Events

Among the cultural and musical events not to be missed, we suggest:

Castellina Marittima (PI)

• The Musica Wiva festival (in August), which, with the years has become an important showcase for many emerging bands
• The festival of Simple and Poor food, with gourmet dishes, based on ancient, traditional recipes, also in August

Castiglioncello (LI)

• Inequilibrio Festival - Festival di Castiglioncello (summer) with high level national and international dance performances, new productions of contemporary dance, experiments, besides the big summer event (in August) with the presence of the choreographer Micha Wan Hoche and his ensemble
• The Prize "Castiglioncello - Costa degli Etruschi" with the literary section (in September) and the philosophical section in February

Bolgheri (LI)

• The Bolgheri Melody is an event with great music, plays and dance shows. It is an original cultural and entertaining moment in a unique scenery from the historical, environmental and architectural points of view. (in July and August).

Volterra (LI)

• Medieval festival. Volterra recreates the atmosphere of the year 1398 with historical representations displaying merchants, artisans, musicians, jugglers, commoners and nobles: a unique chance to revive the atmosphere of the Middle Age in Tuscany. It is possible to take part in the following ravishing shows and events:
  • "Il Corteo dei nobili" (the procession of the nobles) and "Il Tiro del Cero tra Contrade" (the throw of the candle among the town districts)
  • Plays, duels, archery and banquets
  • The "Ludus Balistris", a crossbow tournament (at night)
  • "La Giornata di festa nell'A.D.1398", a real festive day as it was in the 1398, with celebrations from dawn to dusk

Massa Marittima (GR)

• "Lirica in Piazza" in Massa Marittima. Every summer in August, the marriage between Massa Marittima with the evocative beauty of its squares, and the theatre, with the skills and the talent of the interpreters is renovated with
• Balestro del Girifalco. It is the celebration of the ancient habit of the exercises the boys of Massa had to undertake, when they practised the crossbow. The show takes place at the Duomo twice a year: in May and in August. Before the beginning of the contest there is a parade with over 150 walk-ons in medieval costumes. 8 crossbowers take part in the show for each of the 3 town districts (Cittanuova, Cittavecchia and Borgo) in which the town is divided since 1225 (when the municipality was born). From their emplacement the crossbowers must hit a target called "corniolo", with the shape of a truncated cone and a diameter of only 12 cm. The crossbower who comes closer to the target gets a gold fleece, while his district obtains the traditional silk cloth

Lucca (LU)

• Lucca Summer Festival. The biggest and most important festival in Tuscany, the Lucca Summer Festival, takes place every year in the centre of the town of Lucca, at Piazza Napoleone and boasts the presence of the most important national and international artists of the musical scene. It starts at the end of June and ends at the end of July

Pistoia (PT)

• Pistoia Blues. The first edition of the Pistoia Blues festival dates back to 1980 and since then it takes place every July featuring blues and rock music performances. The most important artists have gone on the stage from the beginning to recent times: Dizzie Gillespie, John Lee Hooker, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Blues Brothers, Santana, Bob Dylan, Deep Purple, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, John Lee Hooker, David Bowie and many other

Other important events

• During the summer, between July and August, the "Effetto Venezia" event usually takes place in Livorno (Leghorn). The festival takes place in the district of Venezia Nuova (New Venice, for the presence of waterways connected to the sea), where stalls selling handicrafts are lined along the canals, and shows and cultural events entertain the tourists
• Every second Sunday of June in Leghorn the Coppa Risiatori (Risiatori Cup) takes place, from the Torre Meloria (Meloria Tower) to the Medicean port. It is a boat competition with the "gozzi", typical wooden boats
• On the second Sunday of July in Leghorn, the Palio marinaro (a boat competition) takes place in the expanse of sea facing the Terrazza Mascagni
• On the last Sunday of July, in Piombino there is the traditional Fish festival. The fresh fish is fried in a huge pan
• On the 22nd and 23rd of the same month, the Bonfire of San Giovanni occurs and around the town plays with actors wearing ancient costumes are set up.
• On the 15th of August, the feast of the Assumption, in Cecina the Feast of the Virgin of the Sea occurs, consisting of a procession to Cecina Mare and fireworks
• On the 14th of August, in Suvereto the Palio of the Emperor is organized. It is a competition where the participants, organized in teams called "spingitori" (pushers) push a wine cask along the streets of the old town centre

Typical products

Wine

Tuscany is surely one of the most important areas in the world for producing wine.

