Driving in the countryside is like a therapy against stress for me, especially on perfect summer days like today.

Even when we go somewhere on holiday, driving around is a big part of our vacation. It is not about getting from point a to point b: it’s our way of enjoying beautiful landscapes, stopping along the road to enjoy the views and take pictures, and taking it slow. The drive, for us, is often not just a necessary part of a day-trip: it’s the whole point of a day-trip. We like road trips very much.

I am always a bit surprised when I hear our guests worry about driving in Italy or on winding country roads: that’s the best part of a vacation in Tuscany! Our recommendation is always to take it slow, stop when you feel you need to, and ignore those behind you: do your own thing as you feel comfortable, the world will adjust to your rhythm!

Country lanes are generally a good place for slow drives because there is very little traffic. This morning, on my slow drive through our corner of Tuscany, I only met two other cars.

I left Civitella Marittima and drove towards Grosseto along the E78-SS223. I turned left on a road that I really like, called La Cerreta, which connects the main highway E78 to the road to Monte Amiata (SP64). It’s a road that cuts through the woods and the countryside.

I got on the main road to Monte Amiata and almost immediately turned left passing under an old railway bridge to get onto the Strada Provinciale di Petriolo and followed towards Monte Antico.

The road to Monte Antico is a beautiful drive. It takes you through the prettiest landscapes of Tuscany, with old bridges, fields dotted with hay bales, olive groves, vineyards and sunflower fields. Monte Antico itself is a little hamlet home to less than 100 people, but they can be very proud of their local restaurant, La Taverna di Campagna. They serve both traditional food and excellent pizza, and the owners are the proud producers of one of the best Montecucco D.O.C. wines in the area, Begnardi.

To many, Monte Antico is probably just a group of houses, but I find it fascinating, with its yellow church, and the little train station, which is one of the main stops on the old Grosseto-Siena  railway line. The steam engine train called Treno Natura always stops here. It is one of those places which still bear traces of the old times, when lots of people lived here or in the many farmhouses around this group of houses.

From Monte Antico a picture perfect cypress tree-lined road climbs up to the top of a hill, where the ancient Castle of Monte Antico is located. The castle looks like a fortress from the outside, and it is now a beautiful hotel. It has a lovely courtyard with a well, and breathtaking views over the valley of the river Ombrone.

Driving up to the castle you can enjoy very beautiful views over the hills where our village, Civitella Marittima, is located, and over the surrounding vineyards, nestled among the cypress trees. It’s really pretty. Coming closer to the castle, the old church of San Tommaso, now a theatre, welcomes you to this fabulous corner of the inland hills of the Maremma.

That’s right. Most people don’t have this image of the Maremma in their head. They believe it’s a flat area by the coast. Not at all. The inland areas are quintessentially Tuscan, with rolling hills, vineyards giving way to olive groves, giving way to woods and fields. It’s Tuscany at its best.

I really like the short stretch of road that from the Castle of Monte Antico takes you back to the old Leopoldina road. The road is one of my favourite places near here. I wrote a post for the Velvet Escape Travel Blog about it. The views area amazing!

I drove as far as Fattoria Nuova Pievanella, one of the most beautiful countryside villas in Tuscany. It’s a holiday farm with rooms and apartments, a tennis court, swimming pool, gym, paths through their grounds and a restaurant. But most importantly it is in a stunning location. It’s the perfect romantic retreat in the Tuscan countryside.

I turned around and drove back down to Monte Antico, along the road that runs below the castle. There are a few spots where one can stop and enjoy the view over the hills towards Civitella. The fields have just been harvested and the hay bales are still there: so pretty!

I got back to the old Strada di Petriolo, also known as the “ancient salt road”, because it was the old road that led from Siena to the sea and ensured the salt supply to the city. There are plenty of spots to stop here, and I did stop quite a bit, and took some really cool photos of some hay bales on the top of a hill!

The road is wider than the other one so it’s an easier drive. It is also busier but I still only met two other cars. Most of the fields have been transformed into vineyards over the last few years, since the creation of the Montecucco DOC wine region.It’s very beautiful, especially the part which overlooks the Castle of Casenovole and Monte Amiata.

I then turned left to take the road that goes down to the ancient Ardengheschi Abbey and finally leads back to the village passing by the old village fountains.

A perfect way to spend a Sunday morning in Tuscany!

