Taking You Back to Tuscany

Just back from Tuscany? Pining for the place? Not even a little? I know I am.

This website combines Google Maps and 360 degree panoramic photography to give you a real sense of being in 15 different spots across the region. There's even a bit of Umbria – Perugia and Assisi – thrown in for good measure.

I especially love this internal panorama of the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, in Florence. The Romanesque basilica, just uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo (see the book, p. 61), is one of the few city spots you can find a bit of peace, even in high season. On p. 63 of the book we recommend a family Oltrarno walk, from the Giardino di Boboli, that'll guide you all there.

Okay, so a bit of surfing doesn't quite match basking under a Tuscan sun for yourself. But, from my desk in East London, it's as close as I'm getting for now. Alas.

Florentine Genius Festival

If you're planning to be in Florence over the next couple of weeks be sure to check this website for details of over 100 events taking place as part of the city's Genio Fiorentino festival. The festival was attended by almost 400,000 visitors last year.

Genio Fiorentino runs from 15th to 25th May, opening tomorrow with a musical event celebrating Benvenuto Cellini, whose bronze Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa, pictured, graces the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria.

Other artistic highlights include an exhibition of drawings by Leonardo and Raphael inside the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (see the book, p. 56). The exhibition's opening coincides with the festival ending, on 25th May.

The Genio sees the annual opening of the Corridoio Vasariano, a covered passageway that links the Ponte Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, crossing the Arno inside the Ponte Vecchio. See the book, p. 59, for more details.

Florence's Istituto degli Innocenti is also hosting children's workshops, the Bottega dei Ragazzi, throughout the Genio. Contact them direct for advice on what events best suit your child's spoken Italian skills: local tel. 055 2478386 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm and 4–7pm),email labottegadeiragazzi@istitutodeglinnocenti.it.

Florence's tourist office, local tel. 055 290832, will be able to direct you towards other events suited to visiting families. For comprehensive visitor information for Florence, see the book, p. 38–47.

Oops – Livorno Relegated

Here's a lesson for guidebook writers: never, ever make predictions about football.

What we wrote in the book, p. 142:

They might not be a household name, but AS Livorno are a team on the up. In 2004 the team returned to Italy's elite Serie A after a 55-year wait...

It was the kiss of death, clearly. Yesterday, the team were relegated after a 1-0 home defeat by Torino. Bah. In what's proving a tricky season for Tuscan teams, Empoli look likely to follow them into Serie B; ironically, the two meet in a local derby next week.

That's not to say you shouldn't pay Livorno's friendly little stadium a visit on matchday – see the book, p. 142. But if you're set on a Serie A game, try nearby Siena instead. They will finish comfortably away from trouble this season (unlike last), with former Middlesborough striker Massimo Maccarone banging in the goals that have ensured another year in the top flight.

So, by way of apology for our sporting prediction gone wrong, here's some help getting to a Siena game, that space dictated we had to cut from the final version:

Since 2003 AC Siena (Via Peruzzi 18. [tel] 0577 281084) has been playing in Italy’s Serie A, the nation’s premier football league. The team plays at the small Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi (Via Mille 3, [tel] 0577 280937) just across from the bus station, close to the Fortezza parking.
Tickets cost €18-32 for adults, €12-28 for children 12-18 and €5-10 for under 12s. Italian families attend the games, but it’s rare to see children under 8. Siena has a good reputation when it comes to safety, though opposing fans might not be as friendly – it’s worth asking at the tourist office first. Buy tickets under the bus station at the Siena Calcio office (open 8.30am-noon, 3.30-7pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-noon Sat).

There's plenty more on Siena's more conventional sights, p. 78–87 in the book.

Livorno - Extras

Nip over here to my new Flickr site and you'll find the first of what I hope will be a regular series of slideshows with photos and background information we didn't have space for in the book.

This week: Livorno (p. 139-142) in brief, port city, home of cacciucco, and untypical Tuscany hangout.

New Discount Museum Ticket for Siena

Anyone who enjoyed the Renaissance Siena: Art for a City exhibition at London's National Gallery last winter should make straight for Siena's tourist office in the Campo (see p. 80).

For €13.50, the new "Percorsi del Rinascimento Senese" ticket gets you into the heart of all that art. It covers the Museo Civico (p. 83), Pinacoteca Nazionale, the former hospital of Santa Maria della Scala (p. 84), the Duomo and Pinturicchio's frescoed Libreria Piccolomini (p. 83), and the Archivio di Stato with its Museo delle Tavolette di Biccherna. Tickets represent a substantial saving on full-price individual admissions, and are valid through to the end of 2008.

More here.

Various other discount tickets for Siena are listed in the book, p. 85.

If you missed the London exhibition, the excellent catalogue is on sale here for £34.95. There's also a DVD (£15) about the city and its artistic heritage.

Maremma Cowboy Shows

Equinus (p. 155) have announced the dates of their butteri cowboy shows for 2008. These family equestrian spectaculars, rooted in the history and traditions of the coastal Maremma, last about an hour and a half. Local organic produce is offered for sale after the show.

Confirmed dates for this summer and autumn are:

May 9th, 31st at 17.00
June 18th, 25th at 18.00
July 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th at 18.00
August 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th at 18.00
September 3rd, 10th at 18.00
October 5th at 17.00

The booking line is local tel. 333 9579733. Always call ahead to reserve and check shows are going ahead as planned. Driving directions are here.

Ragani - Umbria's Best Olive Oil

Here's a couple of shots sent to me by the folks that run the Ragani family olive oil business. If you're anywhere near Assisi or Spello, be sure to stop in on their frantoio (p. 206), for trying and buying. Their first cold-pressed Colli Assisi Spoleto DOP Umbria was the best we tasted in Umbria.

Driving directions are here.

Chianti's Sculpture Park

Here's another family attraction we just came across, close to the heart of Chianti. It's an outdoor contemporary sculpture park, with permanent exhibits and installations set in woodland north of Siena: the Chianti Sculpture Park.

There's also a contemporary art and sculpture shop on-site. Curator Dr. Piero Giadrossi explains:

Your readers might also be interested to know that in front of the entrance to the Park there is a sculpture gallery, located in an ancient renovated pottery, a fine example of industrial archeology. It is probably the largest in Italy and displays sculptures not to be found elsewhere in Europe.

We haven't inspected the park yet ourselves, but will be heading there as and when a new edition enters production.

It's open 10am until sunset April to October; entrance is €7.50, €5 for under 16s. Local tel. 0577 357151.

Driving directions are here.

Italia Wave 2008 Festival Lineup

The line-up for this year's Italia Wave music festival has been announced. Headlining are The Chemical Brothers and The Verve.

This year the festival is in the port city of Livorno (p. 139–42), between the 16th and 19th July. The main stage is inside the city's delightful football stadium. Up to 100 other acts play in free spaces around town, including the Old Fort.

The festival's promotional and information video is here.

The Insider - Italian Tour Operators

Here's one we missed from the Appendix. Hoseasons Villas 2008 brochure lists a selection of reasonably priced villas suitable as car-touring bases in northern or central Tuscany. Telephone: 0844 847 1222.