June Newsletter

June is full of celebrations and sagras-food fesitvals! Come hungry.

Benvenuto to my monthly newsletter.

June is the time for celebrations. There are numerous events happening in Florence and the surrounding area, so it's essential to plan your visit accordingly. I am concentrating on Florence and Chianti, which are near me!

I wanted to remind you that you can read this online .When you become a paid member, you also have access to the archives, which include my Market Guides to Italy and my ebook, Secrets from my Tuscan Kitchen.

June Celebrations

When you visit Italy, note that the first Sunday of every month, museums are free. You can’t make reservations. However, you may want to consider how it aligns with your program. Group tours are not allowed in, so it’s often a good time to go.

June 1- Sagra delle Ciliege- Lari, Pisa. It’s in a small medieval village on the way to Pisa. I will follow up next week with a Divine Destinations post that delves deeper into the town and its surrounding areas, offering suggestions for a day trip when visiting the area. It’s nice to get off the beaten track and explore on your own.

June 2 is the Festa della Repubblica, commemorating the fall of Fascism and Italy's transition to a republic. I always like to watch out for problems with trains, etc, on these holidays. The place to be for the celebrations is Rome. Here is website with more information.

June 1- Panzano in Chianti. The first Sunday of the month is Aprilante, large city organic and artisan market. Panzano is home to the famous Antica Macelleria Cecchini. Dario is celebrating 50 years of being a butcher this year!

May31- June 8- Mostra del Chianti in Montespertoli. The wine festival is held all day on Sundays and in the afternoon during the week with concerts at night. A smaller fun festival.

June 11 and 18 Cena con Messer Boccaccio- Certaldo. This is a yearly event in my village. A medieval dinner during which a huge, long table will be set along via Boccaccio . They serve traditional medieval dishes, accompanied by waiters dressed in historical costumes. During dinner, entertainment ranges from jugglers to acrobats, culminating in a beautiful fireworks display to conclude the evening. There are about 400 guests for dinner, and you take home your terracotta table setting

June 24 is St John the Baptist’s day, the Patron Saint of Florence. The famous Calcio in Costume games are taking place throughout the month. There are four quartiere in town, and the four teams play two playoff games. The final match is scheduled for June 24th. There are fabulous parades pregame.

Here is an article I wrote on Calcio in Costume.

The program for the games:

Saturday, June 14 Rossi Vs Azzurri; Sunday, June 15 Bianchi Vs Verdi. Tuesday, June 24, is the final game, followed by fireworks over the river.

June 26- Greve in Chianti- Il Pagliaio, organic and artisan market. This is held on the 4th Sunday of the month, like the Aprilante market in Panzano ( on the First Sunday of the month).

When the weather is nice, weekends fill up with festivals and sagras (food-based festivals). I wasn’t able to go to any in May due to the weather. I plan to start this weekend with a favorite food, Cherries -Ciliege.

The Cherry Festival in Lari takes place over two weekends, at the end of May and the beginning of June. Lari is a beautiful town located in the province of Pisa.

The village is magical and worth a visit at any time of the year.

I can’t help but celebrate the color red in the summer. In California, we had the gorgeous orange poppies; here in Tuscany, they are red.

Remember to stay hydrated while touring. Water is, of course, the best, but if you would like to try an Italian iced coffee, order a Shakerato.

Summer is the time when coffee lovers go wild. Caffe’ Shakerato, the Italian way with iced coffee.

Break out your cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and pour a nice shot of espresso on top, maybe two.
Sweeten with simple syrup.

Shake until the ice melts. This creates the lovely foam you see here.

Italians like to strain out the ice. I always say con ghiaccio per favore ( with ice please).

Once, when I ordered it at my local bar in the village where I live, Certaldo, it came served in a martini glass and was creamy! They had used vanilla gelato instead of the ice— another favorite now.

If I am planning on having a lot of iced coffees, I use my decaf Nescafé.

Enjoy!

Another summer specialty is gelato affogato, drowned gelato. There are various ways to serve it: left to right

• - a cup of gelato is hollowed out and the espresso poured inside.

• Pour espresso on your gelato in a deep dish.

• A gelato “tartufo”( a premade gelato dessert often for sale in simple trattorias instead of having fresh gelato).