Here is a photogallery with 62 photos I took this morning. To see them in a larger size, please click on the box with an arrow symbol in the bottom right corner of the gallery. Thank you. They are also available on Flickr.

This itinerary (avoiding the highway) is also perfect for expert cyclists and for horseback rides and walkers.

No, you haven’t got all your history wrong… the Egyptians were never actually in Pisa, but, in a way, the city has had a special relationship with Egypt since the early 19th century. That’s when a young University professor (yes, 190 years ago you could actually become a full tenure professor of the University of Pisa at 24…) called Ippolito Rosellini left Pisa to go on a 16 month expedition to Egypt with Jean-François Champollion, the scholar who had recently deciphered the Rosetta Stone. They (and 12 other people) joined the so-called Franco-Italian expedition to Egypt funded by Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and by King Charles X of France and traveled along the river Nile for 16 months in 1828 and 1829.

They brought back from this expedition a very large number of artifacts, drawings and manuscripts, 200 of which have been chosen to be exhibited at Palazzo Blu. They are normally part of collections preserved at the University of Pisa and at the Egyptian Museum of Florence and seeing them all together there, at that incredible location and within that installation was just incredible.

The exhibition will close on July 25: I don’t know why I waited so long to go. The perfect excuse was that our nephew Alessandro is spending the week with his other aunt and uncle who also live near Pisa, so this morning we took him there.

I am not sure if he enjoyed it, but Giovanna and I certainly did! The exhibition is nothing like the usual boring stuff you would normally expect in an Italian museum. Not at all.

They have recreated the shape of the river Nile on the floor, and on the walls, panels tell you where you are supposed to be at every step of your own very personal expedition to Egypt, and, for every place Rosellini visited and sketched, drawings and objects are on display. The drawings are incredibly beautiful, in their bright colours. And the quotes from Rosellini’s diary printed on large boards all along the “path” add a lot to the experience.

Whomever has worked to implement the exhibition has really done a great job in recreating the atmosphere and the sense of discovery and amazement that those scholars and explorers must have experienced in uncovering such incredible treasures, also considering that they could actually understand the hieroglyph inscriptions for the first time.

A nice video is projected on a screen placed under a camp tent similar to what is supposed to have been in use back then. A really, really interesting exhibition. I couldn’t take many photos as in theory it was not allowed I guess… but I took a couple anyway, with no flash of course. A few pictures can be seen here, on the official website, in the “multimedia” section: http://www.mostraegittopisa.it/

I also learnt something new about the University: after the expedition, the first course of Egyptology was created exactly here in Pisa for Rosellini, and the archaeology department is still one of the best in the country, and possibly in the world.

We also took advantage of the fact that the entrance ticket (8.50 for the adults and 6.50 for the kids) gives visitors the right to visit the permanent collection so we went up to the first floor of the Palazzo where some rooms have been brought back to their original splendour with original furnishing and lots of paintings hanging from the walls. It is really a beautiful place, which gives a good idea of the lifestyle of noble people in the 18th and 19th century.

Palazzo Blu will host another fabulous exhibition in the fall devoted to Mirò. I won’t wait until the very last minute next time. Actually I cannot wait to go back.

There is also a specialized book store selling art catalogues and art books, with titles that are normally difficult to find elsewhere.

I am still working on the itinerary for the Canadian crew which is supposed to come film lavender fields and olive groves on Sunday. I have to say that this has been a really interesting experience because I have had a chance to look at the area of Tuscany where we live with different eyes and I have found out that… as a matter of fact… there are a few farms actually growing and processing lavender!

I have always told our guests that lavender is used in gardens but not as a proper cultivation as in Provence, but looking for places to film I have discovered that over the last few years several farmers have started cultivating lavender.

