Author: Claudia

Roma Film Festival is coming in October

The sixth edition of the International Rome Film Festival will be held from October 27 to November 4, 2011, at Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica, the spectacular arts complex created by world-famous architect Renzo Piano.

Rome Film Festival starts in late October: so you have a plenty of time to book your flights and go Rome!

The event will  include international movie premiers, a fab competition, and lots of collateral events. So in the while you are going to see the Colosseo and Michelangelo’s painting in Sistina Chapel, or waving at the Pope from Piazza San Giovanni, maybe you will find sometimes also to enjoy a great film fest!

The festival will be occupying  five theatres – Santa Cecilia, Sinopoli, Petrassi, Teatro Studio, and Studio 3 – reserved for screenings and encounters, while the Foyer, Auditorium Arte, Spazio Risonanze and the Museo Archeologico will host an array of other events.
The Official Selection is the main  event and it is a meaningful gist of its artistic and stylistic identity. The selection will present a lineup of feature films both in competition and out of competition.

We have 4 section as a whole. As we can read from the guide to the events and to the selection: “Featured in Extra are world or European premiere documentaries in competition, a selection of cutting-edge, independent feature films, as well as encounters and cinema lessons. Alice nella città targets youth cinema and is divided into 2 sections depending on the age of the viewing public.”

The last one is Focus, an “eclectic cross-disciplinary section turns its spotlight on special features that the selected country has to offer, presenting different arts and genres from all over the world”. Great occasion to take a vacation, some days off and enjoing not only the eternal city, but also one of the most exciting film festival in Italy!

Glam, great movies and an international stars “river” will come and celebrate the magic of Rome. A great scenario in which pictuirng yourself and a cinema festival, isn’it?


Alba and The International Truffle Fair Edition 2011

The summer is coming to an end and everything is burning with the colour of the coming Fall! In Italy the sensational Autumn will open in the North with a luxury taste: in Piedmont if you travel there for a little gourmet holiday, The International Truffle Fair Edition 2011 will satisfied your wish and wait for you until your arrival!

Where? But in Alba! the town is  famous worldwide for its white truffles, and  the annual Truffle Festival is one of the greatest event for all the “buongustai” in Italy and abroad.

Getting there is not that easy, as Alba is accessible only by car: go on the Torino-Piacenza highway to Asti, and then follow signs for Alba.

Which is the programme? Firstly, on Sunday 25th September, Alba’s historical centre, that goes from Piazza Risorgimento to the end of the main street – Via Maestra- will open to a gorgeous wine festival: it will bring a taste of all wines the producers have to offer coming from both Langa and Roero regions.

From 8/10 to 13/11 on Saturday and Sunday at Palatartufo the fab  Alba White Truffle World Market is opening up! AlbaQualità will present also an exhibition of gourmet food and wine from Piedmont. Do not forget that if you come here the first Sunday of October is traditionally happening the Alba’s famous and traditional Donkey Palio. The Palio is a painted cloth and represents the prize for the winning jockey or donkey of the race, who in turn, represents one of the town’s nine boroughs.  And to top it all The Truffle Bacchanal and The Village recalls its origins! On Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October, you will a star in the Truffle Bacchanal and the The Village Recalls its Origins events, two very special ideas to get to know more about Alba’s incredible history and traditions.
This old town  is the “capital” of the hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for its white truffle, peach and wine production.

The piadina from Romagna: the yummy mother of every flatbread

The “Piadina flatbread” is probably the most famous food symbol in Romagna, an area located at the east of the city of Bologna. Romagna is famous for  the provinces of Forlì-Cesena, Rimini and Ravenna and for its traditional food: fish from the sea, meat from the hills, wine and oil, strutto and tortellini.

Coming back to the Piadina, you can’t mistake it with other types of good flat bread as pitta bread, fajitas, naan bread. You can eat the piadina with a selection of Italian cured meats (coppa, salame, mortadella, prosciutto crudo, pancetta, bresaola) or with different types of cheese as squaccherone, robiola, asiago, and so on.

Now the recipe for one of the yummiest flatbread ever!! For 4 or 6 persons, you will need: 1 kg (2.2 lb) of white flour (Italian “00” flour or equivalent), a heaped teaspoon of salt for seasoning, 100g (4 oz) pork lard and 15 g (½ oz) of baking powder.