Among Tuscan red wines we find Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, produced mainly with Sangiovese grapes, while among white wines we mention Vernaccia di San Gimignano, obtained from the vines bearing the same name.

Tuscany best represents Italian wine production. The cultivation of vines is mainly spread on hilly and mountainous soil, which because of the favourable climate and the good quality of the land is more suitable, and less frequently on the plains.

The wine-growing areas are the Chianti area and the Chianti Colline Pisane DOCG, in central Tuscany; the Mugello area in the North; the Val di Chiana in the South and the coastal zone. The constant tendency to specialize witnesses the importance of wine-growing in Tuscany, which is third in Italy for the production of D.O.C. (designation of origin) wines

The most widespread vine in Tuscany is Sangiovese, which is present in all DOC wines, often mixed with Trebbiano, Canaiolo or Malvasia Toscana. Besides the most famous Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, today there are very important areas like Bolgheri, which is renowned for its Cabernet (Sassicaia) and Merlot grapes, or the Maremma around Grosseto which offers the Morellino di Scansano and other types of vines suitable to produce DOC wines.

Among the red wines, Chianti is produced in eight different areas covering a huge part of central Tuscany, around the original area of Chianti Classico production. Brunello di Montalcino, perhaps one of the most renowned Tuscan wines in the world, is produced in a very small area. From the grapes of red Sangiovese, a wine with a rich body is obtained, which can age for a very long time, and develops high quality aromas over time.

In the same area also less precious wines are produced: with the same grapes used for producing Brunello Rosso di Montalcino is obtained. It is still a quality wine, but with a younger and fresher taste, while with moscato grapes the famous dessert wine Moscadello di Montalcino is made. There are also many good wines produced in the Sant'Antimo area.

The Nobile di Montepulciano obtained with a type of sangiovese called Prugnolo gentile, centuries ago was called "the king of the wines" by the poet Francesco Redi. Carmignano is maybe the first wine to obtain the designation of origin in Tuscany: already in 1716, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III De' Medici, limited its production area, giving the first example of wine with the designation of origin.

Until recently, Tuscany white wines did not have a high reputation, especially internationally, maybe because they were produced with vines wrongly considered low quality, such as Malvasia and Trebbiano.

Today things are changing. Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from Vernaccia, experienced a revival and became the first white wine with designation of origin of the region.

Il Vermentino spread on the hills along the coast becoming a very promising white wine. Recently, white wines have been produced with a beautiful bouquet using international vines, such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot blanc and Pinot gris, which found the ideal climate in the fresher areas on the hills.

How to forget the memorable Vin santo, pride of many producers in the region. It is obtained from Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes, in part dried in the sun and then left to decant in small oak barrels called Caratelli. Vin Santo can be an excellent dessert wine, but it may be also sipped as an aperitif.

Extra virgin olive oil

The production of oil in Tuscany goes back to ancient times and is known since the 7th century. From the olive grove to the oil mill and the bottling, oil in Tuscany is produced within the region, following high quality standards. It is produced everywhere in Tuscany, from Mugello to Costa degli Etruschi, in the Chianti area, in Valdelsa as well as in Val d'Orcia. Olives handpicking still is the main method followed for oil production: farmers, with the help of rakes, stairs and nets, remove olives from the plant. Pressing, that is the crushing phase to obtain a homogeneous paste, is traditionally carried out by using granite presses which while rotating apply pressure to olive paste and separate the liquid oil from the solid part.

Cheese

Tuscany offers a wide variety of dairy products. Tuscan cheese is manufactured with the milk of local pastures, with ancient techniques and production processes passed on for generations. There are at least twenty different varieties of high quality cheese, ten of which really excellent, which go very well together with the best red wines produced in Tuscany: Brunello and Chianti.

Depending on the different areas, it is possible to find traditional products, such as goats' milk cheese from Capraia or Caprino cheese of Alta Maremma and Mugello. Among the varieties of cheese of long-standing tradition, the Pecorino Toscano Dop stands out, which can be obtained from sheep's milk. Pecorino (or sheep milk) cheese, in Tuscany, and further South, is not called cheese, but cacio. The production areas of cacio are Cortona, Barga, Pietrasanta, Maremma, Casentino, Valdichiana, Chianti, Crete Senesi or Lucardo (Marzolino di Lucardo). The Pecorino cheese produced in the Crete Senesi was appreciated already in the fifteenth century (it was the favorite cheese of Pope Pio II).