Today I have visited another of these farms, and beside the stunning location on the top of a hill overlooking on one side the plains of the Maremma down to the coast and on the other the Val d’Orcia hills and the Monte Amiata, this is what I have learnt:

• lavender is a plant that doesn’t need much work, except for keeping the fields clean. It doesn’t need to be watered, quite the opposite: it dies if the soil is too humid.
• it is in bloom in early to mid July.
• it is used to make many products such as lavender extract, body creams, detergents and soaps. It is also used dried as a perfume for wardrobes and underwear.
• bees love it, so it’s the ideal setting for beehives where an excellent honey is produced (I was given a jar!)
• apparently my dog loves it too… she must have sniffed every single bush!!!
• there are different types of lavender, that differ in the shape of the leaves and flowers but also in their colour (more or less purple/bluish) and smell.
• in the Maremma there is a variety of wild lavender that grows spontaneously: people who decide to grow lavender look for the presence of spontaneous plants before planting the “domestic” variety to see if the terrain is potentially good.
• selling lavender and lavender products in Italy is very difficult. Apparently the larger factories who make lavender-based products don’t buy flowers from the local producers. Only 10% of what they need comes from Italian lavender farms and the rest is imported. However since the transformation is carried out in Italy, they still have the right to say that their products are made in Italy…

If you want to discover how lavender is grown and processed in Tuscany, contact us! We can arrange half day and full day visits to several lavender farms!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a Canadian TV crew that is coming to Tuscany to film a documentary.  They are interested in lavender and olive groves in our area. I was thrilled that they had contacted me because I see this as a great opportunity to give our area a bit of visibility and to show that Tuscany is not synonymous with the area of Siena and Florence.

So I’ve been working with them and with some local farms to define the schedule of their brief visit. It takes a lot of work to find the best way to fit their schedule (they only have 4 hours) and choose what to include and what to exclude. When a destination is your home, you want for people to see everything and possibly appreciate it as much as you do, but of course, I do understand that this is not possible.

My task is to plan a visit to a lavender farm, to an olive oil producer’s farm and to arrange for activities that can exemplify what the locals do with lavender and how olive oil is produced. It is a cool thing, but it is also a great responsibility because I am not sure what sort of expectations they come with…

Olive groves are not a problem: the Upper Maremma is famous for its olive oil and in my village area in particular, olive groves are the main source of income. The local olive press is renowned and appreciated and there are several excellent producers which make and sell excellent quality olive oil.

Lavender, though, for some reason is something that people expect to find everywhere in Tuscany, but the way lavender is used here is nothing like what you would find in Provence, in France. People use it in their gardens, as a decorative plant, but very few farms grow lavender extensively these days. For this reason, when our guests ask us where they can find a lavender farm to visit we always try to explain that there are a few local producers but they will not see the large fields they might have imagined. Who knows what these Canadian documentarists expect to find…

Anyway, today we went to talk with the local producers to see the fields and decide what we will do. They were very nice and helpful. The fields will be in blossom when the Canadians arrive so they should be very pretty. They will be shown how lavender body cream, oil, soap and other products are made. These farmers still use the same instruments that people used many years ago, when lavender was used to scent laundry and for personal hygiene. That’s because lavender is not in high demand and for this reason the products are still handcrafted for the most part.

I guess this is the main reason to visit a lavender farm in Tuscany: a perfect opportunity to see how small, local farms process lavender in the same way as our ancestors did centuries ago. And of course, because it is the perfect excuse to spend a few hours in the beautiful countryside!

The Gioco del Ponte 2010 will be next Saturday (June 26).  Literally “the game of the bridge”, it is a real “battle” on the bridge which divides the center in two halves: Ponte di Mezzo. There are two equally important parts to this event: the parade in period costume and the “battle” itself.

The historical pageant is really, really impressive. It is supposed to reproduce a military parade so an “army” of over 300 people in historical costumes parades through the center. It’s well worth a daytrip to Pisa if you are in the area. This year the parade will start later than usual at 7:30 pm.

The game starts at 9pm. 12 teams representing each of quartieri (neighbourhoods) of the city are joined in two larger teams: Tramontana, made up of the quartieri on the north side of the river Arno (Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Michele, Mattaccini, Claci and Satiri) and Mezzogiorno (Sant’Antonio, San Martino, San Marco, Leoni, Dragoni, Delfini) from the southern side of the city. Before the actual “battle”, the different teams parade on their own side of the river. A third parade is that of the 81 judges. After this display, the “battle” begins and the teams made up of really large men challenge each other by trying to push a very heavy cart onto each other’s side of the bridge using only the backs of their necks. It’s quite impressive.

This year, there will also be two large TV screens (one in Piazza della Berlina and one in front of Palazzo Blu) to allow more people to see what is going on on the bridge without the usual crowds on the Lungarno. A hot air baloon above Ponte di Mezzo will light up the river in the area where the game takes place with the colours of the team who is winning.

