Website for your holiday with Children in the Siena territory

If you’re planning your holiday with children, there is a useful website of the territory of Siena trying to help you in organizing your trip e giving you information about things to do, creative places, nice itineraries, etc…

I found this website a useful source of information and sometime find some good suggestion for our guests with children!

Bambini in Vacanza

Official Website of Tourism in Terre di Siena for Holiday with Children

website

Brochures & Guides by Official Website of Turism APT Siena

Finally it is possible to read the official brochures and guides of the Organization promoting Tourism in the territory of Siena (APT Siena and APT Chianciano Terme Val di Chiana): they do not give so much information…but offer a useful inspiration through the many big splendid photos.

Link to the page of brochures and Guides online of the official Website of Turism in Terre di Siena

Don Giovanni, Opera at San Galgano, Chiusdino (Siena)

Since many years, in the summer, the Abbey of San Galgano is the location of concerts in collaboration with the renomate siennese Chigiana Academy. In the scenic open air Cathedral of San Galgano, under a blanket of stars, take place every summerlays, operas, concerts, musicals and ballets.

Inside the Abbey, 800 seats to accommodate the public.

Performances at the Abbey of San Galgano start at 9.00 p.m.

Bookings/tickets: Ph. 0039 055 5978308/ 0039 055 5978309

For more informations and the programme:

Opera Festival

Multipromo Opera festival

via San Francesco, 3

50014 Fiesole (Fi)

info@festivalopera.it

web site

Jazz & Wine 2010, July 14 - 24, Montalcino (Siena)

Concerts: at 9.45 p.m.  by Montalcino Fortress, from July 14 to July 24

Restoration service: by Montalcino Fortress

Bookings/Tickets:

Pro-Loco Montalcino

Via Costa del Municipio, 1

53024 Montalcino

Ph. 0039 0577 849331

I Macchiaioli a Montepulciano, art exhibition from Apr. 25 to Sep. 26

“I Macchiaioli a Montepulciano” is a  highly reccomended exhibition for  lovers of peinture like me..  More than 100 works  (mostly shown for the first time and coming from private collections), through which you can follow the italian history from the Unification of Italy to the year 20s of the twentieth century.

Peintures by Fattoria to Signorini.

The exhibition is at the Civic Museum and Le Logge della Mercanzia in Montepulciano (Siena). From April 25 to September 26 2010.

Open tuesday to friday:  10.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.

Open saturday and sunday:  10.00 a.m. – 10.00 p.m.

Ticket:  Euro 7,00

Children: Euro 5,00

Banfi Castle, Brunello wine producers

In the splendid setting of Montalcino countryside, walking on breathtaking panoramic white lines snaking through vineyards, olive groves, castles and ancient isolated farms… here you are a really unforgettable road that you can do with your favourite means: walking, by bike, horseriding or simply by car… HIGHLY SUGGESTED!!!

If you stop at the beautiful Banfi Castle, Poggio alle Mura, you can stop at the wine shop, drink something, visit the Museum of Brunello, and (only if you have booked some days before!!!) visit the cantines. For more information visit the website of Banfi Castle.  In the Banfi property there are also an osteria (not an economic one:-)) and a very beautiful, chic and expensive restaurant, which is in restoration at the moment.

Castello Banfi

+39-0577-877700

borgo@castellobanfi.it

Another highly suggested stop: Sant’Angelo in Colle, a small pictoresque medieval village with breathtaking panoramas and an hosteria that I always suggest: Trattoria il Pozzo!!! It has a beautiful dehors in the medieval little square of the village…it is very nice to sit down and feel like in an open living-room.

A walk through the vineyards, Tavernelle - Poggio alle Mura - Sant'Antimo - Montalcino

Piscina of Camping Le Soline, Casciano di Murlo (Siena)

If it is summer and you wish to dip in a  pool…  I suggest you to go to Camping Le Soline in Casciano di Murlo (Siena). This swimming pool in the area of Murlo is big and has a beautiful panoramic position …

Of course you can choose to stay in the camping with your tent, roulotte or camper or in a bungalow but you can also go there just for their swimming pool paying a daily ticket for the swimming pool. Last year the price was 7,50 euro/per person and you can stay there the whole day. In the camping there are also a café and a restaurant.

This is a great idea especially if you’ve got children and you want to let them play in the water for a day..:-))

Swimming pools of Camping Le Soline

web site

Pic nic at Vivo d'Orcia, Amiata mountain

You won’t never have such a wonderful restaurant like the tables and pic nic area at the source of Vivo d’Orcia! When I first see this place I immediately imagined how it would be nice to do a medieval party there..

I suggest to bring with you meat and vegetables for a barbeque!

This place is not too high so I find it perfect for a picnic in late spring until june and in september/october: for hot summer I would suggest to go upper in the Amiata mountain when the fresh air will recover you.

Gelso or Morus Nigra (Mulberry tree)

Yesterday we were in San Giusto and planted our first mulberry tree. It is always so exciting planting a new tree! you already know it will probably live more then you .. and I think this has something mystic, it is so beautiful to do something for more generations.

In San Giusto there were already a lot of mulberry trees (somewhere in its millenary history probably they used to raise silkworms) so it shouldn’t have problems with growing here.

Everyone told me that mulberry trees are rough and they should not need so many attentions and moreover, as they are already there, they certainly go well with San Giusto soil which is very clayey. So… let’s pray for the best:-))

We have called this tree “Gino” in the name of Gino Strada, the founder of Emergency..(for more infos see their web site).

In our garden of San Giusto we had already a “Barack” (a black figue:-)) and some other trees..whose names, of course, are those of people we do admire .. we have also a “Luigino, il susino” in the name of Don Luigi Ciotti founder of Gruppo Abele (web site) and Libera (web site).

Frittelle di San Giuseppe, march, Siena territory

Giorgio tells me that when he was a child and it was the San Giuseppe period (that is march), he used to go every morning in Piazza del Campo by a wooden hut to buy a carton of frittelle di San Giuseppe. They were served only in march and there was always the queue …

He told me about these “frittelle” so many times in the past but I didn’t understand his love for frittelle until last saturday, when we were in Buonconvento by Nanni… They had them and we bought 300 gr of frittelle: they were fantastic! simple, light, delicious, in a second they were gone..

Giorgio told me that his grandmother used to cook them every march for San Giuseppe. This is a nice thing, typical of ancient times: a cake cooked only in certain periods of the year.. Also now, there is the same wooden hut cooking Frittelle di San Giuseppe only in this period ..and even in Buonconvento by Nanni: they told us they cook them only for San Giuseppe and today they told me they will serve them again only on next saturday!! this is  so sad and foolish:-))  I imagine the queue..

The recipe is very very simple:

Ingredients: 600 grams of rice, 2 liters of water, the rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon, half a liter of cooking oil, 6 tablespoons of sugar, salt.

Procedure: In a saucepan bring the water and when it boils, throw the rice and a pinch of salt. The rice is cooked a long time with the lemon zest and orange (it must not be “al dente”).

Drain and let stand in a tray for 12 hours. A couple of hours before frying, add the flour to the dough. In a pan with hot oil (but not too much, otherwise the pancakes immediately become brown), throwing the rice with the tablespoon (consider one tablespoon of rice: one Frittella).

Fry turning carefully. When they are golden, drain and lay on a sheet of absorbent paper.

Finally, a sprinkling of sugar and there they are ready! They are good also cold ..but try them warm!! and in any case, eat them within the 12 hours.