The following festas and sagras are listed to the best of my knowledge and are subject to change. This is in no way a complete listing and I have only listed events in the general area of Cortona and ones I personally wouldn't want to miss. Enjoy!
May 16 -18 & 23 - 25, 2008
Festa di Cinghiale - Castiglion Fiorentino
May 25 - June 1, 2008
Festa di Archidado - Cortona. Various daily events culminating on June 1st when they have the archbow competition between the contradas.
May 25, 2008
Cantine Aperte The one day a year most wineries throw open their doors and welcome all the little people to taste, all day long!!!
August 10, 2008
Calici di Stelle - “Calici di Stelle”, the traditional summer engagement conceived by the Wine Tourism Movement, returns again this year. The event sings the praise of Bacchus on one of the most evocative nights of the year and offers tourists the possibility to delight in “the raining of San Lorenzo’s tears” in the company of quality wine. On August 10th, in the historical centres and piazzas of Italy, among courtyards of unexpected beauty and castles, passionate wine tourists can taste the best wines from the associated wineries coupled with typical quality products that express the local heritage of every region that participates in the event.
August 14 & 15
Cortona Bistecca Festival - Cortona Public Gardens. This is our most FAVORITE festival of the year!!! Our city serves up the tastiest steaks on a HUGE outdoor barbeque for two days straight. Come early, this event gets crowded and some years you have to wait an hour or two for your meal because they run out of steaks. It is worth it all!
What I Suggest for Cortona:
I'm often asked about what to do here in Cortona and sights not to miss. Here are my personal recommendations......
1. Grab a map and walk the town. It is true that we only have one level street in town (Via Nazionale where many shops are) but think about all the extra pasta you can eat if you climb up the little streets and alleyways. Cortona is amazingly picturesque and everywhere you go offers another beautiful view of this quaint, very Tuscan city. 2. Visit as many of the local churches as possible. Each are very different in style and very interesting to see. Chiesa San Francesco was just recently opened after a long period for restoration. The high wood rafters and wooden pews are fantastic. San Nicolo is a beautiful little church in the upper part of town and the painting by Luca Signorelli, one of our famous Cortona painters, is very precious and quite well known. Santa Margherita, at the very top of Cortona, contains our patron saint in the altar who was a close follower of St. Francis. Just outside of Cortona, and can be a wonderful walk, is Le Celle, a wonderful monestary founded by St. Francis built into the hillside. 2. Try the local wine (our Cortona Syrah - the Il Castagno one is my fav. - is fantastic). We have several enotecas (wine bars) in town and all of them serve different varieties by the glass. There also are many other varietal Tuscan wines quite worthy of trying.
3. Visit the Etruscan museum. It was closed last summer for updating and now has modern exhibits in both English and Italian and really explains in detail about the Etruscans who populated the entire area before the Romans. 4. Visit the Diocesan Museum, also part of a former church that has been beautifully restored inside. It is small and easy to visit and there are some famous Luca Signorelli paintings there. 5. Eat. Almost all of our restaurants in town are fantastic and a visit here wouldn't be complete without going to La Bucaccia, Vino e Pane, Trattoria Toscana, Fufluns, Osteria del Teatro, Il Cacciatorre and La Tufa in Ossaia (a small hamlet nearby). My website has my thoughts on all of those restaurants in the restaurant section. 6. Walk. Walk through town to the public gardens, follow the public gardens all the way to the tennis courts. This is an old Roman road with beautiful views of the valley and Lago Trasimeno. From the tennis courts continue following the now paved road as it starts to wind around the back of the hill, it will take you by Francis Mayes house and to Torreone. At the intersecting roads (small bar on your left) turn left and then right onto a road that heads back into the top part of town. I often do this walk with my dog - it takes about an hour to go full circle at a moderate pace. 7. Eat again. Try the local produce. There is a great fruit and vegetable stand in town in a basement on Via Guelfa. Things that are ripe and in season are incredibly flavorful. The small grocery store "Despar" across the square sells fresh Pecorino cheese and Parmigiano that melts in your mouth. They also have pesto sauce behind the counter sold by weight that shouldn't be missed. Their bread is good but on Via Dardano there is a bread store that makes it fresh daily and their cantucci (you would think of as biscotti in the states) are the best I've had and even better when dipped in Vin Santo. A little farther up Via Dardano is the most divine handmade pasta store. A typical dish here is tortellini in brodo (broth) and their pasta is really to die for. Don't forget to try the best gelato in Italy made by Dolce Vita on Via Nazionale near Piazza Garibaldi.
8. Breathe. Just stop, sit on one of the many stone benches around town, look at the view, watch the people and just take in the essence of Tuscany.
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On In Cortona