The cart was installed on Ponte di Mezzo yesterday. Everybody was working hard to have everything ready for tomorrow, because this year, Pisa has decided to go back to the old traditions and have a “veglia” as well. The city will be awaiting her big day with a party on the river banks at Scalo dei Renaioli, Lungarno Galilei, on the day before the event (that’s what “veglia” means in Italian),

Friday June 25. Slow Food and Argini e Margini offer a selection of local products of the Pisa province and the entrance fee is 17 euros.

Exciting novelties, although I am not so sure whether having the game so late in the evening is a good idea or if some of the people who would have come from outside the city by public transportation will come anyway this year. We will see! In the meanwhile… Forza Mezzogiorno!!!!

Interesting resources on Gioco del Ponte:

• Gioco del Ponte, Pisa – from the official Pisa tourism website.
• A video of Gioco del Ponte.

Traditionally, the word aperitivo used to indicate a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) served before a meal. It has always been common for Italians, at least here in Tuscany, to meet at a bar before going out to dinner with friends. Typically, if we have plans to go to dinner with a group of friends, nobody goes to the restaurant and sits down inside until everybody has showed up, something which used to drive my Canadian husband crazy! He was not used to standing around waiting for the usual late friend before being able to grab a drink! But what one would consider to be “late” in Italy, as most people know, is a very flexible concept!

Up until not long ago, the most popular apéritif drinks were Campari and Cinzano. Then prosecco, a dry sparkling wine similar to French Champagne, took its place.  Soon, essentially any cocktail became available as an aperitivo, some of which, such as Negroni, are strong purely alcoholic drinks.

Italians, at least up until to my generation, were not heavy drinkers. Drunkenness was a social taboo, and most people would not drink at all, with the exception of a glass of wine with their meal. For this reason non-alcoholic drinks and cocktails have always been quite popular. For those who were brave enough to venture an alcoholic drink on an empty stomach, bars started to provide something for people to nibble on while drinking. It was mainly very simple snacks such as chips, salatini (variously shaped and flavoured crackers), olives, and capers.

Little by little, the aperitivo became a fashionable thing to do, rather than just a way to kill time before dinner. Now, to go out for an aperitivo means to go to a bar where you order and pay for a drink and help yourself to a rich buffet of finger foods, pasta or rice salads, vegetable salads, cured meats, pizzette, and other more elaborate dishes for free. The drink might be slightly more expensive than it would be in a bar that does traditional apéritif (with no buffet), but the difference is minimal and sometimes the price is exactly the same. Aperitivo is usually served between 7 pm and 8.30 pm. If you go to a very popular bar, you might not find a table to sit at: but that’s normal. Most people just stand around as they would at a cocktail party.

Aperitivo has become very popular in Tuscany, especially in the larger centers. My favourite places for an aperitivo in Pisa are:

• Modus Bibendi: a very stylish wine bar, with a great interior design. It’s in Via Cavalca, just a few steps away from the vegetable market of Piazza delle Vettovaglie.
• Argini e Margini: a recently opened bar on the river bank (Lungarno Galileo – Scalo dei Renaioli), with tables on a deck by the river and a floating restaurant serving seafood. They have a stand which serves fried seafood for as little as 4 euros a portion. They often have live music. A really nice spot in town and perfect for the hot summer evenings.
• Caffetteria delle Vettovaglie: one of the first bars to offer aperitivo. It is very popular. It has tables in Piazza delle Vettovaglie itself: a really nice spot.

There are many more for sure, but these are the ones I’ve tried so far.

In Grosseto I’ve been to Bar Siracusa in Via Matteotti (it’s ok), and Bar Dribbling in Via Ximenes. I’ve heard it’s become too crowded now. I’ve also heard of a new bar in Piazza Volturno, Bar Cristall, but I don’t think that it’s my kind of place (I like informal, relaxed places rather than trendy places).

In Siena I have been several times to a bar in Via di Vallerozzi, only a few steps away from Porta Ovile, called Caffè La Piazzetta.