First, you should put the flour on a flat board and make a well in the centre. After you should put the salt into the well and spread the baking powder onto the flour. Important will be to put all the lard (in Italy it is the “strutto”) into the well. If you have the lard in the freezer, take it out the night before!

Ok, back to our recipe: take some hot water and pour a very small quantity of it onto the lard: with one hand work this in order to melt it completely.

After all the lard is melted, start working the dough. Remember not to use water unless you feel it is absolutely necessary to work in all the flour.

The dough externally should be smooth, not too soft, not too hard. Then, wrap the dough in a old and clean cloth or in a tea towel, and soon after just put it in a plastic bag  to rest for half an hour.

It should look smooth and white when you take it to work again. Break in smaller balls  and start to flatten this amount of dough with a rolling-pin.

Work the dough trying to turn the medallion clockwise when rolling, to ensure that all the sides are at the same thickness.

The piadina is ready to be cooked!!!!!!!!!!!! Make sure that the surface is flat and smooth and use a flat pan. You should put the pan on the cooker when it is very hot, you will put the piadina. At this stage it may rise a bit or a few bubbles. Fork the bubble, so the surface will be flat.

When the bottom surface turns into a kind of not uniform light brown colour , turn the piadina on the other side and voilà! The results is a  Italian delicious dish!!!!

Festivals in Sicily: an autumnal overview

Beautiful Sicily: the sea, the beach, the food and the saints.

A lot of festivals in this part of South Italy evolves around saints, like the “Saint Vito Day” that is celebrated the first Sunday of September in the Sicilian town of Ciminna, down  in the Palermo province. Why is it so important? It is a big parade recalling the life of Saint Vito with people in period costumes. A livestock fair also takes place along with the celebration. Another interesting and full of picturesque flair is the Festival of the Madonna of the Sick is also happening the first weekend of September in Sicily, exactly in the town of Misterbianco.
The festival evokes the miracle of the sanctuary being saved from fire and lava during the catastrophical Etna’s eruption in 1669.

From 11-15 September,  La Festa della Madonna degli Ammalati is a five-day festival celebrating this miracle. On Thursday evening, strong men will carry the 51 kilogram bell rescued from the lava from  Misterbianco’s  Mother-Churchto another of the town’s churches; the next morning at sunrise, the bell is carried another five kilometres to the Sanctuary of the Madonna degli Ammalati.

After the mess and some more celebrations on Saturday, on Sunday “La Cantata” will move a lot your soul: you will see hundreds of the faithful  gathering and  swaying, dancing and singing praises to the Madonna. On Monday, the painting of the Madonna of the Sick holding Jesus will be shown in a long parade throughout the town and the final fireworks display will top it all!!!

Instead, the second Sunday of September in Sicily just go in the village of Patti, in  Messina province for the incredible Festival of the Madonna a Mare, (Festival of the Madonna of the sea). A golden Madonna statue is carried to the sea in a long parade, then put on an lightned boat to go first as leading the boat procession. After that, you can enjoy loads of dancing, music, food and wine!!!

Check out what’s on in Florence and Valdarno for the end of the summer

If you want to go to Florence and explore Toscana, just take a last minute flight and go!!! But to see what? Let`s  check it out together.

First stop during the first week of September will be the famous “Palio di San Rocco” in Figline Valdarno, a small village located about 30 kilometers south-east of Florence. It is one of the first “palio” competitions in Tuscany, which includes almost five days of medieval competitions such as jousting, archery, and a horse race.

If you’ll come around on September 6 and 7 , a beautiful outdoor Feast of Rificolona is waiting for you: one of the oldest festivals in Florence! This particular festivity is also celebrated in other parts of Tuscany on September 7. The Festa della Rificolona is also known as the Festival of the Lanterns. On this day, people commemorate the eve of the birth of the Virgin Mary, though probably the festival became an important event after Florence’s victory over Siena in 1555. Young lad and older persons take part in a lantern parade, where hundreds of mostly hand-made lanterns are displayed. Fantastic will be also the boat parade along the Arno. The festival is enriched by a large fair in Piazza Santissima Annunziata: a plenty of street performers, food vendors, music, and more.

Late September or early October at Palazzo Corsini, you will enjoy also the “Mostra Mercato Internazionale dell’Antiquariato”, a prestigious biennial antiques fair. A special occasion for  serious collectors to be in Florence! A number of other cultural programs takes places during the time of the fair, such as musical performances and galas.

