Mapping MONTALCINO

Splashed out your travel budget on bottles of Brunello? Montalcino's museum joins the European museum night and opens its doors for free. On Saturday night you can visit the museum in the former Sant'Agostino monastery for a low-budget stroll through the beautiful collection of Sienese and Renaissance tryptichs, wooden sculptures and the small but lovely archaeological section on the first floor MONTALCINO MUSEUM NIGHT 2014 Saturday May 17, 9 pm to 11 pm  -  Free entrance  For regular opening times and ticket prices read the info on the website of Montalcino's  tourist office .  Or read Siena - Map It Out for more free museum night options in Siena. 

Tuscany's most fascinating Romanesque abbey will for once not just be home to Gregorian chants, but also to the works for viola by Bach, Hindemith and Brahms. The compositions of the German composers will be interpreted by Bruno Giuranna. The Italian violist looks back on a highly successful career in which he collaborated with some of the world's foremost orchestras (the Berlin Philharmonic and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra) and with directors like Karajan, Abbado and Celibidache.  Italian pianist Roberto Arosio will accompany  Bruno G iuranna during his concert at Sant'Antimo abbey.  SANT'ANTIMO ABBEY, Castelnuovo Berardenga (10 minutes from Montalcino)  Sunday, August  25, 2013 - 6.30 pm Bruno Giuranna, viola Roberto Arosio, piano  Tickets 18 € (10 reduced).  Prepare for your visit at Sant'Antimo and read up onto the history of Brunello towns famous Romanesque church . 

Vineyards and olive groves: Castelnuovo dell'Abate seen from Sant'Antimo  Castelnuovo dell'Abate is one of Montalcino's beautiful small villages that most people only see from afar when visiting Sant'Antimo abbey.  It's time you took a closer look. The medieval village is alive and kicking and its inhabitants are proposing village feasts (in this case called Festa Campagnola) that are always fun to join.  CASTELNUOVO DELL'ABATE, SUNDAY, 12th of May - FESTA CAMPAGNOLA 9am opening of the food stalls (and remember it's totally acceptable to accompany your second breakfast with a glass of wine in Tuscany)  but make sure you leave some room for lunch at 12.30 pm at 4 pm dance it all off with the Ballo del Trescone (Montalcino's folk music group)  at 6 pm try and win a prosciutto, Pecorino cheese or Tuscan salami during the TOMBOLA GASTRONOMICA at 8 pm join everybody for dinner (better eat some more after all that wine) at 9.30 check wheth...

The Terre di Siena tourist office has put up a nice little activity for people travelling with kids. Bring along some felt colored pencils and have your youngsters fill in the silhouette of Sant'Antimo whilst you enjoy the Gregorian chants (or do it the other way round).  Your kids' version of Sant'Antimo will look much more interesting than this

What ever we rate in our family (books, legs, food, music, football players, films, wines), no person, no novel and no plate of homemade pasta ever receives the highest score. Not because of my critical Swiss genes, but because of my Tuscan native, who insists that 10 out of 10 is impossible to obtain. Okay, maybe Diego Maradona in his most stellar moments... but generally let's face it, we can't compete with the gods. However we look, and whatever we do or produce -  we're mere mortals, true perfection is beyond our means.  So imagine my surprise when I heard about a  Brunello di Montalcino Riserva   getting the highest rating possible . I guess the expert tasters of the Italian Espresso guide must have been flabbergasted themselves when scribbling down that 20 out of 20 on the score card of  Poggio di Sotto's Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2006 .  However, the tasting team's vote kind of confirmed our theory: the Espresso  Vini d'Italia 2...

Sant'Antimo abbey near Montalcino On the 14th of August Italian violinist Salvatore Accardo   and bassist Franco Petracchi will play works by Spohr, Rossini and Mendelssohn at Sant'Antimo abbey in Castelnuovo dell'Abate.  The concert is part of the Chigiana in Terre di Siena  summer concert series. The concerts start at 6.30pm but make sure you come early, so as to have time to explore Montalcino's beautiful Romanesque abbey  and Castelnuovo dell'Abate (the lovely town next to the monastery).  On the 24th of August another concert of the Chigiana in Terre di Siena will take place not too far from Montalcino in Monte Oliveto Maggiore . The benedictine monastery in the Tuscan hills  between Asciano and Buonconvento is a must see. The fresco cycle by Luca Signorelli and Sodoma and the beautiful landscape surrounding the abbey are a perfect background for the concert of David Geringas (cello) and Ian Fountain (piano). The duo will play work...

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. 

The Northern Italian SAT Choir  Spring is in the air and thanks god, fairs and concerts start to become more frequent in Montalcino and in the rest of Tuscany.