As you can guess, I love aperitivo. Here are my top 5 reasons to choose an aperitivo over a seated dinner:

• It’s at the perfect time in the evening. I often don’t have the strength to go back home after work and go out again and maybe stay up late. This way I can just stay out a little longer, and by 9 pm I’m home.
• It’s inexpensive. Unless you plan on drinking like a fish, you can really have a full meal with as little as 5 euros.
• It’s fun. I like the selection of different finger foods, some of which are really creative. Often there is live music, so it is almost like being at a party.
• It’s informal. No need to spend much time sitting down. You can stand outside, you can walk around, take it easy.
• It can be social. It’s the perfect place to mix and mingle and make new friends.

Did I mention that it is very inexpensive…?

You can feel it in the air: the people walk faster; the students hasten out of the University buildings in a festive way; small groups of people everywhere are working out the last details for tonight’s house parties.

The street vendors are putting up their stalls for the market in the streets of the center; sandwich trucks are preparing their display of focacce, sweets, sugar candies shaped as fruit, and of course the most prominent sign of a festive day about to break out: the unfailing presence of full-size porchette!

Almost every bar opened later than usual this morning and by 3pm had already installed a draught beer system outside their door to serve drinks to the hundreds of people who, in a few hours, will fill the Lungarni and the streets of the center.

The city is alive and ready to celebrate the two most important days of the year: La Luminara and San Ranieri, the city’s Patron Saint’s Day.

It’s funny how you can feel the city getting ready. You can even smell it. I was walking to work this morning and I wandered through some minor streets in between the old buildings of the city. I was suddenly hit by a strong smell of soffritto and suddenly remembered the atmosphere of the many mornings before the various Luminare that I saw when I was a student. We would go to class or study until lunchtime and then we would all be on holiday. I used to live with 3 other students and our apartment, a large, old apartment near Pisa’s high street, was the gathering place for all our friends. We would have a dinner party before going out to the Lungarni and mix with the crowds before the fireworks.

The night itself was fun, but it is what Pisa becomes late at night that I will never forget. After the fireworks we would go from pub to pub; we would dance in the streets and squares where concerts had been organized (I saw one of my first Bandabardò concerts at La Sapienza, the faculty of Law, on June 16th 1995!); we would wait for the crowds to leave the city to have the Lungarni all to ourselves. The city is wonderful around 2am, when the breeze is cool, the streets are emptying out and the flames in the glass lumini are still quivering  before the candles go out. It is the memory of those first Luminare which makes the wait for any new one an exciting time.

This year, the rain threatened the “festa”, but after two dreadful days of bad weather, the sun is finally out and the people who light the candles have already been at work for a few hours. They place the “lumini” in the candle holders on the white frames on the facades of the building and called “biancheria“.  105,000 candles will be lit tonight and people will be invited to vote to choose the most beautiful building of the Lungarno. I think Palazzo Blu will win this year: they have stunning Egyptian-style decorations to celebrate the current exhibition on Rosellini’s expedition to Egypt.

Tonight the museums will be opened at night: guided tours will be given of Palazzo Reale. The fireworks will be launched from two spots tonight: from the Tower of the Cittadella as always, and from Le Piagge. Among the interesting events organized, I find the exhibition organized by the retirement home on the Lungarno and dedicated to Keith Haring very interesting. I saw the nurses prepare everything while walking back home: it’s great to think that the elderly people who live there have taken an interest in the event and have come up with such a lovely idea.

The boat with the pole that marks the finishing line of the Regatta of San Ranieri is already in place, ready for tomorrow.

I know that lovely Kathy McCabe Editor of the Dream of Italy Travel Newsletter will be in Pisa for the Luminara tonight: I hope she will enjoy her stay and that she will write a great report of her night out in the city when she gets back!

Today was the first Sunday in a long time that we didn’t spend the whole day fixing Casina di Rosa. We are finally done with the renovations and we can finally get back to our lives! We took advantage of this “freedom” by going on a daytrip to San Galgano Abbey with Marcel’s family. A friend who manages a lovely wine bar in the woods right by the monastery of Montesiepi, Salendo Wine Bar, had invited us to an art exhibit which closed today and we kept postponing the visit because we were too busy. Anyway, today we packed the family in two cars and left from the beautiful village of Pari around noon, in time for a perfect lunch under the tall trees in the garden of Salendo. It was very peaceful (well… at least until we got out of the car with the four kids we had with us!), and the shade and the breeze there made for a nice change from the hot and humid weather we left behind.