On September 13 if you reach Lucca, you will join the Luminara di Santa Croce, a beautiful torchlight parade made in honour of the “Volto Santo”, that is the “Holy Face” wooden crucifix figure. It is usually kept in the cathedral, but on this day it  is showed around by torchlight. The city is lighted with thousands of candles  as the parade goes through Lucca’s historic center at night.

Autumn in Veneto? Juliet’s B-day in Verona

” O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”. Who doesn’t know this lines? And who doesn’t wish once in his or her life bring his or her lover to see Verona, the city of the tragedy and the love of Romeo and Juliet?

You can have a beautiful occasion this September to go with your beloved and  party for Juliet’s Birthday!!!!

Juliet, the most famous  beautiful 14- in a half year-old girl, the symbol of perfection and innocence, is going to be celebrated her b-day as every year in Verona.
The city’s parties are on September 16th 2011 for honouring  the birthday of its most  famous heroine.

But why this date?  In spite of the word of  Shakespeare that put the Juliet birth on “Lammas Eve at night” (August 1), so Juliet’s birthday is July 31, the actual date is based on the “novella” by Luigi Da Porto (1531), the first writer who told the story of Romeo and Juliet.

The story of the two most famous and unfortunate young lovers who had lived at the beginning of the 14th century and belonged to two rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues reached the sublime artistic expression in Shakespeare´s “Romeo and Juliet” (1596).

After you have joined this event,  you may  go on  julietclub you can also partecipate to a very lovely  award called the “Cara Giulietta” (“Dear Juliet”) usually awarded on Valentine´s Day. It goes  to the most compelling letters received during the previous year. the prize has been organisedover the years  by  The Club di Giulietta, a Verona-based organization that answers the thousands of letters addressed each year to Shakespeare´s Juliet. Since the 1930s, letters addressed to Juliet keep arriving in Verona. As of 2010, more than 5,000 letters are received annually, three quarters of which are from women.

The day will be full of love, with parades, dances, and street entertainment.

 

September 2011 in Veneto: the historical Regatta in Venice

A magic city on the water…Venice, the dream of many artists and magnificent “signori”, an open-air museum that always stir up emotions! It is the favourite travel for all times and from all the world!

Are you ready to go in this end of Summer to Veneto? If so, you can’t miss two fantastic events that are staged in September in one that without any doubts is one  of the most beautiful city in the world!!!

First, come and check out the “Regata Storica” (historical Regatta) in Venice! It is an historic boat race, taking  place the first Sunday in September with four race categories (for children, for women, for  men in 6 oar boats, and the championship racing in boats with 2 oars).

The champions regatta is called  “gondolini”, the men regatta “caorline”, the women’s regatta  “mascarete”, the young rowers’ regatta  “pupparini”.

Why? The reason is very easy to understand, once you get used to Venetian dialect: it is because they use various types of boats  in the Regata Storica: respectively, the “gondolino”, the “caorlina”, the “mascareta”, the “pupparin”, and, of course, the gondola, the world-famous Venetian boat.

The earliest historical evidence of rowing races? Very ancient!

It dates back to  the second half of the 13th Century, exactly  in 1274, and as in the ancient time it will start starts at Castello. You will experience the joy, the history, the colours and the sounds of a traditional but much alive events that has Venice as gorgeous frame!!!

The races will be opened by a glamouros parade. In this spectacular procession you will admire splendid, elaborately carved boats with hundreds figures dressed up in gorgeous brocade costumes. And if you enjoed this Regata, just stay over till the third weekend of September and  you will love also Burano Regatta, that is similar to Venice’s historic Regata, but it takes place off the island of Burano, close to Venice.

 

Soundlabs Festival in Abruzzo: indie and beautiful beaches

Talking about a very beautiful Italian region, Abruzzo, we want to tell about a nice summer festival on the coast: Soundlabs Festival. The evnt comes back to its traditional summer dates in Roseto degli Abruzzi this year, after a September slot of events taken place last year. Our beginnings lie in the distant past.
Born in 1997, this indie, “little festival” with free entry for emerging bands  developed into the Soundlabs Festival in 2003. 100 international “big” names have taken part in this fab festival , over the past 13 years, such as: Patti Smith, Mogwai, Blonde Redhead, Calexico, José Gonzalez, Glasvegas, Wire, Liars, Micah P. Hinson, Art Brut, Girls in Hawaii, Enon, Afterhours, Verdena, Baustelle, Zu, Linea 77, Marlene Kuntz, Giardini di Miro’, Offlaga Disco Pax.

