Treno Natura, Siena and its surroundings by train

01 Treno Natura
The Nature Train, Treno Natura, is back in an autumnal edition. On September 13th it kicks off with two different trips. The morning one, leaving from Siena at 8.15 am, is the “Spa Train” and will cross the Crete Senesi, the area of Montalcino’s Brunello and the Val d’Orcia Park to arrive at Asciano at 9 am. Here the train picks up other passengers and moves onto Monte Antico, with some stops in between for photographs. With a round trip it gets back to Asciano at 11.30 where passengers will be boarded on a bus and taken to the spas of the Terme di Rapolano. Here one can enjoy the benefits of the thermal waters until 5.30 pm when the bus picks everyone up and takes them back to the train. Arrival in Siena at 6.40 pm.

02 Crete Senesi

Another train leaves on September 13th from Asciano at 12 pm. This one promises “The sweet beauty of ancient landscapes” and will transport passengers through the Crete Senesi, the Brunello vineyards and the Val d’Orcia, with strategic stops for shots, until Monte Antico where everyone can capture the typical Tuscan landscape with cypress trees and vineyards. On Sunday 20th September there will again be two trains. At 8.15 am one train leaves Siena to explore the moonlike scenario of the Crete Senesi, with Asciano and Trequanda as destinations, while the other leaves Asciano at noon taking passengers to an appointment with a trekking tour at Monte Antico and Torrenieri. On the 27th, instead, a train leaves Siena at 8.50 am directed to Buonconvento, and more specifically its Valdarbia Festival, where passengers will have 5 hours to visit the stalls and taste some of the local products as well as roam the medieval village’s streets and visit both the Museum of Sacred Art and that of Sharecropping.

03 Amiata

On October 11th a train leaves Siena at 8.50 am for Mount Amiata where at Vivo d’Orcia visitors will participate in the Porcino Mushroom Festival. There will be many delicious local dishes to taste and also the possibility of a nice visit of this lovely village. Another visit to Mount Amiata will be on October 18th. This time passengers will be taken to visit Abbadia San Salvatore where they can stop over at the Mining Museum, visit the old town centre and the abbey and also go to the Autumn Party and taste some roasted chestnuts doused with red Tuscan wine.

04 San Giovanni D'Asso

The Nature Train on Sunday 25th October will be leaving Siena at 8.50 am and travelling to Asciano where the Autumn market will await visitors. There will be 5 hours at disposal to visit the town, see its towers and nose around the market stalls offering a wide selection of organic products from nearby farms as well as local handcraft. On November 8th, instead the train will be smelling of truffles as it leaves Siena at 8.50 am and reaches San Giovanni d’Asso at 11.40 am, after various stops for photographic shots. Here passengers will visit the Truffle Fair, the town castle and also have the possibility to taste other local produce on show. This visit will also be repeated on the 15th, since the White Truffle Fair is traditionally held on the second and third weekend of the month of November, but this time leaving from, and returning to, Grosseto.

05 Siena, Mercato del Campo

In December, the train will be leaving Grosseto for Siena on the 6th to visit its “Mercato nel Campo”, the market held in Piazza del Campo. Here it will be possible to taste some of Siena’s local products and dishes as well as see its handicrafts. The last Nature Train of the season leaves Siena for San Quirico d’Orcia on the 8th. Here the Olive Oil Festival will be awaiting visitors with various events and obviously some olive oil tastings.
Certainly an Autumn full of Nature’s best sceneries, products and flavours.
06 San Quirico d'Orcia, the Horti Leonini

Pubblicato in Crete Senesi, Events around Siena, Events in the Crete Senesi, Events in Tuscany, Events in Valdorcia, Siena, Tuscan food and wine, Tuscan lifestyle, Tuscan towns and cities, Tuscany, Valdorcia Val d'Orcia | Contrassegnato , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Lascia un commento

Bellezza Divina – Divine Beauty on at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence

01 Vincent van Gogh, Pietà (after Delacroix), 1889, Vatican Museums

Vincent van Gogh, Pietà (after Delacroix), 1889, Vatican Museums

Palazzo Strozzi in Florence will be holding an extraordinary exhibition entitled Divina Bellezza tra Van Gogh, Chagall e Fontana, “Divine Beauty from Van Gogh to Chagall and Fontana”, from 24th September 2015 to 24th January 2016. The show intends to explore the relationship between art and religion with over a hundred works by renowned Italian and international artists from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century.

02 Jean-François Millet, The Angelus, 1857–59, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Jean-François Millet, The Angelus, 1857–59, Musée d’Orsay, Paris

A century of modern religious art is thus analysed and set into context, highlighting the differences between Realism, Informal Art, Divisionism, Symbolism, Expressionism, Futurism and more, and emphasizing their various trends and even the clashes in the relationship between art and religious sentiment. The exhibition will be hosting works by major Italian artists such as Domenico Morelli, Gaetano Previati, Felice Casorati, Gino Severini, Renato Guttuso, Lucio Fontana and Emilio Vedova, together with works by international masters such as Vincent van Gogh, Jean-François Millet, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Stanley Spencer, Georges Rouault and Henri Matisse.

03 Marc Chagall, White Crucifixion, 1938, Art Institute of Chicago

Marc Chagall, White Crucifixion, 1938, Art Institute of Chicago

Amongst the many outstanding works on show, worth mentioning are Jean-François Millet’s Angelus, on exceptional loan from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Vincent van Gogh’s Pietà from the Vatican Museums, Renato Guttuso’s Crucifixion from the collections of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome and Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion from the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition “Divine Beauty” will provide visitors with a unique opportunity to observe extremely famous works of art in a new and different light.