Salendo mostly serves typical products of local producers and local wines to go with the dishes they offer. They serve hot dishes too but their specialties are crostoni with different toppings (I had an amazing crostone with cheese and pears), selections of cured meats, samples of cheeses and different types of honey and jam that go well with them, and sandwiches. The wild boar bresaola on my nephew Alessandro’s plate looked delicious, I’ll tell you that! They match every dish with the perfect wine, mostly by minor but excellent producers.

We took it easy and enjoyed the meal in the peaceful shade while the kids were fighting over the use of a hammock and then we went to see the installation in the garden under the pine trees. The setting is very pretty, with the Monastery of Montesiepi in the background.

The exhibit was called “Fra Cielo e Terra” (literally, “between the sky and the earth”) and it consisted of 10 iron sculptures representing 10 warriors protecting San Galgano Abbey. The iron sculptures by the Scarì brothers served as support for the works of two other artists: the beautiful glass works of art by Laura Pesce and Felice Nittolo’s  mosaics.

The event was managed by Krene, a design agency. It was supposed to be the preview for a larger exhibit to be installed inside the Abbey of San Galgano in 2011, but apparently the people in charge of the events hosted there don’t think the place is suitable for such an event, which, believe me, is quite silly and their loss.

We then took a walk to the Monastery of Montesiepi, which is just few steps away from Salendo. This hermitage is not very well-known, and yet it houses one of the milestones of European mythology: a sword in the stone. The sword is said to have belonged to San Galgano, who drove it into the rock when he gave up his sinful life to become a hermit. The monastery of Montesiepi was built at the end of the 12th century as a mausoleum for the saint, who is buried in the church. The church has a very peculiar shape, it is built as a rotunda and historians hypothesize that it was inspired by Castel Sant’Angelo, the Pantheon in Rome or even an Etruscan tomb as the many ones visible in Volterra, the town that once controlled this area. The church was enlarged in the 14th century with the construction of a chapel with frescoes by the Sienese painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti. This chapel houses the hands of two evil men who, the legend says, were sent by the devil to temp the saint, and who were attacked by wolves that came out of the woods to protect Galgano.

Over the centuries the sword in the stone and its legend have fascinated visitors from around the world. The many resemblances to the tales of the Arthurian cycle are striking. In his book The Enigma of San Galgano, the writer Mario Moiraghi claims that the story of Excalibur originated in Tuscany and not in the Celtic fringes of Britain or in France as many believe and that it was added to the legend of King Arthur later on. Moiraghi supports his hypothesis with scientific tests which date the sword embedded in the rock in an abbey in Tuscany to the year 1180, years before the first attested literary reference to the sword in the Arthurian Cycle. The author also stresses how the inquiry which led to the canonisation of Sir Galgano contains a series of facts identical to the legend of Sir Percival, the finder of the Holy Grail. You can read more about his hypothesis on the website of Casa Gigliola, a vacation rental near San Galgano Abbey and in this article on the BBC New website.

We then descended to the most famous monument of this complex: the roofless Abbey of San Galgano. The ruins of this Gothic cathedral in the Tuscan countryside never cease to amaze me. It is so beautiful! The abbey houses the Opera Festival in the summer: believe me, there are few places that can make for such an impressive setting for operas and concerts. Here is the program of the events for this season of the Opera Festival in San Galgano. This year, it includes Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, Vivaldi’s Le Stagioni, and Carmina Burana.

A great daytrip, especially if you are travelling with kids or if you like walking. There is a path that leads from the abbey to the monastery and a longer path that leads to the nearby village of Monticiano.

Yesterday, after a long day of work, we went to a new bar that has just opened right on the river bank in Pisa: Argini e Margini. To get to the bar you need to go down to a small sandy beach by the river Arno. The walk provides a very unusual perspective on the buildings of the Lungarno and the atmosphere is really cool. It is a “different Pisa”, in a way.

Argini e Margini consists of two small stalls with tables – a bar and a small booth where they fry seafood (squid and shrimp) -  and a floating seafood restaurant.

You can sit wherever you find a spot: we sat next to two perfect strangers, so it might be a good way to make new friends!

They serve aperitivo: you buy a drink and you can help yourself at the fingerfood buffet. Truth be told, there is not much to eat compared to other places in the city, mostly dipping sauces and bread, but the fried-food stall sells really good fried seafood!

