MOTALCINO VILLAGE FESTIVAL: THE OPENING OF THE HUNTING SEASON AUGUST 2013

As every year the depleting August heat is made more bearable by a village festival in Montalcino. L'Apertura delle Cacce (the opening of the hunting season) is celebrated on August 10 and 11, 2013 with folk music, archery contests and a pageantry parade.

Program of Montalcino village festival, august 2013

Opening of the Hunting Season, program August 2013

SATURDAY, AUGUST 10

11.00 Folk music and dances in Piazza del Popolo
12.00 Drawing of the archers from the four city districts
17.45 Parade from piazza Cavour to Montalcino's fortress
18.30 Archery trial run on the football field (next to the fortress)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11
17.15 Medieval parade from Piazza Cavour to Montalcino's fortress
17.45 Benediction of the archers in front of the Sant'Egidio church
18.30 Archery competition between Montalcino's four neighborhoods on the football field

More information via Montalcino's tourist office.

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

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