04 Renato Guttuso, Crucifixion, 1941, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome

Renato Guttuso, Crucifixion, 1941, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome

Open daily, including holidays, from 10 am to 8 pm, on Thursdays from 10 am to 11 pm. Full price ticket costs 10 Euros.

Pubblicato in Art in Florence, Exhibitions in Florence, Florence, Tuscany | Contrassegnato , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Lascia un commento

Rievocazione Storica e Disfida con l’Arco, the historical re-enactment ad archery challenge of Montopoli

 01

Sprawling out on a low ridge is the medieval town of Montopoli in Val d’Arno. Nearly half way between Pisa and Florence this lovely fortified village for centuries was contested by both cities plus Lucca for its strategic position along the Arno Valley. Historical documents first mention the Castle of Montopoli in 1017 when the Archbishop of Lucca, then the lord of the territory, had it built so as to protect the inhabitants living in the plain against the threat of the barbarians. The raids and sieges became so frequent that the Archbishop eventually moved the population within the castle walls. Two centuries later Italian Renaissance poet Giovanni Boccaccio defined it the “Illustrious Castle” whilst celebrating its mighty defences.

 02

Today, after a millennium of troubled history, contended, conquered, ravaged by plague and famine, the inhabitants of Montopoli prefer to commemorate when, in the 15th century, the town chose to resolve public office elections with an archery competition. The Rievocazione Storica e Disfida con l’Arco, ‘Historical Re-enactment and Archery Challenge’, in fact, remembers when in 1412 the town was divided into two populations and the podestà Jacopo degli Albizi contrived this ploy.

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Every second weekend of September, Montopoli hosts this event and watches its two quarters, Santo Stefano and San Giovanni, compete with archers of various age groups. The town will be enlivened by ladies and knights, nobles and musicians, flag wavers and jesters, fire eaters and hawkers, while stalls will be selling handicrafts and delicious local dishes such as the ‘ciaccino’, the typical Tuscan flat bread.

 05 Accommodation in Montopoli S212

If you’re planning to visit this part of the province of Pisa and explore the Arno River valley, then just 2 km from Montopoli is this villa with swimming pool. Surrounded by fields of vineyards, the villa can comfortably accommodate up to 20 guests and is thus a suitable group getaway for large families or groups of friends.

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Pubblicato in Accommodations in Valdarno, Events in Valdarno, Festivals and feasts in Tuscany, Folklore and accommodations in Tuscany, Tuscany, Valdarno | Contrassegnato , , , | Lascia un commento

Twentieth-century legacy. Art and design in the Public Collections of Livorno

 01 Chiesa di San Jacopo, Livorno

Immediately after the Second World War the city of Livorno, known for its strong commitment to contemporary art, established the “Amedeo Modigliani Award” (Premio Amedeo Modigliani) actually a campaign to purchase works of art. Held between 1955 and 1967, the last two editions of the award brought together so many extraordinary masterpieces that Livorno decided to create a new museum.

 02 Amedeo Modigliani, Reclining Nude from the Back

Thus was created the Progressive Museum of Contemporary Art and thanks to the clear and effective strategy of the curators, a significant number of works of art by Italian artists of the period were conveyed to Livorno. Some were donated, others purchased at a nominal price. These works offered a wide and well-constructed survey of the Italian artistic scene in the mid-seventies.

 03 Granai di Villa Mimbelli

Initially a very lively activity, thanks to its many exhibitions, conferences and conventions, slowly the museum lost its impetus until the city finally decided to close it at the beginning of the 1990s.  This is precisely the story that will be narrated in the halls of the Fondazione Livorno and the Granai di Villa Mimbelli by the exhibition “Eredità del Novecento. Arte e design nelle collezione civiche livornesi”:  Twentieth-century legacy. Art and design in the Public Collections of Livorno.

 04 Exhibition set

Split into two sections, the one dedicated to design will be opened on September 4th at 5.30 pm at the Fondazione Livorno. The second section is dedicated to art and will be opened on September 5th at 5.30 pm at Villa Mimbelli and will narrate how the acquisition campaign started off. On until October 31st.

Pubblicato in Art in Livorno, Art in Tuscany, Exhibitions in Livorno, Livorno, Tuscany | Contrassegnato , , , , | Lascia un commento

Cortonantiquaria, Antiques in Cortona

 01 Cortona

Cortona, ancient Etruscan town and one of the most charming cities of Tuscany, is opening up the doors of two of its most beautiful buildings, Palazzo Vagnotti and Palazzo Casali, for a journey in time. From the legendary Egyptian Pharaohs to the talented painters of the 20th century, the itinerary is from room to room full of precious furniture, paintings, ancient carpets, sculptures and collectables.

 02 Cortonantiquaria

An event unique in its kind which has become a traditional appointment of the Summer calendar here in Valdichiana. The event in fact this year touches its 53rd edition and will be held from August 22nd to September 6th. Palazzo Vagnotti will host the various antiquarians, coming from all over Italy, plus a tour themed on “Eros during the Centuries in Art” culminating in the last hall with an exhibition on the great masters of the 20th century, ranging from Pablo Picasso to Renato Guttuso and Salvatore Fiume.

 03 Salvatore Fiume

In Palazzo Casali, seat of the MAEC Museum, instead there will be various exhibitions on Ancient Egypt whilst the halls on the ground floor will be dedicated to CortonaDesign, a parallel event entirely dedicated to the world of design. Open Mondays to Fridays from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3.30 pm to 8 pm, on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 8 pm. Full ticket costs 8 Euros, combined to visit to the MAEC Museum 12 Euros.

 04 Cortonantiquaria

Pubblicato in Antiques, Art in Tuscany, Cortona, Culture in Tuscany, Events in Valdichiana, Exhibitions in Cortona, Valdichiana | Contrassegnato , , , , | Lascia un commento