The bar serves wine, beer and cocktails. Actually, I found out that my allergy pills and mojitos don’t go well together… and so I “had to” eat two servings of fried fish and vegetables to avoid getting too drunk! What a sacrifice!!!

The place is not expensive, and the crowd is very laid-back. Yesterday there was an exhibition (Firehouse Rock Poster Expo) and music. At the weekend they have live jazz concerts too. I think I have found my favourite spot in Pisa to hang out in the warm summer evenings!

And I would like to stress once again that Pisa at night is really beautiful, and fun. There are so many new locales, pubs, events and exhibitions! Spending only a few hours in the city and then leaving to go to Florence or elsewhere is “a sin“!

June is definitely the best month to be in town. Pisa celebrates its “Giugno Pisano” with a number of events, including the major ones: La Luminara on June 16th, Palio di San Ranieri on June 17th and Gioco del Ponte on the last weekend of the month. All around these three major dates, the city organizes a number of minor events which are just as interesting.

Photo by Fabiogis50

The official program is only available in Italian, and it can be downloaded in pdf format here. Of all the things organized, I recommend you…

• …go for an aperitivo to the two little bars opened for the occasion right on the riverbanks along the Arno: Argini and Margini and Arno Vivo. The former organizes live jazz concerts every Friday and Saturday night. Last year they served fish and chips too! The latter is more “disco-oriented”!
• …take advantage of “Degustando Pisa” (literally, tasting Pisa) and try local products in the restaurants which participate in the event.
• …visit the churches of Pisa at night. Every Thursday in June (3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th) some churches are open to the public at night. We stumbled upon the Church of San Pietro in Vinculis the other night and it took my breath away! I had never visited the church of “San Pierino” as it’s called by the locals, because it was closed for a long time. It is incredible. And at night, lit for the occasion, it was really, really beautiful. I had no idea. Next Thursday I want to go to the other churches opened at night: the Church of San Martino, the Church of Santa Cristina (where St. Catherine of Siena received the stigmata), and the Church of San Sepolcro (a church built by the Templars in a very unusual and mysterious hexagonal shape).

• …visit the gardens of Pisa on Saturday 5th or 12th with the Associazione Arcadia. The meeting point is Piazzetta del Rosso at 5 p.m. The tour lasts 3 hours.
• …go on a free tour of the churches of the city organized by the tourist guide association of Pisa on Thursday June 10th and 24th. Starting at 9 pm.
• …knit under the Leaning Tower! Celebrate World Knitting Day with the local association! Knitting meeting on Saturday June 13th, from 5:30pm to 8:30 pm in Piazza dei Miracoli!
• …vote for the most beautifully decorated building on the Lungarno on the day of the Luminara and of course, enjoy the fire-works! On June 16th, from 9pm.
• …see the parade and the regatta of the Palio di San Ranieri on June 17th at 7 pm.
• …take a boat tour of the city on the river Arno and see the exhibition dedicated to the expedition to Egypt of the local archaeologist Rosellini. Meeting point: Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d’Arno at 10 a.m. on June 19th, boat tour and visit of the exhibition at Palazzo Blu.
• …travel back in time participating at the “Gran Ballo Risorgimentale” at Giardino Scotto on June 19th at 6:30 pm. You could meet your prince charming!!!
• …enjoy the concert of the University Choir at the Church of Santo Stefano on June 19th at 9:15 pm.
• …enjoy the “operetta” in the medieval heart of the city: Follie di Operette in Piazza S. Omobono, at 10 pm. on Sunday June 20th.
• …wait for the Gioco del Ponte with the locals on Friday 25th at Argini and Margini, from 6 pm to midnight. The dinner will be made with local organic products.
• …see the parade in historical costumes and the Gioco del Ponte on Ponte di Mezzo, Saturday 26th from 5 pm.
• …see a concert at the beautiful Basilica di San Piero a Grado or in the courtyard of the Church of San Francesco at 9pm on June 26th.
• …see a cross-bow competition in Piazza dei Cavalieri, on Sunday 27th at 6pm.
• …take advantage of the inauguration of the recently renovated Logge dei Banchi to actually enter them (they are part of city hall and it is generally not possible to visit the rooms above the Logge). Palazzo Gambacorti at 6pm, on June 30th. And then participate in the party organized under the Logge!

And don’t forget to walk around the center after dark: Pisa is really, really pretty at night!