is something akin to a medieval fraternity stunt. Teams of poliziani (police officers) dress like their 14th-century ancestors in order to pull various important muscles trying to be the first to roll a 175-pound barrel uphill to the top of town. Come for the pageantry and feasting afterward. Contact the tourist office at tel. 0578-758-687 for details. Late August.

September

Giostro del Saracino (Saracen Joust), Arezzo, Tuscany. This jousting tournament is between mounted knights in 13th-century armor and the effigy of a Saracen warrior. It's held on Arezzo's main square and is one of the few versions of this sport in which the target, which swivels and is armed with a whip, actually hits back. Contact the tourist office at tel. 0575-377-678 (fax 0575-20-839) for details. First Sunday in September.

Flag Tossing, Volterra, Tuscany. Townies in 14th-century get-ups practice the ancient art of juggling silken banners on one of Tuscany's most medieval of piazze. The tourist office (tel. 0588-86-150) can tell you more. First Sunday of September.

Festa della Rificolona (Candlelit Procession), Florence. Children carry paper lanterns around town, especially up to Piazza Santissima Annunziata. It's a dim memory of the sheerly practical lanterns peasants from the surrounding countryside carried as they filed into town on this night, the eve of the birth of the Virgin, to pay their respects at the church. The farmers usually stuck around the next day to throw a produce market, which is now held the weekend before the event. Contact the tourist office at Via Cavour 1r (tel. 055-290-832) for details. September 7.

Palio dei Balestrieri (Crossbow Competition), Sansepolcro, Tuscany. Sansepolcro gets the home-turf advantage in part two of the medieval crossbow competition with Umbrian rival Gubbio. Call tel. 0575-75-827 for details. Second Sunday in September.

Rassegna del Chianti Classico (Wine Festival), Greve in Chianti, Tuscany. Greve's annual wine fair showcases the newest vintages from both the top and the smaller vineyards in the Chianti Classico zone. Call tel. 055-854-5243 for details. September 12 to September 15.

Candlelit Procession, Lucca, Tuscany. In honor of their highly revered Volto Santo statue of Christ, an image blackened with age (they hold that Nicodemus himself, present at the crucifixion, carved it from a Lebanon cedar), the Lucchesi hold a solemn parade through the streets at 8pm. Call tel. 0583-419-689 or fax 0583-442-505 for details. September 13.

Sagra Musicale Umbra (Festival of Sacred Music), Perugia, Umbria. This over-60-year-old festival of sacred music draws important composers and groups from around the world. Contact the Associazione Sagra Musical Umbra-Perugia, Via Podianai 11 (tel. 075-572-1374; fax 075-572-7614; www.perugiamusicaclassica.com/festival.cfm). Second and third weeks of September.

Perugia Classico (Festival of Classical Music), Perugia, Umbria. As the sacred musicians are packing up, the secular ones ride into town to finish off Perugia's music-filled summer with a week of classical and chamber music. Details are available from the Comitatio Promotore Perugia Classico, c/o Comune di Perugia, Ripartizione XVI Economia e Lavoro, Via Eburnea 9 (tel. 075-577-2253; fax 075-572-4252). Last week in September.

International Festival of Choral Singing, Volterra, Tuscany. Saintly music fills the air in this Etruscan city. Contact the tourist office at tel./fax 0588-86-150. Last Saturday of September.

Biennale di Firenze (Fashion Exhibits), Florence. This new biannual (held in even years) fashion exhibit is installed all around town in museums, galleries, and public buildings to juxtapose fashion with art. Prato gets its share as well. Call tel. 055-234-0742 or fax 055-244-145 for details. Late September to mid-December.

October

Sagra del Tordo (Feast of the Thrush), Montalcino, Tuscany. Montalcini wander around all weekend in medieval costume throwing archery tournaments and parades, mainly for an excuse to roast hundreds of tiny thrushes, whose passing they toast with plenty of Brunello wine. Call tel./fax 0577-849-331 for details. Last weekend in October.

White Truffle Fair, Gubbio, Umbria. The world's most expensive form of edible fungus, highly prized by food connoisseurs, is the centerpiece of Gubbio's annual agricultural fair. Call tel. 075-922-0693 for details. October 29 to November 2.

November

Concert and Theater Season Begins, Prato, Tuscany. The season begins at Prato's premiere Teatro Metastasio. November through March.

Opera, Concert, and Ballet Seasons Open, Florence. The season at the Teatro Comunale (tel. 055-211-158) and the Teatro Verdi (tel. 055-212-320) runs November through April.

Vino Novello (New Wine) Festivals, various towns. By law, New Wine can't be released before November 4, and several towns have become centers for small street festivals celebrating the coming-out weekend of these light, short-lived red wines. The main event is a weekend of tastings, along with the usual stands lining the streets during any festival (offering everything from traditional candy to underwear). A big dinner night is arranged in the better restaurants in town, where you sample vini novelli with your meal. Two of the larger and more easily accessible from Florence are the festival in Montespertoli (tel. 0571-609-412 for details), for which you can take a SITA bus, and the festival in Pontassieve (tel. 055-83-601 for details), for which you can take a train. First weekend after November 4.

December

World's Largest Christmas Tree, Gubbio, Umbria. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, said "tree" is what disfigures the slope of Gubbio's mountain every Christmas in all its illuminated-bulb glory. December 7 to January 10.

Olive Oil and Wine Festival, Pitigliano, Tuscany. You can enjoy heaps of bruschetta garlic toast and gallons of wine. Call tel. 0564-616-039 for details. December 15.

Live Nativity Procession, Barga (in the Garfagnana north of Lucca), Tuscany. Just before Christmas, a live procession of locals dressed as the Holy Family passes through town, where other inhabitants are costumed as traditional tradespeople. The procession starts sometime after 7pm and arrives at the Duomo around 11pm. For details, call tel. 0583-723-499. Usually held December 23.

Display of the Virgin's Girdle, Prato, Tuscany. This is the final and most sumptuous of the five yearly occasions on which the bishop releases Mary's Sacred Girdle -- the belt she handed to Thomas upon her Assumption -- from its jewel-encrusted treasure chest and shows it to the people massed inside the Duomo and crowding the piazza outside. Plenty of Renaissance-styled drummers and fifers are in attendance. The pomp is repeated at Easter, May 1, August 15, and September 8. Call tel./fax 0574-24-112 for details. December 25.

Umbria Jazz Winter, Orvieto, Umbria. Wine tasting and internationally renowned jazz artists come to Orvieto for part two of Umbria's premier jazz festival. Call tel. 075-572-1653 or check www.umbriajazz.com for details. December 27 to January 1.