Among the most celebrated types of cheese there is the Grande Vecchio from Montefollonico; the Marzolino del Chianti, quite strong and left to age one whole year, is a real rarity because its production is almost over. Many varieties of sheep milk cheese are popular, for example pecorino from Garfagnana, from Pienza, or from the Siena hills. Equally tasty are the Ricotta di Pecora Pistoiese (sheep milk ricotta cheese from Pistoia) or Brusco, an aged cheese from the same area. Around Grosseto the Guttus is a real treat, a kind of gorgonzola cheese made with sheep milk.

Cured pork meats

Caratterizzata da una grande varietà territoriale e da una natura ricca di profumi, la Toscana è una regione fiera delle sue antiche tradizioni anche nel settore dei Salumi.

Ancora oggi, le famiglie dei ceti medio e basso, anche se vivono in città, verso la fine di Novembre e i primi di Dicembre si recano presso contadini, conoscenti o parenti per ravversare il maiale secondo la tradizione. Il maiale viene macellato per avere una scorta di viveri per tutto l'inverno e parte della primavera. Questo perché in Toscana, come in molte altre parti del paese, le carni selezionate e trattate con sale pepe e altre spezie vengono conservate appese ad un gancio in ambienti freschi ed asciutti.

Numerosa la varietà dei salumi prodotti in Toscana, solo per citarne alcuni: il Prosciutto Toscano DOP e il Salame Toscano. Nel Chianti si prepara la Finocchiona e il Finto Tonno, in Garfagnana sono di casa il Biroldo e il prosciutto Bazzone, nel senese ci sono le Salsicce allo zenzero e la Soppressata, nel Valdarno il Salamino, a Colonnata il Lardo, a San Miniato il Rigatino profumato con finocchio selvatico, a Prato la Mortadella. Numerosi sono anche i salumi preparati con animali allevati alla stato brado che si nutrono di ghiande e frutti, come il cinghiale.

Truffles and mushrooms

By truffles it is usually meant only the hypogeous fruiting body found with the help of dogs and picked manually. Truffles are very valuable and in great demand, therefore extremely expensive. The first information about truffles can be found in Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder. In the first century a.C., thanks to the Greek philosopher Plutarch from Chaeronea, the idea was that truffles were the combination of the action of water, heat and lightenings. Truffles are pretty rare, because their growth depends on the season and on the environment. Italy is one of the main producers and exporters of truffles in the world.

In Tuscany the most widespread type of truffles is the rarest one, white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico), white black truffle is less easily found (Tuber melanosporum Vitt.). There are also other varieties of truffles, such as the scorzone truffle, the tuber uncinatum and the whitish truffle.

White truffles may be as big as an apple and even more: some have been found weighing over 500 gr. They grow under oaks, beeches, poplars and willows. Their main areas of origin in Tuscany are: Casentino, the hills around San Miniato, Crete senesi, Mugello and Tiber Valley. Its harvesting period is different from whitish truffle (with which it is often confused); whitish truffle is harvested from mid-January to mid-April. Most commercially valuable black truffles, are usually found close to the roots of oaks, but also under poplars and hazels. They can be found in very limited quantities around Florence (Chianti and Mugello), around Siena and around Arezzo.

Tuscany is the first region in Italy for wood extension. Its landscape and vegetation are pretty varied, and it has a mild climate mitigated by the sea, therefore it is particularly good for the study and harvesting of mushrooms ; indeed it is possible to find still many. Among the many and commercially valuable species there is the royal agaric. A species which can be found mainly in the Abetone mountains (province of Pistoia), is the Dormientedella montagna pistoiese. The color of its cap ranges from whitish-greyish to greyish-brown. Anyway, the species which obtained the 'Igp recognition is a mushroom which can be found at the border between Tuscany and Emilia, namely the Fungo di Borgotaro e Albareto and Pontremoli. It comes in four varieties of the Boletus species. The most common mushrooms are ceps. The harvesting goes from May to the autumn, depending on the geographical area. Other varieties of mushrooms which can be found almost everywhere in Tuscany are field mushrooms and chanterelles. During the autumn woods in Tuscany are rich in Russulae and Lactaria. There are also Calocybe gambosae typical of springtime, Lepiota procera, red and white or purple Hygrophorous russula. Edible mushroom species are widespread above all in the Maremma around Grosseto between autumn and winter.