The 2011 Soundlabs Festival—the 15th edition— will take place on August 4th till 8th at a different venue respect on the other years! The usual one, the Stadio Fonte dell’Olmo in Roseto degli Abruzzi, is changed and now the events will be displayed between Piazza Dante and the Villa Comunale.
The stars on stage this year will be: John Grant, James Yorkston, Dirty Beaches, Handsome Furs, Le Luci Della Centrale Elettrica, Amour Fou, Bob Corn, Giorgio Canali, Clear Clouds and many others.

Meaning this year Soundlabs will range from the pchydelic pop of the Australian Clear Clouds to the dark, deep atmosphere of postpunk and garage rock/rockabilly to the indie folk.

In particular, John Grant with his debut album “Queen of Denmark”, (Bella Union) is a very exciting event to be in! “Mojo” put Grant’s songs within the 5 top album of 2010!

A word on the location: Roseto degli Abruzzi’s set near the gorgeous Adriatic coast. So you can enjoy both the seaside, the beaches and the sun in the morning,  the region’s great foods and wines offer in the evening, together with the music of this funny and interesting summer festival!!

So put together great sounds, great food and great seaside with Soundlabs Festival!

Bottarga and pasta: a perfect marriage

This recipe, my lovely friends,  is super  for seafood lovers and aficionados!

Bottarga and pasta merge in a great dish! But what is Bottarga?

One of the great delicatessen coming from Sardinia and Sicily, meaning tuna or mullet roe, in origin used to make the bottarga sauce to top  pasta.

You can find the precious ingredient in any Italian deli shop in Britain.  The pasta? You can use  “linguine” or “spaghetti” and in general it is better a kind of “pasta lunga” like the one aforementioned.

The ingredients are 400 g (14 oz) linguine or spaghetti, 70 ml (2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 120 g (4 oz) tuna roe,  and parsley.

How can you make it? Very, very easily.

The sauce rules! Grate the cod roe, put the olive oil into the pan and heat it with some garlic. Sweat the garlic off until it turns golden, then remove it from the pan.

Then, boil the linguine pasta and while it is boiling, you can proceed with the sauce preparation.

Next, move the pan away from the heat and leave the oil to cool down for a minute or so. Then, add 2/3 of the grated cod roe into the pan and give it a good stir.

Add a bit of the parsley into the pan and season with black pepper. Finally, add a couple of spoonfuls of the boiling water you are using to boil your pasta. Stir to make a creamy mix. When your sauce is ready, and when the pasta is cooked “al dente”, just before draining it, put the pan containing the sauce over the heat again. Drain the pasta,  leaving it slightly wet.

Add the pasta into the sauce pan and sprinkle with the remaining grated cod roe and the remaining parsley and stir well for a minute.

You will serve the pasta “alla bottarga” with a nice glass of white wine. Don’t add Parmesan cheese!

Tuscan Sun Festival: Cortona waits for you

The Tuscany hill town of Cortona is presenting to all the national and international visitors fantastic concerts and events: it is the Tuscan Sun Festival , an annual summer festival of music and arts.

The 2011 edition will start July 30 and it will be running through August 7. Why don’t you buy tickets ahead if you plan to go there?

The Tuscan Sun Festival will amaze you with music and arts events taking place inside the medieval town of Cortona, in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany.

This beautiful areais an ideal vacation spot. You can taste here and in the surronding the classic Italian food, with a selection  of world-famous  wine as the many varieties of Chianti.
Cortona is very popular, especially in summertime.

A daily program will experiment fine arts, culinary and wine, wellness, and local culture and history. Fab setting for the Festival is the Teatro Signorelli.

Since 2003, Barrett Wissman and cellist Nina Kotova are the curators of the Tuscan Sun Festival that creates a warm atmosphere for both artists and audience.

The Festival has then grown into an annual event  presenting prominent musicians, gaining also the production by the renowned arts management company IMG Artists.

Among exhibitions, wine and food tastings, lectures you will feel the vibrating “vibe” of the astonishing Italian countryside in Tuscany together with the beautiful fluer coming directly from the artistic production inside the festival.