CLASSICAL MUSIC AT CASTELLO BANFI and CAVIAR in Montalcino

Castle and vineyard of the Castello Banfi winery at sunset

Castello Banfi at sunset

It's summer and Montalcino knows it. July is an incredible month when it comes to live events and concerts in small Brunello town.

This week the Melodia del Vino festival will be guest at the Castello Banfi winery with famous Russian violoncellist Alexander Kniazev. Tickets cost 23€ and include a wine tasting which will quite probably circle around Banfi Vintner's Brunello, Supertuscans and Banfi Brut (the winery's dry sparkling wine from Nothern Italy). Wine tasting starts at 7pm, concert around 8.30pm. Castello Banfi, Thursday July 5 - Melodia del Vino.

Earlier in the week you can dance off at Bar Le Logge (on Montalcino's main square opposite of Bar La Fiaschetteria). DJ set with music from the 90s and a rich buffet make for a promising evening. Bar Le Logge di Piazza - Wednesday July 4.

On Thursday the party goes on at Kaffeina, which has been taken on by a new owner, who's starting off with Caviar and Champagne. I'd say we are happy to welcome these new folks in town! KAFFEINA, via S. Saloni 35 - Thursday July 5.

To find out more about the two bars mentioned above, check out Map it Out's Restaurants in Montalcino page.

Later this month two more festivals are in town: Musica Reale (classical music with musicians of Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) and Jazz & Wine (some of the best in world jazz). So stay tuned!

SANT'ANTIMO ABBEY - TUSCANY'S ROMANESQUE TREASURE

Sant'Antimo abbey near Montalcino You don't have to be a catholic to remain spellbound by the eternal beauty of the Sant'Antimo abbey. The Tuscan church and monastery can turn a stubborn skeptic into a reborn spiritual. At least for the time of the visit.

SWIMMING, READING AND DINING IN BAGNO VIGNONI

Whilst the sell-out of tourist destination is a well known plague all through Italy, t here exists a tiny town in UNESCO Heritage Val d'Orcia which forgoes made in China souvenirs and just opened a bookshop instead. Bagno Vignoni is one of Tuscany's oldest tourist destinations. In fact the historic spa town has never been anything else than a tourist destination, and the ratio of inhabitants to visitors must always have been at least 1 to 10. Having looked after medieval pilgrims, ailing popes and saints ( St. Catherine of Siena used to live here for a while), Bagno Vignoni isn't tempted at all to put out plastic chairs or pizza takeaways for present day travelers. I used to live close to Bagno Vignoni and have fond memories of chasing my first -born around the town's main square which consists of a steaming hot water pool (a must-see sight for urban architects!). Our healthy mornings were usually finished off with a slice of fudge chocolate c

VAL D'ORCIA: A MAP OF THE UNESCO HERITAGE SITE

About 40 minutes south of Siena and a bit over an hour from the Tuscan coast, Val d'Orcia lies to the east of the Maremma and to the west of Montepulciano and Umbria. The UNESCO world heritage site is made up by the territories of Montalcino, San Quirico d'Orcia (with historic spa town Bagno Vignoni ) , Pienza, Castiglione d'Orcia and Radicofani. The Orcia river crosses two more municipalities (Castel del Piano and my hometown Cinigiano ), where it divides the province of Siena from the province of Grosseto (Tuscany's two southernmost areas) before flowing into the Ombrone river. View VAL D'ORCIA MAP in a larger map

Mapping MONTALCINO

Search This Blog