Further to Monday's post about European Cultural Routes, here is a nice slide show of the botanical garden of Villa Hanbury in Ventimiglia, Liguria, Italy, posted by fraste2. The garden was created by Sir Thomas Hanbury, who later donated land that was to become Wisley Gardens, the showpiece of the UK's Royal Horticultural Society.
Liguria is a great, unspoilt, region of Italy, check out Walking Liguria featured in our guide.
I came across this great article by Rick Steves, distributed by Tribune Media Services, about Siena, Tuscany, Italy.
Rick runs a company, Europe Through the Back Door, which conducts European tours and he comments that Siena appears to be the favourite city of every connoisseur of Italy.
The focus of the article, much like Siena's culture, is on the Palio, which is a frantic horse race around the main square. It takes place every year on July 2 and August 16 and is accompanied by good food and Chianti wine.
Orsoni is a historic glass mosaic foundry in Venice, Italy, a city renowned for its glass. The foundry has been producing glass and gold mosaic since 1888 and is now offering a 3 day mosaic workshop, teaching the same traditional Byzantine techniques that were used for the Basilica di San Marco.
The workshops are an initiative from Lucio Orsoni, the internationally acclaimed mosaic artist and great grandson of founder, Angelo Orsoni to "spread the divine art of mosaics" ; each workshop is being limited to a maximum of 6 students, in order to provide an authentic experience into the heart of Venetian artistry and culture. Students are given access to more than 2,000 hues of Orsoni mosaic glass.
Completing the adventure, participants will stay at a unique bed and breakfast, Domus Orsoni, located just a few steps away from the mosaic studio. An Italian architect or artist has designed each of the luxurious 5 bedrooms with Orsoni mosaic glass tile and resplendent 24k gold.
Workshops are offered throughout the year, with five and ten day master classes also available. More information, including a schedule of courses and a photo library, can be found at www.orsoni.com
Lucca in Tuscany, Italy, birthplace and home of the great operatic composer Giacomo Puccini, is organising a rich calendar of events celebrating his birth, 150 years ago.
Many arias from Puccini's operas are enjoyed daily, throughout the world, for example the moving Nessun Dorma and the haunting O Mio Babbino Caro, making him the world's most performed composer.
Lucca, enjoys an excellent geographical position, just 20 km from Pisa, 70 km from Florence, 25 km from Viareggio and approximately 100 km from Massa. It boasts mountains and lakes, beaches, wetlands, underground grottoes and thermal springs. The region offers tourists an infinite variety of landscapes and activities, not least, renowned food and wine to accompany great music. No wonder Puccini was never short of inspiration.
I was thinking about the upcoming Christkindlmarkt season in Europe, when I happened upon a short video from Alfredo (Aiellici) of the annual Christkindlmarkt in Bolzano, Italy; just a few weeks away now.
The Bolzano Christkindlmarkt takes place every year from the last Friday of November to 23rd December in Bolzano's Walther Square. There is a smaller Christmas market called 'Winterwald' (Winter wood), which takes place near Walther square in Palais Campofranco's yard and the 'Handwerksmarkt' in the Municipal square and the Christmas market of solidarity in some streets of the historical centre, creating a very Alpine atmosphere.
Now if you're thinking of enjoying winter sports in Europe, here is an idea for adding zest to this season's skiing trip. How about combining it with Europe's most active volcano, Mount Etna in Sicily.
Volcanoetna.com has comprehensive information about the volcano, including spectacular pictures of the recent eruptions, and features an article about trips to Mt. Etna. Climbing mount Etna is described as an unforgettable experience and regarded as a must do activity, during a Sicily tour.
Etna offers different tourist activities at different times of the year; the ski season on Mount Etna runs from November to March, and you will find detailed information about skiing on the mountain at the Volcanoetna.com website.
An enormous field of black truffles has been discovered in Poland but it is rare to find them in north-east Europe. Normally they are found in Western Europe, where the season is just getting underway; they are a scarce food and sell for about 3600 Euros a kilogram.
Best known are the black truffles from Périgord in France and the white truffles from Piedmont in Italy. Each weekend in October and early November truffle hunters and merchants come and sell their products at the famous Tartufo Market in Alba. Alba is also home of an annual truffle festival which this year runs from 29 September to 11 November.
The world's largest recorded white truffle (over 2.5 kg) was found in San Miniato, which competes with Alba for the reputation of having the highest quality white truffles, and the San Miniato National White Truffle Market is held every year during the last three weeks of November.
Ravello, a small town on the Italian, Amalfi Coast, enjoys a geography that simultaneously excites and repels tourists. Clinging to the cliff-face, high above above the Gulf of Salerno, the unspoilt hamlet has played host to many a creative genius over the years, including Richard Wagner, Arturo Toscanini, D.H. Lawrence, Joan Miró and M. C. Escher. Every summer, the town is host to a festival celebrating its artistic connections, the Ravello Festival. Ravello Festival is the oldest of the Italian arts festivals after the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and is particularly famous for open-air concerts in the Villa Rufolo, with its wonderful Mediterranean backdrop.
The festival is notable for the concert program but features other events such as the visual arts section; this is dedicated to Maurits Escher, who acknowledged the influence that Ravello and the Amalfi Coast had on his work.
This year's festival runs 30 June to 30 September 2007.
For the fourth year in a row Italy placed first in 2006, as the single most popular destination for package tours booked through members of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA),with Rome ranked as the top city. California and the National Parks were cited as the hottest destinations for those seeking domestic package vacations. In another survey aimed specifically at those with a special interest in photography, conducted jointly by USTOA and Popular Photography & Imaging magazine (Pop Photo), most photo buffs wanted to go to Hawaii, followed closely by Alaska, and Australia. Members have recommended the best places to shoot at these destinations as:
Haleakala National Park on Hawaii?s Maui Island, Denali National Park in Alaska, and the Australian Outback or Tasmania.
In another survey aimed specifically at those with a special interest in photography, conducted jointly by USTOA and Popular Photography & Imaging magazine (Pop Photo), most photo buffs wanted to go to Hawaii, followed closely by Alaska, and Australia. Members have recommended the best places to shoot at these destinations as:
