FREE CONCERTS IN MONTALCINO

Sant'Agostingo church and Montalcino's museum: the ex-convent of the monastery

Sant'Agostino Church: it's ex - monastery is Montalcino's museum

Montalcino has it all - world class wines, a great event and festival calendar and medieval hill top villages with stunning views. The downside to all this bliss? Prices are steep. Brunello wines (and all that comes with them) don't come for free. So no wonder that locals and tourists alike will perk up if they hear about a free event in Tuscany, even more if it happens in Brunello town.

This summer Montalcino's Pro Loco (literally 'for the place', ie the tourist office) organizes free classical concerts in town. The next two dates are Friday, July 6 and Sunday, August 5. The concerts start at 9.30pm and take place in the beautiful cloister of Montalcino's ex convent Sant'Agostino and now museum. The program can be found on Montalcino's tourist office website: Free live concerts in Montalcino - 2012.

The concert in July is part of the fantastic "Le Notti dell' Archeologia" - cycle, a festival that offers free night time museum visits and special events all through Tuscany in the months of July and August.

In the same context it's worth to remember that the concerts of the Jazz and Wine festival are not for free but great value for money! The tickets at Montalcino's fortress cost from 10 to maximum 15 Euro (depending on event), thanks to the generous sponsoring of co-organizer Castello Banfi winery. So you better have a look at the great program: Montalcino Jazz & Wine 2012.

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 m...

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

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